Abstract
The arrangement of the soil for every ground structure is so important and must be efficient to sustain the whole structure. The variables and properties that have influenced their behavior must be well known. The building constructed on soft soils may fail due to their low strength, and an excessive settlement of the soil under a constant load could occur, therefore, the improvement for such soils must be carried out before construction to eliminate or decrease the maintenance cost or failure in buildings. Nowadays, one of the new technologies using to improve problematic soil is nanomaterials. In this study, experimental tests were conducted to: Investigate the effect of using conventional materials and nanomaterials on the physical properties (consistency limits and compaction characteristics) of soft soil. The soft soils were gathered from one site and process with four material types (fly-ash, silica fume, nano fly-ash, nano-silica fume). Additives were supplement in a tiny amount (≤5%) by the dry weight of the soil. The results showed a significant improvement in maximum dry density and plasticity index and the improvement depends on the type of nanomaterials. The maximum dry density has increased as the content of nanomaterials has increased until this value of maximum dry density reduces the strength of the soil to the optimum percentage. Thus, even at a low dose, the addition of soft particles such as nano materials may improve soil characteristics.
Highlights
Soft soils can typically exist in the field with high water content, namely approaching that of the liquid limit, which results in low shear strength and high settlement potential
This study presents the results of a systematic investigation on the effects of using conventional materials and nanomaterials on the physical properties of soft soil
This research was conducted to study the effect of the addition of four materials on the physical properties of the soft soil
Summary
Soft soils can typically exist in the field with high water content, namely approaching that of the liquid limit, which results in low shear strength and high settlement potential. Standard Proctor compaction test was done to assess the amount of compaction and water content required for the sample They showed that the existence of nanopores leads the water to accumulate in these pores with the increasing of nano clay and nano Al2O3 percentages, the optimum moisture content increases while the maximum dry density decreases. Alsharef et al [8] used two types of nano-carbons, carbon nanofiber, and multiwall carbon nanotube to clarify their effect on compaction characteristics They concluded that there is a relationship between using the optimum ratio of nanomaterials and increasing the optimum water content because nanocarbons were tended to fill the pores in the soil skeleton and as a result, the OMC decreased. This search introduces the results of systematic testing to clarify the impact of using conventional materials and nanomaterials on the physical properties (consistency limits and compaction characteristics) of soft soil
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