Effect of sodium sulphate on the shear strength of clayey soils stabilised with additives

Abstract

The effect of sulphates on the soil stabilisation using mineral additives such as lime, cement and fly ash has been reported by several researchers. The effect of sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) (0–6% by dry weight of soil) on the behaviour of the grey clayey soil (GS) and red clayey soil (RS) stabilised with lime (L) (0–8%), natural pozzolana (NP) (0–20%) and with a combination of lime-natural pozzolana (L–NP) was investigated. The soil specimens were subjected to testing of direct shear strength after 7, 30, 60 and 120 days of curing period. In the absence of Na2SO4, the results show that both clayey soils can be successfully stabilised with L or with a combination of L–NP, which substantially increases their shear strength and produces high values of shear parameters. However, at short curing period and for any content of Na2SO4, a further increase in shear strength and shear parameters is observed. Moreover, after 30 days of curing, the RS specimens stabilised with L or with NP alone are altered when the Na2SO4 is greater than 2%, whereas the GS specimens are not altered. However, the alteration of RS specimens is little when the L and NP are combined on curing with a high content of Na2SO4. Generally, the effect of Na2SO4 on both stabilised clayey soils depends on the curing time, percentage of additives used and their type, mineralogical composition of stabilised soils and Na2SO4 content.