The effect of egg shell powder on the compression strength of fine-grained soil

Abstract

High plasticity clay has several problems including a high plasticity index and low bearing capacity. Stabilization of high plasticity clay is still extensively explored, especially for a low-cost and easily obtainable material. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of eggshell powder (ESP) on high plasticity clay. This research uses a soil sample obtained from Jenggrik Village, Ngawi Regency, East Java. Furthermore, the problematic soils at liquidity index of 0 - 1.25 are mixed with the ESP in various percentages, i.e. 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%. Several laboratory tests have been conducted to examine the effects of the mixtures, such as index properties, unconfined compressive strength and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The result indicates that the liquidity index affects the soil stabilized by ESP. SEM test results show that the soil structure changes, it becomes dense on a mixture containing 10% ESP. The conclusion of this research is that the higher the liquidity, the lower the strength.