Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils

doi:10.1016/0013-7952(96)00028-2

Engineering Geology

Volume 42, Issue 4, July 1996, Pages 223-237

https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-7952(96)00028-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

Clay soil can be stabilized by the addition of small percentages, by weight, of lime, thereby enhancing many of the engineering properties of the soil and producing an improved construction material. In order to illustrate such improvements, three of the most frequently occurring minerals in clay deposits, namely, kaolinite, montmorillonite and quartz were subjected to a series of tests. As lime stabilization is most often used in relation to road construction, the tests were chosen with this in mind. Till and laminated clay were treated in similar fashion. With the addition of lime, the plasticity of montmorillonite was reduced whilst that of kaolinite and quartz was increased somewhat. However, the addition of lime to the till had little influence on its plasticity but a significant reduction occurred in that of the laminated clay. All materials experienced an increase in their optimum moisture content and a decrease in their maximum dry density, as well as enhanced California bearing ratio, on addition of lime. Some notable increases in strength and Young's Modulus occurred in these materials when they were treated with lime. Length of time curing and temperature at which curing took place had an important influence on the amount of strength developed.

Reference (26)

DiamondS. et al.
Adsorption of calcium hydroxide by montmorillonite and kaolinite
J. Colloid Interface Sci.
(1966)
AbdelkaderM.O.
Lime-Soil Stabilization
(1981)
Al-RawiN.M.
The effect of curing temperature on time stabilization
ArabiM. et al.
Property changes induced in clay soils when using lime stabilization
Mun. Engr.
(1989)
BellF.G. et al.
Stabilization of clay soils with lime
Mun. Engr.
(1990)
BellF.G. et al.
The Laminated Clays of Teesside
BhasinN.K. et al.
Lime requirement in soil stabilization
High. Res. Board, Bulletin No 7
(1978)
ClareK.E. et al.
Laboratory experiments in the stabilization of clays with hydrated lime
Geotechnique
(1957)

CroftJ.B.

The processes involved in the lime stabilization of clay soils

DiamondS. et al.

Mechanisms of soil-lime stabilization

High. Res. Rec.

(1965)

EadesJ.L. et al.

Reaction of hydrated lime with pure clay minerals in soil stabilization

High. Res. Board, Bull. 262

(1960)

Cited by (1026)

Experimental study on bond performance between vertical deformed steel bar and modern rammed earth based on in-situ pull-out test
2024, Construction and Building Materials
This study investigates the bond strength–slip behavior between vertical deformed steel bar and modern rammed earth in modern rammed earth wall. Firstly, in-situ pull-out tests were conducted on seven modern rammed earth walls, taking into account the effects of the relative anchorage length of steel bars, the cube compressive strength of modern rammed earth, and the diameter of steel bars on the bond strength and slip of vertical deformed steel bars and modern rammed earth. The experimental results indicate that the bond force–slip behavior between vertical deformed steel bars and modern rammed earth can be divided into four stages: elastic bonding stage, nonlinear rising stage, nonlinear decreasing stage, and residual stage. Based on the experimental results, six characteristic values were defined: ultimate bond strength τ_u, cracking bond strength τ_s, residual bonding strength τ_r, ultimate bond slip S_u, cracking bond slip S_s, residual bond slip S_r. An average bond strength-slip constitutive model for vertical deformed steel bars and modern rammed earth was proposed. The model was compared with the experimental results and can be used to predict τ_u, τ_s, S_u, S_s. Due to the anisotropic characteristics of modern rammed earth, there will be a large deviation in the prediction of τ_r and S_r. There are three types of failure in the pull-out specimens, namely, pull-out failure, splitting failure and conical failure. The relative anchorage length of steel bar, the cube compressive strength of modern rammed earth and the diameter of steel bar have different degrees of improvement on τ_u, τ_s, but have little effect on τ_r. Due to the brittle failure of modern rammed earth specimens, the above three factors have little effect on the slip value.
Carbon dioxide sequestration in mortars with excavated soil: Engineering performances and environmental benefits
2024, Science of the Total Environment
Globally, substantial volume of excavated soils is generated during construction and demolition activities, which can be utilized in the manufacturing stabilized earth-based construction materials. Furthermore, increasing amount of CO₂ is being released into the environment from growing industrial operations that can sequestered in earth-based materials without compromising the engineering properties. This article attempts to explore the effect of CO₂ sequestration through accelerated carbonation curing on engineering properties, micro-structure and phase composition of cement-lime stabilized soil mortars. Lateritic soil (clay content of 42 %) is used to replace 25 % and 50 % of natural sand by mass. The experimental findings demonstrate an increase in CO₂ uptake by 15–23 % and 33–40 % due to addition of 25 % and 50 % soil respectively compared to control (0 % soil). Precipitation of meta-stable calcium carbonates majorly contributes to the total CO₂ uptake, accounting for 62–69 % and 78–87 % of the carbonates formed in 25 % soil-mortars and 50 % soil mortars. These are substantially higher compared to 40–50 % in the case of control mixes. The mentioned finding is attributed to the formation of additional calcium-silicate-hydrate and calcium-aluminate-hydrate due to clay-lime reaction, that binds CO₂ and precipitate meta-stable polymorphs of calcium carbonate. Addition of lime and carbon sequestration are found to substantially enhance 1-day strength of cement-soil and cement-lime-soil mortars by 31–36 %, although no prominent effect at 7-day and 28-day marks are observed. Furthermore, capillary water absorption at 28-day age is reduced by 18–31 % in lime-added cement-soil mortars compared to the ones without lime, that reduces moisture sensitivity of the mortars. Overall, the carbon sequestered mortars demonstrate satisfactory strength (20–37 MPa) and water absorption performance of the stabilized mortars for masonry applications, which will provide a promising means to manufacture low-carbon and more durable construction products.
Physicochemical properties of carbonized grass (CG): Implications for soft clay improvement
2024, Construction and Building Materials
In global environmental governance, effectively and sustainably treating soft clay remains a key challenge. The production of traditional soil stabilizers, like cement, not only consumes vast non-renewable resources but also poses issues related to high energy consumption and environmental burdens. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify sustainable alternatives. This study introduces carbonized grass (CG) prepared from waste cutting grass as a sustainable material, experiments on soft clay and research on its physical and chemical properties, and adds wood charcoal (WC) and carbonized cow dung compost (CC) as controls. The study assesses the impact of carbonization temperature (500–1000 °C) on the water absorption properties of WC, CC, and CG. Using CG produced by a homemade dry distillation gasifier (SDDG) as raw material, it is added directly or together with calcined oyster shell waste (COS) into the soft clay, and a cone penetration test is conducted. The impact of different initial moisture contents (30%, 50% and 70%) of soft clay and the blending amounts of CG and CG-COS on the strength of the samples was studied, and an evaluation formula was proposed. Test results showed that CG exhibited a significant advantage in stabilizing high-moisture clay compared to CC and WC. After 28 days, the incorporation of CG significantly reduces the amount of COS (about 40%). Employing Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), the physical and chemical properties of the samples were analyzed. The analysis confirmed CG's unique honeycomb structure, acting as nucleation sites between particles. Additionally, its strong water absorbency aided in shortening the distance between particles, promoting the bonding of hydrated calcium silicate (C-S-H) with soil particles, leading to an improvement in sample strength. The results showed that improving soft clay with CG-COS significantly reduces the use of traditional stabilizers while leading to a substantial increase in soil strength. Additionally, this approach contributes to a noteworthy reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, recycling cutting grass for CG preparation as a substitute for conventional soil stabilizers emerges as a green and viable method.
Trans-scale spatial variability of lime-cement mixed columns
2024, Construction and Building Materials
Lime-cement columns are a common form of ground improvement used in the Nordic countries to improve the engineering properties of soft soils. The strength and stiffness of lime-cement mixed clay, however, are heterogeneous. Hence, the characterisation of the extent of variability of strength and stiffness is essential to optimise the performance of lime-cement columns. This paper presents an integrated approach to characterise the variability in strength and stiffness of samples from 1 year old lime-cement columns in natural sensitive clay, from the Centralen project site in Gothenburg, Sweden. A novel image-based method is proposed to characterise the spatial variability at the laboratory scale, using a stereoscopic digital image correlation (DIC) system in addition to X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) scans. Data from column penetration tests (FKPS) and reverse column penetration tests (FOPS) on the lime-cement columns at the excavation site were used to estimate the spatial variability at the field scale. The key finding of this work is that different magnitudes of scales of fluctuations exist for the lime-cement mixed clay under laboratory scale and field scale testing. The results serve to highlight the ever-present problem of inherent variability in lime-cement mixed soils and challenges to accurately characterise this variability. Thus, further work is required to relate scale of fluctuation of strength to that of stiffness, and to link scale of fluctuation at laboratory scale with that at field scale.
Characterization of controlled low-strength materials from waste expansive soils
2024, Construction and Building Materials
Expansive soil from civil excavation projects is often considered waste material due to its propensity to swell. This study pioneers a novel approach to sustainable infrastructure by exploring the viability of repurposing expansive soils in the production of controlled low-strength materials (CLSM), incorporating sand and cement into the mix. Laboratory tests were conducted on CLSMs with varying mix proportions to assess their fresh (flowability, bleeding rate, and setting time) and hardened (swelling, unconfined compressive strength, and dry-wet durability) properties. The investigation focuses on three critical parameters: sand-to-soil ratio (S), cement-to-aggregate ratio (C), and water-to-solid ratio (W). Experimental results indicate the problematic swelling behavior of CLSM is mitigated when C surpasses 18%, at an S value of 10%. Adjusting either W or S enhances flowability but also elevates the bleeding rate. An increase in C has a marginal effect on flowability and bleeding rate, but markedly accelerates the setting time. Flowability follows a negative exponential relationship with time. Furthermore, increasing C or decreasing W markedly enhances both residual strength after dry-wet cycles and compressive strength. When S is below 10%, both compressive and residual strengths show a positive correlation with S. Conversely, when S exceeds 10%, a negative correlation is observed with compressive strength. A predictive model for the compressive strength and flowability of CLSM made from expansive soil has been developed, utilizing data normalization techniques. This model assists in determining the optimal mix proportions appropriate for applications in narrow backfills.
Strength and microstructural properties of silt soil cured by lime-activated fly ash-GGBS under different curing temperatures
2024, Scientific Reports

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils

Abstract

J. Colloid Interface Sci.

Lime-Soil Stabilization

The effect of curing temperature on time stabilization

Property changes induced in clay soils when using lime stabilization

Mun. Engr.

Stabilization of clay soils with lime

Mun. Engr.

The Laminated Clays of Teesside

Lime requirement in soil stabilization

High. Res. Board, Bulletin No 7

Laboratory experiments in the stabilization of clays with hydrated lime

Geotechnique

The processes involved in the lime stabilization of clay soils

Mechanisms of soil-lime stabilization

High. Res. Rec.

Reaction of hydrated lime with pure clay minerals in soil stabilization

High. Res. Board, Bull. 262