Stabilization of South Texas Soils with Fly Ash

Keshawarz, M. Saleh; Dutta, Utpal; ,

Stabilization of South Texas Soils with Fly Ash

by M. Saleh Keshawarz, Univ of Hartford, West Hartford, United States,
Utpal Dutta, Univ of Hartford, West Hartford, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Fly Ash for Soil Improvement

Abstract:

The expansive soils of south Texas have traditionally been stabilized with lime or Portland cement. As an alternative, a class F fly ash was tried to stabilize expansive soils obtained from within or the vicinity of Kleberg County in south Texas. Three groups of soils samples were made. The first group was stabilized with 20% by dry weight of Class F fly ash, the second group with 6% lime, and the third group with 10 % Portland cement. The purpose of lime and cement stabilized samples was to have a basis of comparison for the effectiveness of fly ash stabilization. Methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of stabilization included grain size, plasticity index, unconfined compressive strength, and scanning electron microscopy. Laboratory test results showed that fly ash, lime, and cement stabilization were all effective in ameliorating the texture and plasticity of the soils by reducing the amount of clay sized particles and the plasticity index. Portland cement was more effective followed by lime and fly ash stabilization in changing the texture and plasticity of the soils

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