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In partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the course
UNDERGRADUATE SEMINAR (CEng 199)
towers, etc. are established below or on the surface of the earth. For their stability,
suitable foundation soil is required. The occurrence and distribution of soils in nature
varies from different locations. The type of soil depends on the rock type, its mineral
constituents and the climatic regime of the area. Geotechnical properties of soils
influence the stability of civil engineering structures (Roy et al., 2017). As the
poor soils for foundation support and earthwork construction (Mitchell, 1981).
Construction of building and other civil engineering structures on weak soil is highly
risky because such soil is susceptible to differential settlements, poor shear strength,
distribution in the Philippines. These expansive soils are soils that expand when water
is added, and shrink when they dry out. This continuous change in soil volume can
caused structures built on this soil to move unevenly and result to crack. Soils with a
high content of expansive minerals can form deep cracks in drier seasons or years; such
soils are called Vertisols. According to the Bureau of Soils and Water Management,
Vertisols can be found in the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Bataan, Cagayan, Zambales,
Nueva Ecija, La Union, and Tarlac. The 1994 Soil Taxonomy Map of the Philippines
approximates Vertisols at 733,117 ha and represents about 2.4% of the country’s total
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area. This phenomenon must be recognized as a real problem by the researchers. The
quality of soil has a very large impact on type of structure and its design. Thus, effective
reduction in building construction and improves the performance of road networks and
a soil and to control the shrink-swell properties of a soil, thus improving the load
accomplished using a wide variety of additives, including lime, fly-ash, and Portland
cement.
that the monovalent cations, especially Na+, adsorbed on the cleavage surfaces of clay
particles are exchanged resulting in a more workable soil with reduced plasticity. In a
high pH environment, the solubility of silica and alumina is greatly enhanced, which
aluminate-hydrate (C-A-H). With portland cement, however, C-S-H and C-A-H are
formed immediately upon hydration, and a flocculation process similar to that observed
for lime-stabilized soil takes place to produce a soil with improved engineering
There were several studies that show the capability of using banana natural fiber
ash as partial substitute for cement. According to Rodrigo, C.K et al., 2014, banana
fiber ash has its cementitious properties and can be concluded that it can be classified
the current literature of its use in soil stabilization especially for organic soil.
The purpose of this research study is to utilize the Saba banana peel ash as a
pozzolanic material to reduce the lime content for limiting soil movement and improve
the compressive strength of compacted expansive soil, while avoiding the adverse
health and environmental problems that can be induced due to the disposal of this
material. In the process of soil stabilization and modification, emphasis is given for
1.2 Objectives
Type I Portland Cement with Saba banana peel ash to develop an economical additive
to be added with lime for soil stabilization. Specifically, the study aims the following:
addition of various percentages of Saba banana peel ash and lime to the
treatment;
2. To determine the optimum dosage of Saba banana peel ash and lime that can
Compressive Strength test (UCS) for 0, 3,7, and 28 days with varied dosages
The scope of the study focuses on investigating the effects in the stability and
balbisiana) peel ash and commercially-hydrated lime. The contents of the additives will
be defined by the ratio of the weight of additive to the dry weight of the soil, expressed
as a percentage. The varying percentages of the additives are 4.5%, 7.5%, 13.5% of
Saba Banana peel ash and the corresponding commercially hydrated lime contents will
The soil used in the study will be obtained from a road subgrade construction
site in Brgy. Sto. Domingo, Lupao, Nueva Ecija. The soil particles should pass through
no. 8 sieve (<2.36mm) of ASTM D6913 – 17. The geotechnical properties of soil
including particle size distribution, atterberg limits, and specific gravity will be
determined in accordance with the ASTM Standards. The California Bearing Ratio
(CBR) and Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of soil will be determined using
ASTM D1883 – 16 and ASTM D2166 – 16, where Testing machines are required,
respectively.
The Saba Banana Peel Ash will be collected from the stalls selling banana
products at the Visayas State University (VSU) market. It will be grind and should be
Since the raw materials that will be used are production wastes, the study will
The study will give additional knowledge about chemical admixtures of soil
characteristics of soil.
and sustainable admixture that will enhances the properties of soft soils for
The Philippines is the second largest exporter of bananas after Ecuador, with
some 2.6 metric tonnes exported in 2012 (FruiTrop, 2013). That year, the exports from
the Philippines (essentially Cavendish cultivars) made up 98% of the Asian banana
trade. Two thirds of the exported volumes were shipped to Japan, China and South
production of Banana went up by 3.1 percent from 2.33 million metric tons for the
period October to December 2016 to 2.41 million metric tons last year.
Among the many banana cultivars grown throughout the country, saba (Musa
trade. Processed products derived from saba are gaining wide acceptance both in the
2014)
Many farms have adapted different ways in disposing the wastes that comes
with banana cultivation, but the peels from the fruits are mostly dispersed throughout
banana peels. Since it is a by-product of the banana industry in the Philippines, the
quantity of production of it is in line with the banana produce. Thus, these wastes could
disposed.
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utilizing local available environmental and industrial waste material for the
modification and stabilization of deficient soil while minimizing cost of project spent
on lime or cement. The addition of waste products and fibers together with chemical
agents can improve the stiffness and strength properties of soft soils (Fatahi et al., 2013,
and Fatahi and Khabbaz, 2012). Some studies reported that, different additives such as
rice husk ash and sugarcane bagasse ash have been used for chemical stabilization of
soft soils. As per chemical analysis of sugarcane bagasse ash, it exhibits certain
2017). Rice husk ash also is a very good pozzolan as it contains good amount of
The benefit from applying baggage ash for soil stabilizations with lime is related
to chemical reaction between calcium hydroxide produced by lime with pozzolan that
is supplied from bagasse ash (Hasan et al., 2016). Similar to cement reaction with soil,
this chemical reaction can be explained by two individual processes: (1) short term
between clay, bagasse ash and lime; and (2) long-term reaction, involving time and
calcium silicate hydrates (CSH) and calcium aluminate hydrates (CAH) responsible for
According to the previous study of Hasan et al., 2016, to activate and improve
the effectiveness of bagasse ash, hydrated lime was used and mixed with black soil
samples, collected from Queensland Australia. Samples were prepared using different
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contents of bagasse ash and hydrated lime (0%, 6%, 10%, 18% and 25% by the dry
mass of soil), at a ratio of 1:3, respectively. The results of free swell ratio (FSR) test,
unconfined compression strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests are
presented for untreated and treated samples after various curing time periods of 3, 7 and
28 days. The outcomes of these tests clearly demonstrate that stabilization of expansive
soils using bagasse ash and hydrated lime not only improves the strength, but also
waste material.
Banana fiber ash can be used to produce concrete and mortar which can be
classified to have cementitious properties (Rodrigo C.K et al., 2014). The study used
banana leaf as part of the component material. Based on the result of the chemical
analysis conducted by Rodrigo C.K et al., 2014, the chemical compositions that can be
found inside a banana fiber ash are Silicon Dioxide (Si02), Iron Oxide (Fe203),
Aluminium Oxide (Al203 ), Sodium Oxide (Na2O), and also Loss of Ignition (LOI).
The highest chemical composition that can be found is SiO 2 which has 48.7%
composition. The Silicon Dioxide (SiO 2) is very important chemical composition that
must have in every pozzolanic material because it will react with calcium hydroxide at
reaction will produce calcium silicate hydrate gel and it is used to fill the void inside
engineering construction. The banana leaf ash has been proved to increase the strength
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of concrete and demonstrated pozzolanic activity by replacing 10% of banana leaf ash