Experimental study of the compressive strength of chemically reinforced organic-sandy soil

Abstract

Organic-sandy soils that contain abundant organic matters are widely encountered in estuarine cities. Due to the existence of organic matters, the strength and stiffness of this type of soil are significantly low. As a result, various geotechnical engineering problems such as difficulties in piling and constructing embankments and a lack of strength in poured concrete may occur in many estuarine sites; ground improvement such as cement treatment to this type of soils is needed. In this study, laboratory tests were performed to investigate the compressive strength of organic-sandy soil reinforced with primarily cement, in which the influences of several factors, namely types of cement and additional stabilizing agent, cement content, and water-cement ratio, were investigated and the orthogonal experimental design scheme was adopted. Based on the test results, an optimal permutation of these influencing factors is suggested for the reinforcement of organic-sandy soils, which can provide a useful reference for the relevant engineering practice.