The effectiveness of fly ash use in the stabilization of organic soils and the factors that are likely to affect the degree of stabilization were studied. Unconfined compression and resilient modulus tests were conducted on organic soil-fly ash mixtures and untreated soil specimens. The unconfined compressive strength of organic soils can be increased using fly ash, but the amount of increase depends on the type of soil and characteristics of the fly ash. Resilient moduli of the slightly organic and organic soils can also be significantly improved. The increases in strength and stiffness are attributed primarily to cementing caused by pozzolanic reactions, although the reduction in water content resulting from the addition of dry fly ash solid also contributes to strength gain. The pozzolonic effect appears to diminish as the water content decreases. The significant characteristics of fly ash that affect the increase in unconfined compressive strength and resilient modulus include CaO content and CaO=SiO 2 ratio [or CaO=ðSiO 2 þ Al 2 O 3 Þ ratio]. Soil organic content is a detrimental characteristic for stabilization. Increase in organic content of soil indicates that strength of the soil-fly ash mixture decreases exponentially. For most of the soil-fly ash mixtures tested, unconfined compressive strength and resilient modulus increased when fly ash percentage was increased.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.