An Experimental Investigation to Stabilize Black Cotton Soil Using Lime, Waste Quarry Dust, and Polyester Fiber
摘要
The inadequate geotechnical properties of black cotton soil (BCS) that cause frequent damage to infrastructure due to unexpected bulging at sites, both before and after the construction, inspired the development of a low-cost methodology to arrest such problems. This study utilized abundantly available and widely used stabilizing agent—lime, waste polythene synthesized efficient material—polyester fiber (PF), and locally available waste material—quarry dust (QD) for eliminating undesirable properties. QD is abundantly available at sites where rocks are extracted, and these are not only believed to degrade the fertility of the soil where it gets deposited but also cause severe air pollution. This paper accentuates the swelling, plastic, compaction, and strength characteristics of the specimen through Atterberg limits, differential free swell (DFS) index, standard proctor test (SPT), and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests at different proportions of lime, PF, and waste QD with BCS. Additionally, the effect of the stabilizing agents on UCS of BCS was investigated for samples cured for 3, 7, and 28 days. Based on the experiments carried out, the optimum amount of each stabilizer in a soil composite was different. But crudely, it was observed that 9% lime, 24% quarry dust, and 0.75% polyester fiber yielded the best results.