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-PGQS 11
-CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY
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SOIL STABILIZATION
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The term soil stabilization means the improvement of the stability or bearing power
of the soil by the use of controlled compaction; proportioning and or the addition of suitable
admixture or stabilizers.
SOIL STABILIZATION METHODS
The methods of soil stabilization which are in common use are:
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Proportioning
Compaction
Soil
The physical properties of the soil like particle size distribution, clay content,
specific surface, liquid limit and plasticity index affect the properties of soil cement. Also
surface chemical factors, organic matter and sulphate content alter the properties and
durability of soil-cement.
Cement
An increase in cement content generally causes increase in strength and durability.
Both normal and air entraining cement give almost the same results of stabilization.
Pulverisation and mixing
Better the pulverisation and degree of mixing, higher is the strength. Presence of
unpulverised dry lumps of soil reduces strength and durability of soil cement.
Compaction
There is an optimum moisture content corresponding to maximum value of dry
density or strength of a soil-cement mix. There is nothing like water cement ratio in soilcement, as in cement concrete. The moisture that is added for adequate compaction is more
than enough for the purpose of hydration of cement. If the dry density of the mix is increased
by increasing the amount of compaction, the strength and durability of the soil cement also
increase.
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Curing
During curing adequate moisture is to be retained. Higher temperature of curing
accelerates the rate of gain in strength, the strength also increases with age.
Additives
There are various useful activities to soil-cement which improve the properties.
Lime is a useful additive when clayey soil or an organic soil is to be stabilized. Sodium
hydroxide, sodium carbonate and calcium chloride are some of the useful chemical additives
to soil-cement.
Various soil properties affect the base exchange characteristics and pozzolanic
action. The proportion of increase in strength in a soil-lime mix depends on the
pozzolane in the soil.
Lime Content
Generally an increase in lime content causes a slight change in liquid limit and a
considerable increase in plastic limit resulting in reduction in plasticity index. The rate
of increase in plastic limit is first rapid and then the rate decreases beyond a certain
lime content. This point is often termed lime fixation point. This is the approximate
lime content that is considered to be used up for modification of clay. During this
range the increase in stability of the clay lime may not be noteworthy. When the lime
content in the mix is further increased, there is a high rate of increase in stability.
However when the lime content is increased beyond a certain proportion, the stability
values generally start decreasing.
Compaction
The compacted density is important as regards the strength of soil lime is
concerned. Hence compaction is done at OMC and maximum density is aimed at.
Curing
The strength of soil-lime increases with curing period upto several years. The rate
of increase in strength rapid during the initial period of curing, which also depends on
the during temperature. At low temperature the rate of strength gain decreases
considerably, below freezing point practically there is no gain in strength. The
humidity of the surroundings during curing also affects the strength.
Additives
Addition of lime alone with soil often does not increase the strength of the mix as
desired. Hence materials which increase the strength of soil-lime are tired as
additives. Portland cement and pozzolanic materials like fly ash and surkhi are most
promising materials in this respect. Lime-flyash stabilisation is cheap and is a
methods with considerable scope for the construction of low cost roads in warm
regions and where flyash is available as a waste product. Chemical additives like
sodium metasilicate, sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphate are also found to be
useful additives to soil-lime.
4) Soil-Bitumen Stabilization
Principles and Application
The basic principles in bituminous stabilization are water proofing and binding.
By water proofing the inherent strength and other properties of the soil could be
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retained. In case of the cohesionless soils the binding action is also important.
Generally both binding and water proofing actions are provided to soil.
In granular soil the coarser grains may be individually coated and stuck together
by a thin film of bituminous materials. But in fine grained soils bituminous material
plugs up the voids between materials. But in fine grained soils bituminous material
plugs up the voids between small soil clods, thus water proofing the compacted soilbitumen.
Most commonly used materials are cutback and emulsion. As heating of large
quantities of soil and bitumen is not possible, a suitable grade of cutback is chosen
depending upon the climatic conditions and mixing problems. Emulsions also may be
used, especially in places when there is scarcity of water for construction purposes.
After the soil-bitumen (cut back or emulsion) is compacted, the layer is cured during
which the water and violates evaporate and the mix hardens.
Bituminous stabilized layer may be used as a sub-base or base course of ordinary
roads and even as surface course for roads with low traffic in low rain fall regions.
Factors Affecting Properties of Soil-Bitumen
The various factors on which the properties of the stabilized mix depends are soil
type, proportion of bituminous material, mixing, compaction, curing and additives, if
any.
Soil
The particle size, shape and the gradation of the soil influence the properties of the
soil-bitumen mix. A small proportion of fines in the soil is preferred, though high clay
content is not desirable.
Types of Bituminous Material
Cutbacks of different grades give different stability values for a soil. The highest
grade that can be mixed with the soil at the time of construction should be preferred.
The type of cutback is also chosen depending on climatic conditions. Emulsion
generally gives slightly inferior results than cutback.
Amount of Bitumen
Increasing proportion of bitumen causes a decrease in maximum dry density of
soil-bitumen, but the stability increases and after a certain optimum bitumen content,
it rapidly falls. Water absorption decreases with increase in bitumen content though a
slight increase may be noted for very low bitumen content if the specimens are soaked
for long period, such as 28 days. The optimum bitumen content for maximum stability
generally ranges from 4 to 6 percent by weight of dry soil, depending on the soil
properties.
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Mixing
Improved type of mixing with low mixing period may be preferred. In order to
make mixing possible and to disperse bitumen in fine particles, it is necessary to first
mix the soil with water before adding the cutback. Mixing temperatures (which is
generally the atmospheric temperature itself) also affects the properties of the mix,
depending on the type and grade of cutback and the soil type.
Compaction
Better the compaction, higher will be the stability and resistance to absorb
water. The compaction characteristics and the properties of the resulting mix depend
on the compacting moisture content and temperature, aeration of the mix before
compaction and the amount and type of compaction. The optimum moisture content
values corresponding to maximum dry density , maximum soaked stability and
minimum water absorption for a soil bitumen mix may differ slightly depending on
the proportions and properties of mix constituents.
Curing
By curing soil bitumen, the water and the volatiles (of the solvent used in
cutback) are allowed to evaporate thereby allowing the bitumen to be effective to
impart the binding and water proofing actions. The curing period required to achieve
desired stability and loss in weight would depend on curing temperature, relative
humidity and soil type.
Additives
Anti-stripping and reactive chemical additives have been tried to improve the
properties of the mixes with varying degree of success. Portland cement is also some
times used along with soil-bitumen to increase the stability of the mix.
CONCRETE FORMWORK AND CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT CHECKLISTS
REFERENCE
1) Highway Engineering, S.K. Khanna & C.E.G Justo
2) http://theconstructor.org/concrete/concrete-formwork-checklist-at-site/9200/
3) http://www.acivilengineer.com/2013/06/rcc-checklist.html