Utilisation of oil-contaminated sand stabilised with cement kiln dust in the construction of rural roads

Abstract

This article investigates the strength behaviour of oil-contaminated sand stabilised with cement kiln dust (CKD) in order to assess the engineering properties of the stabilised soil for its application in the construction of rural road. Tests including pH measurement, compaction, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) were conducted. The investigations were carried out by varying the percentage of CKD, the percentage of oil content, the type of oil, the ageing of stabilised samples and the ambient temperature. Depending on the pH response, the CKD content from 5% to 15% represents a practical limit for cost-effective stabilisation. Results revealed that an increase in the UCS and CBR values of oil-contaminated sand occurred with the addition of CKD. The strength of stabilised contaminated sand decreases as the percentage of oil increases. The addition of 10% CKD to the sand contaminated with 6% oil content is found to give the optimum UCS and CBR values. Furthermore, a series of two-dimensional finite-element model was developed using PLAXIS software package.