CBR performance of lime-stabilized and geotextile lateritic soils under soaked and unsoaked conditions

Lateritic soils are commonly used in pavement subgrades in tropical regions, but their performance can be limited by plasticity, moisture sensitivity, and low bearing capacity. This study evaluates the plasticity, compaction, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) response of three lateritic soils treated with hydrated lime and woven geotextile reinforcement under unsoaked and selected soaked conditions. Lime contents of 0%, 4%, 5%, and 6% by dry soil mass were investigated, and selected geotextile placements were introduced within compacted CBR specimens. The results show that moderate lime dosages substantially improved the unsoaked CBR of Samples A and B, with peak lime-only values of 62.92% at 4% lime for Sample A and 72.85% at 5% lime for Sample B. In contrast, Sample C, which had the highest fines content and plasticity index, showed limited improvement with the tested lime contents and remained a poor-performing material. Geotextile reinforcement improved CBR when compared with untreated no-geotextile soil, especially in several 0% lime configurations. However, at the optimum lime contents for Samples A and B, geotextile-reinforced specimens did not exceed the corresponding same-lime no-geotextile controls. These findings indicate that lime stabilization and geotextile reinforcement should not be assumed to provide additive strength gains. Instead, reinforcement effectiveness depends on soil type, lime dosage, curing and conditioning history, geotextile placement, and the soil-geotextile system’s ability to mobilize tensile resistance during penetration. The study is therefore presented as a descriptive laboratory CBR investigation, with limitations arising from incomplete replicate-level records, differing curing histories among specimen groups, and a selected rather than a full factorial soaked test matrix.