Lime Stabilization of Soils: Reappraisal
Source abstract
Abstract
Lime generally improves the performance of soils. However, some cases reported an adverse effect. To develop an understanding of the underlying mechanisms, a systematic study covering a wide range of plasticity and mineralogy of soils was carried out. Six different soil samples were reconstituted using two extreme types of soils, in other words, a montmorillonite rich expansive soil and a silica-rich non-expansive soil. The influence of lime stabilization on these soils was evaluated through determination of geotechnical properties such as liquid limit, plastic limit, swell, compressive strength, mineralogy, and microstructure. An optimum lime content beyond which the strength improvement decreased was found. This phenomenon is more prominently observed with silica-rich soils that form silica gel. As the silica gel is highly porous, when formed in large scale the strength gain from cementation is substantially countered by the strength loss from gel pores, giving rise to a visible reduction in overall strength. Additionally, the gel materials hold a large amount of water, leading to increased plasticity and swelling. Therefore, excessive lime treatment should be avoided for silica-rich soils.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Concrete and Cement Materials Research · Soil and Unsaturated Flow · Geotechnical Engineering and Soil Stabilization
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781 039, India (corresponding author).
Former Research Scholar, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781 039, India.
References (31)
Show source-provided references
1. ASTM. (2006a). “Standard test method for unconfined compressive strength of cohesive soil.” D2166 West Conshohocken PA.
2. ASTM. (2006b). “Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (Unified Soil Classification System).” D2487 West Conshohocken PA.
3. ASTM. (2005). “Standard test method for liquid limit plastic limit and plasticity index of soils.” D4318 West Conshohocken PA.
4. ASTM. (2007). “Standard test method for pH of soils.” D4972 West Conshohocken PA.
5. Barker J. E. · Physio-chemical changes in clay caused by ion migration from lime piles · 2006 · 18
6. Bell F. G. · Stabilization and treatment of clay soils with lime, Part 1—Basic principles · 1988 · 21
7. Bell F. G. · Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils · 1996 · 42
8. Bhasin N. K. Dhawan P. K. and Mehta H. S. (1978). “Lime requirement in soil stabilization.” Bulletin No. 7 Highway Research Board Washington DC 15–26.
9. British Aggregates Construction Materials Industry · 1990
10. Clare K. E. · Laboratory experiments in the stabilization of clays with hydrated lime · 1957 · 7
11. Consoli N. C. · Variables controlling stiffness and strength of lime-stabilized soils · 2011 · 137
12. Greaves H. M. (1996). “An introduction to lime stabilization.” Proc. Symp. on Lime Stabilization Thomas Telford London 5–12.
13. Herrin M. and Mitchell H. (1961). “Lime-soil mixtures.” Bulletin No. 304 Highway Research Board Washington DC 99–138.
14. Hilt G. H. and Davidson D. T. (1960). “Lime fixation on clayey soils.” Bulletin No. 262 Highway Research Board Washington DC 20–32.
15. Jackson M. L. · 1958
16. Joshi R. C. Natt G. S. and Wright P. J. (1981). “Soil improvement by lime-flyash slurry injection.” Proc. 10th Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering AA Balkema Stockholm Rotterdam 3 707–712.
17. Khattab S. A. A. · Long-term stability characteristics of a lime-treated plastic soil · 2007 · 19
18. Kumar A. · Influence of fly ash, lime, and polyester fibers on compaction and strength properties of expansive soil · 2007 · 19
19. Mateos M. · Soil-lime research at Iowa State Univ. · 1964 · 90
20. Materials data manual. (1999). Jade. Livermore CA Copyrights 1995–1999.
21. Neville A. M. · 2004
22. Petry T. M. · Review of stabilization of clays and expansive soils in pavements and lightly loaded structures—history, practice and future · 2002 · 14
23. Prakash K. · Lime addition and curing effects on the index and compaction characteristics of a montmorillonitic soil · 1989 · 20
24. Rajasekaran G. · Strength characteristics of lime-treated marine clay · 2000 · 4
25. Rogers C. D. F. · Stress path testing of realistically cured lime and lime/cement stabilized clay · 2006 · 18
26. Sivapullaiah P. V. · Role of amount and type of clay in the lime stabilization of soils · 2000 · 4
27. Sridharan A. · Swelling behaviour of compacted fine-grained soils · 2004 · 72
28. Taylor A. W. · Physico-chemical properties of soils—Ion exchange phenomenon · 1959 · 85
29. Wang J. W. H. Mateos M. and Davidson D. T. (1963). “Comparative effects of hydraulic calcitic and dolomitic limes and cement in soil stabilization.” Highway Research Record Bulletin No.59 National Research Council Washingthon DC 42–54.
30. Wilkinson A. · Improvement of problematic soils by lime slurry pressure injection: case study · 2010 · 136
31. Yong R. N. · 1975