Performance of Pond Ash and Rice Husk Ash in Clay: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Use of admixtures for improvement of the engineering behavior of soils is one of the popular techniques in ground improvement. Different wastes ashes like fly ash, pond ash, etc., are available as an option for the improvement of the soil properties. In this paper, a series of the unconfined compressive strength tests were conducted on the kaolin clay mixed with rice husk ash and pond ash, and comparison of performance improvement is done. The content of rice husk ash and pond ash was varied as 10–50%. The results have shown that both rice husk and pond ash have the potential to improve the load-carrying capacity of the clay. But the impact of the rice husk ash on the load-carrying capacity of the clay is more significant than the pond ash. Optimum rice husk content is found to be 10%, while for pond ash, optimum moisture content is found around 40%.