A Comparative Study on Soil Stabilization Relevant to Transport Infrastructure using Bagasse Ash and Stone Dust and Cost Effectiveness

Sudip Basack,Hadi Khabbaz,Moses Karakouzian,Ghritartha Goswami,Niky Kalita,Parinita Baruah

doi:10.28991/cej-2021-03091771

Abstract

Soft ground improvement to provide stable foundations for infrastructure is national priority for most countries. Weak soil may initiate instability to foundations reducing their lifespan, which necessitates the adoption of a suitable soil stabilization method. Amongst various soil stabilization techniques, using appropriate admixtures is quite popular. The present study aims to investigate the suitability of bagasse ash and stone dust as the admixtures for stabilizing soft clay, in terms of compaction and penetration characteristics. The studies were conducted by means of a series of laboratory experimentations with standard Proctor compaction and CBR tests. From the test results it was observed that adding bagasse ash and stone dust significantly upgraded the compaction and penetration properties, specifically the values of optimum moisture content, maximum dry density and CBR. Comparison of test results with available data on similar experiments conducted by other researchers were also performed. Lastly, a study on the cost effectiveness for transport embankment construction with the treated soils, based on local site conditions in the study area of Assam, India, was carried out. The results are analyzed and interpreted, and the relevant conclusions are drawn therefrom. The limitations and recommendations for future research are also included. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091771 Full Text: PDF

Highlights

Reducing long-term settlement of infrastructure and providing cost-effective foundations with sufficient load-bearing capacities are national priorities for infrastructure development in most countries
The present study aims to investigate the suitability of bagasse ash and stone dust as the admixtures for stabilizing soft clay, in terms of compaction and penetration characteristics
The analysis reveals that the cost, compared to the embankment constructed with untreated virgin soil, is reduced by 14.43 and 9.67 % in the cases of bagasse ash and stone dust at 10% proportions, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Reducing long-term settlement of infrastructure and providing cost-effective foundations with sufficient load-bearing capacities are national priorities for infrastructure development in most countries. Adequate ground improvement techniques can be adopted to prevent unacceptable excessive and differential settlement and increase the bearing capacity of the foundations at low cost [2, 3]. The suitability of various admixtures for ground improvement have been studied previously, including the use of bagasse ash with lime, cement stabilized soil with stone dust, and rice husk ash with polypropylene fiber [9,10,11]. Several researchers investigated the use of various other materials with bagasse ash, namely hydrated lime, amalgamated quarry fines, cement kiln dust, dolomite powder, and ordinary Portland cement, and found that such additions initiated curtailing of the soils’ plasticity index, increases in soil bearing capacity were insignificant [17, 18]

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Results

Conclusion