Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil Using RBI Grade 81 and Sodium Silicate

Abstract

Abstract: Nearly 51.8 million hectares of land area in India is covered with expansive soils (mainly Black Cotton soil). The property of the expansive soils, in general, is that they are very hard when in dry state, but they lose all of their strength when in wet state. In light of this property of expansive soils, these soils pose problems worldwide that serve as challenge to overcome for the Geotechnical Engineers. One of the most important aspects for construction purpose issoil stabilization, which is used widely in foundation and road pavement constructions; this is because such a stabilization regime improves engineering properties of the soil, such as volume stability, strength and durability. In this process, removal or replacing of the problematic soil is done; replacement is done by a better quality material, or the soil is treatedwith additives. In the present study, RBI Grade 81 obtained from Alchemist Touchnology Limited, Gurgaon, Haryana and Sodium Silicate solution 5mol/Liter obtained from Organ Refractories, Khammam, Telangana are used for the stabilization of black cotton soil. These additives are added in various proportions