The Application of Fine Sand in Subgrades: A Review

The subgrade serves as the foundation of road construction, typically involving a significant amount of earthwork during its establishment. However, in coastal and desert areas, soil sources are often scarce. Local soil extraction significantly damages cultivated land, impacting the local ecological environment. Transporting soil over long distances inevitably raises construction costs. Fortunately, these regions often feature abundant fine sand distribution, presenting an opportunity to utilize it as subgrade filler in coastal regions. This review comprehensively introduces the properties of fine sand as a raw material, its engineering applications, and the associated construction technologies. It emphatically discusses the road use characteristics and treatment technology of fine sand filler and puts forward a prospect combining the characteristics and development trends of fine sand so as to provide a new perspective and basic material for the application of fine sand in the subgrade. To foster the adoption of fine sand in subgrade construction, it is recommended to advance research on the evaluation and treatment of fine sand foundations, analyze its suitability and structural behavior as a filler, and refine construction methodologies and quality control measures specific to fine sand subgrades.