Subgrade Black Cotton Soil Stabilization using Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag (GGBS) and Lime, an inorganic mineral

Abstract

: The rapid growth of population and fast urbanization has resulted in the reduction of the good quality of available land. Black cotton (BC) soil is one of such problematic soils, though they are very fertile soils, they are not suitable for the foundation of roads and buildings. They are expansive clays with a high potential for shrinking or swelling as a result of changing moisture content. Due to the intensive shrink-swell process, surface cracks appear during dry seasons. A small amount of rainfall, such as 6mm can make these soils impassable for all traffic. About 23% of the area in India is covered by BC soil. To utilize expansive soils effectively, proper ground improvement techniques are to be adopted. One of the most widely used techniques is to stabilize the expansive soil with conventional admixtures like lime, GGBS, cement, and fly ash. In the present study, an attempt is made to modify the engineering properties of black cotton soil. This research work presents the improvement of engineering characteristics of expansive soils using Lime and GGBS as an additive. For experimental work, Lime of 2%, 4%, and 6% used and corresponding 5%, and 10% of GGBS is used. Tests like the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test, Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS) test, proctor test, Atterberg’s limits performed. After stabilization, it was found that UCS and CBR of soil increased significantly.