Stabilization of Pavement Subgrade by Using Fly Ash Activated by Cement

Magdi M. E. Zumrawi^1,

¹Department of Civil Engineering, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan

Cite this paper:
Magdi M. E. Zumrawi. Stabilization of Pavement Subgrade by Using Fly Ash Activated by Cement. American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture. 2015; 3(6):218-224. doi: 10.12691/ajcea-3-6-5

Abstract

The performance of pavement is very responsive to the characteristics of the soil subgrade. For that reason, weak subgrade is enhanced by adopting the most efficient stabilization technique. Based on the literature review, stabilization with fly ash activated with cement was found to be an effective option for improvement of soil properties. In this regard an experimental program was undertaken to study the effect caused by the combined action of fly ash and cement stabilization on the geotechnical characteristics of expansive subgrade soils. Expansive soil treated with varying percentages of fly ash, 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 percent combined with 5% cement content were studied. Consistency limits, compaction, California Bearing Ratio, swell potential and swell pressure tests were conducted on treated and untreated soils. The experimental results show that addition of cement-fly ash admixture to the soil has great influence on its properties. It was found that the optimum dosage of fly ash is 15% mixed with 5% cement revealed in significant improvement in strength and durability and reduction in swelling and plasticity properties of the soil. Based on the results, it is recommended that cement-fly ash admixture be considered a viable option for the stabilization of expansive subgrades.

Keywords:
cement fly ash expansive soil improvement stabilization subgrade

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Bell, F.G, Engineering treatment of expansive soils. Chapman and Hall, London, 1993.
[2]	U.S. Army, Soil stabilization for pavement (Em-1110 – 3 – 137). United States Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C, 1984.
[3]	Mowafy, Y.M., Baurer, G.R. and Sakeh, F.H, “Treatment of expansive soils: A laboratory study,” Transportation Research Record, No. 1032, Transportation Research Board, 1985, 34-39.
[4]	Petry, T.M. and Little, D.N, “Review of Stabilization of Clays and Expansive Soils in Pavement and Lightly Loaded Structures-History, Practice and Future,” Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 2002, Vol. 14, No. 6.
[5]	Budge, A.S. and Burdorf, M.J, “Subgrade Stabilization ME Properties Evaluation and Implementation,” Final report, Center for Transportation Research and Innovation Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2012.
[6]	Kowalski, T.E, Starry, D.W. and America, J. W, “Modern soil stabilization techniques,” Annual conference of the Transportation Association of Canada, 2007, 1-16.
[7]	ASTM. Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Section 4, Vol. 4.02, 4.08 and 4.09, West Conshohocken, 2003.
[8]	Little, D.N., Males, E.H., Prusinski, J.R. and Stewart, B, “Cementitious Stabilization,” 79th Millennium Rep. Series, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D. C, 2000.
[9]	Scott, R.F. and Schoustra, J.J. Soil mechanics and engineering. McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, 1968.
[10]	Venkatramaiah, C. Geotechnical engineering. New Age International Publishers, New Delhi, India, 2006.
[11]	Consoli, N.C, Fappa, D, Festugato, L. and Deineck, K.S, “Key Parameters for Strength Control of Artificially Cemented Soils,” Journal Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Eng., 133(2), 2007, 197-205.
[12]	Davis, K.A., Warr, L.S., Burns, S.E. and Hoppe, E.J, “Physical and Chemical Behavior of Four Cement-Treated Aggregates,” J. Materials in Civil Eng., 19 (10), 2006, 891-897.
[13]	Ingles, O.G. and Metcalf, J.B. Soil Stabilization: Principles and Practice. Butterworths, Sydney, 1972.
[14]	Lambe, T.W, Michaels, A.S. and Moh, Z.C. Improvement of strength of soil cement mixtures with additives. HRB Publication, 1957.
[15]	Miura, N, Horpibulsuk, S. and Nagaraj, T.S, “Engineering Behavior of Cement Stabilized Clay at High Water Content. Soils and Foundations,” J. Japanese Geotechnical Society, Vol. 41, No. 5, 2002, 33-45.
[16]	Geiman, C.M. Stabilization of Soft Clay Subgrades in Virginia Phase I Laboratory Study. M.Sc. thesis, Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, May 2005.
[17]	AASHTO. Standard Specifications for Transport Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing. 14th Edition, American Association of State Highway and Transport Officials (AASHTO), Washington, D.C, 1986.
[18]	Arora, S. and Aydilek, A.H, “Class F Fly-Ash-Amended Soils as Highway Base Material." J. Materials in Civil Eng., 17(6), 2005, 640-649.
[19]	Jongpradist, P, Jomlongrach, N, Youwai, S. and Chucheepsakul, S, “Influence of Fly Ash on Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cement-Admixed Clay at High Water Content,” J. Materials in Civil Eng., 22(1), 2012, 49-58.
[20]	Lo, S.R. and Wardani, S.P.R, “Strength and Dilatancy of a Silt Stabilized by a Cement and Fly Ash Mixture,” Can. Geotech. J., Vol. 39, 2002, pp. 77-89.
[21]	Kaniraj, S. R. and Havanagi, V.G, “Behavior of Cement-Stabilized Fiber-Reinforced Fly Ash-Soil Mixtures,” J. Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Eng., 127(7), 2001, 574-584.
[22]	B.S. 1377. Methods of testing soil for civil engineering purposes. British Standards Institute, London, 1990.