Hydraulic Conductivity and Compressive Strength of Cemented Soils

Abstract

The addition of cementing agents is a well-known way of stabilizing an unsatisfactory soil for design parameters. This research evaluates three soils, namely pink kaolin silty soil, Botucatu weathered sandstone residual soil and Osorio uniform sand, stabilized with Portland cement type III. Hydraulic conductivity measurements were performed with a flexible wall permeameter, following the recommendations of ASTM D5084; unconfined compressive strength tests were also carried out, in accordance with ABNT NBR 12025. The result of this research observed a gain in compressive strength, best described as a linear gain with the increase in cement content, and as a power function as porosity decreases. The measured hydraulic conductivity observed a general reduction, similarly, with a linear decrease in regards to increasing cement content and decreased as a power function in regards to decreasing porosity. The possible correlation of the output variables investigated suggests the existence of a grid-like relationship, which can be potentially useful in earthworks and more general applications.