Correlative study of young's modulus and the cbr of run-of-mine shells from mauritanian quarries

Like the countries of the sub-region, the Mauritanian context is characterized by the absence of a local road design guide. Thus, classic methods developed elsewhere and based on parameters whose relevance is debatable, given the climatic context, are used. This research, a pioneer in geotechnical engineeringin Mauritania, aims to determine the correlation between the CBR and the Young's modulus of the two most commonly used shell quarries, PK23 NDB and PK35 AKJT, in order to determine objective geotechnical characteristics for road design. The geotechnical characteristics of the materials studied were determined in the laboratory after a cement treatment with a dosage of 3 to 3.5%. Thereafter statistical analysis of the experimental results via computer tools like Python, Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Scipy and Sklearn, showed that the widely used equation “E= 5*CBR” relation is not always appropriate in the local context and it varies between quarries. For the PK23 NDB quarry, the correlative relationship is established as follows: E = 3,55*CBR while for the PK35 AKJT quarry it is given by this equation: E = 3,76*CBR. The results obtained in this study are an important step towards the development of a pavement design guide that is appropriate to the local context, and they reinforce the idea of using these materials in pavement base layers.