Petrological and geotechnical characterisation: Hardened lateritic materials from the Babongo area, Adamaoua - Cameroon

The aim of this thesis is to study the petrological and geotechnical characteristics of indurated materials developed on basaltic rocks, in a humid tropical climate, where altitudes are lower and the relief is plateau-shaped, with a view to their use in road construction. The study was carried out on 02 lateritic gravel zones and 02 cuirass zones. Petrological and geotechnical studies were carried out on the samples taken. X-ray diffractometry and X-ray fluorescence were applied to these materials. Geotechnical studies included identification and compaction tests, and mechanical tests on the armour. The results show that the lateritic gravels in the Babongo area are brownish to reddish in color, with a sandy-clay matrix. The cuirasses are reddish and honeycombed. These materials are composed of kaolinite, hematite, magnetite, goethite, gibbsite, quartz and anatase. All these minerals are in the majority in the cuirasses, with the exception of quartz, which has higher contents in the lateritic gravels. Indurated lateritic materials have high Fe2O3 contents.