Mohr–Coulomb failure envelopes of lime-treated soils

Abstract

The aim of this study is to quantify the influence of amount of lime and porosity in the assessment of the Mohr–Coulomb failure envelope of lime-treated soils based on unconfined compressive strength (σc) and splitting tensile strength (σt) of such materials, without the necessity of carrying out triaxial testing. Based on a previously established concept that the σt/σc relationship is unique for each specific fine-grained soil and lime blend, it is shown that the effective angle of shearing resistance of a given lime-treated soil is independent of the porosity and the amount of lime of the specimen and that effective cohesion intercept is a direct function of σc (or σt) of the improved soil; this in turn depends on the porosity and volumetric amount of lime in the soil–lime blends. Finally, the concepts are successfully tested for clayey sand treated with lime at two distinct curing time periods, considering weak to moderate cementation levels.