Comparative Study on the Effect of Cockle Shell Powder on Laterite Soil and Clayey Soil

Abstract

Soil stabilization is physical or chemical process which improves the engineering properties of the soil and increase the stability of the soil. Main objective of this investigation has been focused on index and engineering properties of laterite soil and clayey soil reinforced with locally available cockle shell powder (CSP). The admixture CSP is added at a proportion of 12 to 20 % with an increment of 2 %. Reinforced earth technique is considered as an effective ground improvement method because of its cost effective and easy availability. Cockle shell powder is the most popular reinforcement materials used in the study on the soil reinforcement for expansive soil. Both the laterite and clayey soil will gain great strength with the addition of cockle shell powder. This improvement is due to an interaction between soils and the cockle shell powder which contain calcium oxide and calcium carbonate similar to chemical composition to cement additives. The effect of admixture on dry density, moisture content, plasticity, shear strength and UCS values of the laterite soil and clayey soil are determined in the laboratory. We can say it is a little bit of effective in using sea shells powder as admixtures when compared with other stabilizing agents.