Use of rice husk ash for soil stabilization

Abstract

Rice husk is one of the largest farm refuse in Malaysia and is put into use as a fuel. building bricks, among other things. A large quantity is being disposed off by dumping or by burning and is becoming a menace. An attempt has been made in this investigation to make use of the rice husk ash to stabilize clayey soil along with lime. The effect of the quantity of the admixture of lime and rice husk ash on soil index properties, compaction and strength characteristics are studied. The influence of the ratio of the quantities oflime and rice husk ash for a given quantity of admixture on the soil behaviour are also investigated. It has been found that there is a decrease of maximum dry density and an increase of optimum water content when the soil is treated with the admixture oflime and rice husk ash. The plasticity index of the soil is decreased by treating the soil with the admixture oflime and rice husk ash. The effect is more significant after a curing period of 28 days. It has also been found that there is an optimum quantity admixture at which the soil attains peak strength. The peak strength increases as the curing time increases.