Over the years, soil improvement techniques by chemical additives have provided challenges to highway technology. In this respect, an experimental investigation was undertaken to study the response of three selected lateritic soil samples to stabilization with asphalt-emulsion. The investigation was aimed at providing more solutions to the problems of highway construction and maintenance with the current widespread highway pavement failures in Nigeria. Test results show that lateritic soils respond favourably with the addition of asphalt-emulsion, but materials containing excessive amounts of clay are not found suitable for stabilizing with asphalt-emulsion due to difficulty in mixing and a prolonged curing period needed to obtain desired strength. The best soil-asphalt emulsion mix for the tested soil samples was between 6 and 8% depending on the plasticity of the soil.
The durability and stability of masonry structures throughout usage can be affected by producing process, material properties and environmental conditions such as moisture hence finding out the factors affecting durability of clay bricks is vital so as to produce bricks of high strength which will absorb less water. The effect of stabilizing clay for the production of interlock bricks using lime at various percentages was investigated. Soil type used in the production of interlocking bricks was A-6 soil using the AASHTO system of soil classification. Maximum reduction in Liquid Limit and Plastic Limit of the clay material was observed at 8% addition of lime. The Specific Gravity rose from initial of 2.71 at 0% to 2.85 at 10% addition of lime. The maximum reduction of Average Water Absorption (AWA) of clay modified with lime was observed at 8% and the value of AWA recorded was 13.3%, which brought the clay brick to the first class designation from the second class designation of 0% of lime addition. The compressive strength reduced at 8% for all the sampling period of 28 days, the compressive strength test is lower than specification as such the bricks can be used in non-structural member in construction.
Fine grain soils have a complex engineering behaviour which depends but not limited to moisture content, changes in external pressure and characteristics of the pore medium. Sand often contains a considerable percent of silt which is expected to alter its natural behaviour. This composite matrix is referred to as silty-sand. To understand the behaviour of this matrix under varying moisture conditions, some of the factors influencing the soil-water characteristics of unsaturated silty sands were investigated. Representative samples were collected from a river bank after its index properties were predetermined in the laboratory. The samples were compacted at different moisture conditions and compactive efforts. With the pressure plate extractor device, the Soil-Water Characteristic (SWC) was obtained and SWC Curves plotted. Compaction at greater compactive effort (modified proctor) and optimum moisture content produced the largest air entry value and reduced air voids. The air entry values of the soils obtained ranged from 21 kPa to 57 kPa. Also changes in the shape of the SWCC were consistent with changes in pore size which occur by varying compaction conditions. Result shows that soil structure, compaction water content, compactive effort and percentage of fine particles are factors affecting the Soil-Water Characteristics.
Stabilization of soil using fibers is one of the effective techniques to improve the strength of soils for engineering se. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of coir fiber as natural reinforcement in the stabilization of lateritic soil, which is classified as clayey silt. The performance of Coir fibers is separately analyzed for its impact on the strength of the soil. Tests were conducted on various fiber-soil ratios in six percentage levels such as 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 to determine the optimum fiber content. The index properties tests carried out on the natural soil samples (A and B) showed that the samples belong to A-6 and A-7-6 in the AASHTO classification system respectively and CL according to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). Compaction characteristics of the natural and treated soil samples were determined using the Standard Proctor method. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) value of 58.59kpa and 87.89kpa obtained for the natural soil, increased to a maximum of 359.31kpa and 261.16kpa at 0.4% fiber content for samples A and B respectively. The California bearing ratio (CBR) values on the other hand increased with increase in fiber content from 14.52% to 23.28% and from 12.47% to 18.92% for soaked samples A and B respectively, and from 17.26% to 27.18% and 15.22% to 21.89% for unsoaked samples A and B respectively. The results indicate that, 0.4% coir fiber content are more optimal and efficient stabilizer for the laterite soil. This study also contributes to effective soil waste management as a befitting sustainable technique to solve current environmental crisis as well.
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