Amelioration of Strength Characteristics of Expansive Soil Treated with Calcium Chloride and Terrasil

Abstract

Expansive soils are the soils which have tendency to increase the volume in the presence of water and decrease in the volume in the absence of water. This expansive behavior in the soil is due to the presence of clay minerals like montmorillonite, illite, and kaolinite. These soils have distributed almost all locations in India and cause troublesome from engineering conditions. To overcome the same, soil properties can be modified with the use of modern techniques. Among the methods, stabilization of expansive soil by using different additives is an appropriate method for the improvement of soil by changing the behavior and properties of expansive soil. The present study is to investigate the effect of calcium chloride and terrasil on the strength properties of soil. Different laboratory experiments conducted on expansive soil mixed with different percentages of calcium chloride and terrasil with a view to determine the optimum percentage. The results yielded an encouraging performance and the efficiency of the added materials. The optimum combination was 1.5% of calcium chloride and 0.10% terrasil which gave the ultimate results in the strength properties of the problematic expansive soil. Hence, the present paper summarizes the use of calcium chloride and terrasil as stabilizing materials for improving the strength properties of expansive soil.KeywordsExpansive soilCalcium chlorideTerrasilStabilization and strength characteristics