Laboratoire de Génie Civil, UMRI de Génie Civil, Géosciences et Sciences Géographiques, Institut National Polytechnique Félix HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY (INP-HB), BP 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire
Quality materials have always interested road technicians. Quality in terms of compact soils capable of withstanding the loads due to road traffic. Previous studies have shown that laterite from decomposition of the source rock, for social-economic and environmental reasons, is often used in road construction. In Côte d'Ivoire, particularly in the south, few paved and unpaved roads are made from clay sands, present in the Ivorian sedimentary basin. Analysis of the clay sands of Samo and Grand-Lahou, revealed that in terms of particle size, despite the high proportion of coarse elements in the clay sands of Samo (66%) and those of Grand-Lahou (50%); these soils contain fine silty-clay matrices capable of creating solid bonds between the grains. Chemically, there are mainly three oxides: SiO2, Al2O3 and Fe2O3. The ratio of oxides (S/R) is greater than 2. According to the classification, these are sands corresponding to non-lateritic soils. Mechanical analyzes have shown that these soils must be treated with hydraulic binders before they can be used in pavement layers.