Comparative Evaluation of Lime and Biopolymer Amended Expansive Soil: Fid-Bau Portal

Comparative Evaluation of Lime and Biopolymer Amended Expansive Soil

Landlin, G. / Sharmila, B. / Bhuvaneshwari, S.

The rapid development and infrastructural growth have led to a boom in the construction industry. The space crunch and less availability of suitable sites have led to the utilization of unsuitable sites, after the necessary alteration, to be used for construction activities. The problematic soils (expansive soils, soft clays) pose a great threat to the construction activities. The foundation options available when an unsuitable soil without sufficient bearing capacity is encountered are to go for the expensive pile foundation or any other kind of structural alterations. This indirectly leads to a larger consumption of construction materials and in turn leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, the choice of stabilization with alkaline additives (cement, lime, fly ash) has been used for decades with large success rates; however, these additives used in large quantities tend to alter the nature of the ground water as well as affects the biodiversity in the soil and reduces the soil-carbon ratio as well. Thus, this study proposes the usage of an eco-friendly non-traditional additive and checks its suitability for the soil stabilization. Lignosulphonate (LS), a lignin-based product derived as a waste from the paper industry, is to be used as an additive for stabilizing the expansive soils. Its suitability is substantiated with respect to index properties, engineering properties, microstructural changes, and durability aspects. The main objective of the present study is to carry out a comparative study between lime and LS treated soil. The durability of the treated soils is evaluated through strength tests and chemical analysis after cycles of wetting and drying. The results would significantly give a measure of the long-term stability of the LS and lime treated soil.