Bearing capacity of Percut Sei Tuan clay stabilized with palm shell ash

Abstract

Improvements to the bearing capacity of the soil have been carried out and developed at this time, one of which is the stabilization of clay soils. There are several alternatives to solve low soil bearing capacity, one of which is using geo-synthetic materials but has a weakness in terms of high cost. Another alternative is to add palm shell ash as a stabilizing agent. The effect of adding palm shell ash has not been thoroughly studied, so further research is needed. The material added is palm shell ash with a variation of 0%, 4%, 8%, 10%, and 12% in each test. The tests carried out in the laboratory were water content (w), specific gravity test (Gs), Atterberg limit test, sieve analysis (sieve analysis), soil compaction test, and CBR (California Bearing Ratio) test. The CBR test was carried out by curing the soil for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days with a mixture of palm shell ash before compaction. The soil in this study belongs to the A-7-5 group. The CBR (California bearing ratio) value increased with the increase in the palm shell ash percentage in the mixture after curing the soil. The highest CBR value was in the variation of 12% palm shell ash with a 7-day curing period of 6.92% with a soil bearing capacity of 5.06.