Impact of Lime Stabilization on Swelling and Soil Water Retention Behavior of Expansive Subgrade

Abstract

AbstractThe impact of lime-stabilized expansive subgrade based on swelling behavior and the soil water retention curve (SWRC) is investigated in this study. The soil selected for this research was a Quaternary age basaltic residual clay located in Victoria, Australia. The basaltic expansive clay forms subgrade layers of a major portion of Victoria’s transport infrastructure including local roads, state highways, and national freeways. The selected clay was stabilized using different percentages of lime including 2%, 3%, 4%, 6%, and 8%, and the physical properties of expansive and lime-stabilized specimens were evaluated. The optimum lime content was measured based on a swelling reduction for samples prepared at optimum moisture content to investigate the SWRCs. The yield surfaces were generated for both expansive and lime-stabilized subgrades by establishing compaction curves. To determine the SWRC under the yield surface, Hyprop and WP4C depoint potentiometer were utilized. The swelling potential was obtained at various conditions including initial water contents and net stresses to describe the swelling behavior of expansive and stabilized clay utilizing the SWRC. The results suggest that despite the samples were stabilized with lime at optimum lime content, the serious swelling potential was observed when the stabilized samples prepared at high suction levels were wetted under constant low net stresses.KeywordsSwelling behaviorLime stabilizationExpansive claySWRC