Influence of the clay type on the strength evolution of lime treated material

Abstract

This paper deals with the effects of lime addition on clay materials properties, in terms of mechanical and physico-chemical evolution. A coupling between these two aspects was undertaken in order to explain the mechanical behaviors of lime-treated clay materials. The study was performed on two different clays, a kaolin and a Ca2+-bentonite. Lime addition leads to an increase of mechanical properties of these clays. These improvements are faster with Ca2+-bentonite, even if at long term the performance reached for kaolinite is higher. The coupling between macroscopic and physico-chemical aspects shows that these improvements are linked to the development of secondary compounds such as calcium silicate hydrates, hydrogarnet and calcium carboaluminate hydrate phases.