The lithomargic clay constitutes an important group of residual soils existing under lateritic soils. This soil is found on the western and eastern coasts of India over large areas. This soil is a problematic one and is very sensitive to water and loses a greater part of its strength when becomes saturated. These high silt deposits have invited many problems such as slope failures, foundation failures, embankment failures, uneven settlements etc. In this investigation an attempt is made to study the effect of cement and quarry dust on shear strength and hydraulic characteristics of the lithomargic clay after the stabilization. Microfabric and mineralogical studies were carried out to find out the reason for the strength development of the stabilized soil using SEM and XRD analysis. The results indicated that there is an improvement in the properties of the lithomargic clay with the addition of cement and quarry dust. The XRD results indicated the formation of CSH and CAH, which are responsible for strength development in the stabilized soil.
During olden days, construction used to be carried out only on the sites having good strength. But now-a-days availability of sites with favourable properties are limited. So, there is a need to modify the properties of subsoil using different types of Ground Improvement Techniques. Depending upon the nature of soil, a suitable economical technique needs to be adopted. Soft soils have weaker strength and they are highly compressible and take a lot of time for settlement. So, these are typically problematic for construction. There is a need to improve the condition by accelerating the rate of consolidation. To achieve higher rate of consolidation, it is important to develop shorter paths for movement of the water. A vertical drainage system can be provided to accelerate the rate of consolidation and help to minimise excess pore pressure in the sub-soil. As a result of this, a stable situation is reached more quickly. Thus to enhance the strength of the soil and to accelerate the consolidation rate, vertical drains of different diameters and with varied spacing are employed. The improvement in properties of soft consolidating lithomargic clay is experimentally tested with vertical sand drains in developed prototype. The vertical sand drains installed with 1.905 (0.75 inch) diameter and 6 cm spacing is more effective in increasing Ultimate Bearing Capacity (UBC) of soil and also the rate of settlement of 35.26 % is significant up to 60 kg of preloads. Thus problematic lithomargic clay can be improved in its strength and settlement characteristics
Lithomargic clay is generally found below the lateritic soil along the coastal belt of Karnataka. It is rich in silt content and dispersive in nature. This type of soil is liable to erosion and landslides. The lithomargic clay is largely found in the western coast of South India. At present, coastal belt of Udupi district is witnessing a lot of developments in terms of industry, infrastructures, and other activities. Lithomargic clay is a type of problematic soil, which needs a thorough study to make it suitable to sustain any engineering structure such as buildings, pavements, railways, dams. A characterization and mineralogical study is conducted to identify the presence of minerals and compounds for the various soil samples collected along the coastal belt of Udupi regions using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The primary minerals observed in majority of the regions are quartz, feldspar such as orthoclase, muscovite, and the secondary minerals formed by the decomposition and chemical alteration of primary minerals include sheet minerals such as kaolinite, halloysite, dickite, gibbsite, and illite in high proportions. The study also shows the presence of iron compounds such as fayalite, goethite, and siderite. The majority of the elements observed are oxygen, silicates, aluminum, potassium, and iron which confirms the presence of the compounds identified through XRD analysis.
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