A

MINOR PROJECT TOPIC

SUBMITED BY:- GUIDED BY:-

PURUSOTTAM BISWAL (1501109151)
KISAN KUMAR ROUT (1501109125)
SOM PRAKASH JENA (1501109174)
MEETALI CHINDRA (1621109113)
MANAS RANJAN DASH (1621109106)
MR. PARITOSH PRADHAN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
CIVIL ENGINEERING
PMEC, BERHAMPUR

PARALA MAHARAJA ENGINEERING COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

BERHAMPUR

Page | i
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certified that the thesis entitled “AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE

STABILIZATION OF MARAINE SOIL USING SAW DUST AND LIME” submitted by

PURUSOTTAM BISWAL, SOM PRAKASH JENA, KISAN KUMAR ROUT, MEETALI

CHINDRA, MANAS RANJAN DASH to the Parala Maharaja Engineering College, Berhampur is

a record of bona fide research work under my supervision and we consider it worthy of consideration

for the award of Bachelor of Technology of the Institution.

SUPERVISED BY :

DATE :- 03/11/2018 PARITOSH PRADHAN

ASST. PROF. PMEC

BERHAMPUR

Page | ii
 DECLARATION

I certify that

a) The work contained in the thesis is original and has been done by myself under the

general supervision of my supervisor.

b) The work has not been submitted to any other institute for any degree or diploma.

c) I have followed the guidelines provided by the institute in writing the thesis.

d) I have conformed to the norms and guidelines given in the Ethical Code of Conduct of

the institute.

e) Whenever I have used materials (data, theoretical analysis, and text) from other sources,

I have given due credit to them by citing them in the text of the thesis and giving details

in the references.

f) Whenever I have quoted written materials from other sources, I have put them under

quotation marks and given due credit to the sources by citing them and giving details

in the references.

NAME:

MEETALI CHINDRA (1621109113)

MANAS RANJAN DASH (1621109106)

PURUSOTTAM BISWAL (1501109151)

SOM PRAKASH JENA (1501109174)

KISAN KUMAR ROUT (1501109125)

Page | iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank many people who have helped me to
complete this thesis.

I would like to express my deep appreciation to my supervisor Mr. Paritosh Pradhan

for his excellent guidance, encouragement, valuable comments and constant encouragement
throughout the research and preparation of the manuscript. I appreciate his valuable advices,
timely discussions, and continuous support, which helped me to take this research in the right
direction. His moral support, freedom and love inspired me to complete this research work in
time.

I am very much thankful to principal, Dr. Ranjan Ku. Swain and Head, Dr. C.R
Mohanty for support, cooperation and extending the laboratory facilities during the study.

The last but not least, I am obligated to my parents, and my brothers and sister for their
encouragement and inspiration during these years, without which the work could not have
completed.

Place: BERHAMPUR

Date: 03/11/2018

Page | iv
CONTENT
TITLE PAGE I

CERTIFICATE BY THE SUPERVISOR II

DECLARATION III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IV

CONTENTS V

LIST OF TABLE VI
LIST OF FIGURES VII

ABSTRACT IX

CHAPTER PAGE
DESCRIPTION
NUMBER NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 LITERTURE REVIEW 3

2.2 STABILIZATION 10
2.3 OBJECTIVE OS STUDY 10
2.4 AIM OF STABILIZATION 10
2.5 BENEFIT OF STABILIZATION 11
2.6 TYPE OF STABILIZATION 11
2.6.1 STABILIZATION OF MARINE CLAYS 12
2.6.1.1 MARINE SOIL 12
2.6.1.2 SAWDUST 13
2.6.1.2.1 USES OF SAWDUST 14
2.6.1.3 LIME 15

Page | v
 2.6.1.3.1 PROPERTIES OF LIME 16
2.6.1.3.2 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES 16
3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 FLOWCHAT 18
3.2 DESCRIPTION 19
4 EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

4.1 STANDARD PROCTOR TEST 20

4.2 FREE SWELL INDEX TEST 20
4.3 ATTERBERG LIMIT 21
4.4 PERMEABILITY 22
4.5 PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION 22
4.6 SPECIFIC GRAVITY 22
4.7 UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE TEST 23
4.8 DENSITY BOTTLE TEST 23
4.9 CBR 24
5 RESULT

5.1 LIQUID LIMIT OF MARINE CLAY 25

5.2 PLASTIC LIMIT OF MARINE CLAY 25
5.3 PLATICITY INDEX OF MARINE CLAY 25
5.4 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF MARINE CLAY 26
5.5 OMC & MDD OF MARINE CLAY 26
6 CONCLUSION

6.1 SUMMARY 27
6.2 FUTURE STUDY 27

7 REFERENCES 28

Page | vi
LIST OF TABLE

TABLE NO DESCRIPTION PAGE NO.

1 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SAWDUST 8

2 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SAWDUST 8

3 CALCULATION OF LIQUID LIMIT 18

4 CALCULATIO OF PLASTIC LIMIT 18

5 CALCULATION OF SPECIFIC GRAVITY 19

6 CALCULATION OF OMC & MDD 19

Page | vii
LIST OF FIGURE
FIGURE DESCRIPTION PAGE NO
NO.

1 SAWDUST 7

2 LIME 9

3 STANDARD PROCTER TEST 13

INSTRUMENT
(IS 2720 PART Vii)
4 FREE SWELL INDEX INSTRUMENT 13

5 ATTERBERG’S APPARATUS 14

6 CONSTANT HEAD PERMEABILITY 15

METER

7 IS SIEVE 15

8 PYCNOMETER 15

9 UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE TEST 16

APPARATUS

10 DENSITY BOTTLE 16

Page | viii
ABSTRACT

The technology of road construction is subjected to changes to cope up with changing vehicular
pattern, construction materials and sub grade condition. Majority of the pavement failures
could be attributed to the presence of poor sub grade conditions and expansive sub grade is one
such problematic situation. Marine soils, because of the specific physio-chemical makeup are
subjected to volume changes with changes in their ambient environment. The losses due to
extensive damage to highways running over expansive sub grade are estimated to be in billions
of dollars all over the world. In many countries like India, these soils are so aerially extensive
that alteration of highways routes to avoid the materials is virtually impossible. Accumulation
of various waste materials is now becoming a major concern to the environmentalists. Saw dust
is one such by-product from Timber industries and Wood cutting factories. Saw dust by itself
has little cementitious value but in the presence of moisture it reacts chemically and forms
cementitious compounds and attributes to the improvement of strength and compressibility
characteristics of soils. So in order to achieve both the need of improving the properties of
marine clays and also to make use of the industrial wastes, the present experimental study has
been taken up. In this paper the effect of Saw Dust and Lime on strength properties of marine
clay has been studied.

Index Terms: Marine Clay, OMC, CBR, Sawdust, Lime

Page | ix
 CHAPTER #1
INTRODUCTION

Maintenance and replacement of pavement consumes a large portion of the budgets of

transportation departments in every country. Methods for reducing the cost of constructing and
maintaining pavements and lengthening pavement life can help transportation departments
better maintain the road network on limited budgets. Modern pavements are expected to
provide a high level of safety and comfort for their users. Pavements are commonly designed
using a combination of mechanistic and empirical approaches. These methods involve selecting
the appropriate soil and pavement parameters and then calculating layer thicknesses for the sub
base, base and the concrete pavement as appropriate. With any method, a strength parameter is
used to describe the sub grade or native material beneath the pavement layers. Variations in the
sub grade, even over short distances, are inevitable and can occur abruptly or gradually,
depending on the geologic history of the surface soils. A high variability in sub grade soil
characteristics may dictate the use of conservative estimates that may lead to thicker pavements
with higher construction costs or poor performance and higher maintenance costs. In order to
alleviate these problems, methods have been developed to try and minimize the variability in
sub grade characteristics. The soil found in the ocean bed is classified as marine soil. It can
even be located onshore as well. The properties of saturated marine soil differ significantly
from moist soil and dry soil. Marine clay is microcrystalline in nature and clay minerals like
chlorite, kaolinite and illite and non-clay minerals like quartz and feldspar are present in the
soil. The soils have higher proportion of organic matters that acts as a cementing agent. Marine
soils in particular can present great problems in pavement design due to uncertainty associated
with their performance. They are often unstable beneath a pavement and they are the most
susceptible to problems from changes in moisture content. Marine soils tend to swell and
become soft when wetted and may shrink and become stiff when dried. Marine clay deposits
are found both in the coast and in several offshore areas spread over many parts of the world.
India being peninsular country has a large area coming under coastal region and also it has
been the habitat for considerable percentage of population. The marine clays are found in the
states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra
and some parts of Gujarat. These soils are highly saturated, soft, sensitive and normally

Page | 1
consolidated. These usually have low density and low shear strength and expansive in nature.
Expansive soils have the tendency to swell when they come in contact with moisture and to
shrink if moisture is removed from them. These volume changes in swelling soils are the cause
of many problems in structures that come into their contact or constructed out of them. The
expansive soils in India have liquid limit values ranging from 50 to 100 %, plasticity index
ranging from 20 to 65 % and shrinkage limit from 9 to 14 %. A substantial literature has
concluded the severity and extent of damage inflicted by soil deposits of selling nature, to
various structures, throughout the world (Ganapathy, 1977; Jones and Jones, 1995;
Abduljauwad, 1995; Osama and Ahmed, 2002; Zhan, 2007). The loss caused due to damaged
structures proved the need for more reliable investigation, of such soils and necessary methods
to eliminate or reduce the effect of soil volume change.

Muddy road before stabilization

Stabilized road

Page | 2
 CHAPTER #2
LITERATURE REVIEW

GENERAL:

The stabilization of soils has been recognized before the Christian era began and performed for
millennia. Many ancient cultures including the Chinese, Romans and Incas utilized various
techniques to improve soil suitability some of which were so effective that many of the
buildings and roadways they constructed still exist today and some are still in use. Jump
forward a few years to the war in Vietnam, the US military were looking for methods for rapid
stabilization of weak soils for support of its missions worldwide. Over the past 60 years they
had used cement and lime and these being the most effective stabilizers for road and airfield
applications. But efforts were being made to find a stabilizer that could be used quickly without
having to carry out extensive site tests that would increase the strength of the prevalent soft
clay type local soils rapidly to support the landing and take-off of aircraft traffic on their
temporary airfields.

Dr. A.I. Dhahran: In 2015 after reviewing performance of plastic waste mixed soil as a
geotechnical material, It was observed that for construction of flexible pavement to improve
the sub grade soil of pavement using waste plastic bottles chips is an alternative method. In his
paper a series of experiments are done on soil mixed with different percentages of plastic
(0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%) to calculate CBR. On the basis of experiment that he conducted
using plastic waste strips will improve the soil strength and can be used as sub grade. It is
economical and eco-friendly method to dispose waste plastic because there is scarcity of good
quality soil for embankments and fills.

AKSHAT MALHOTRA AND HADI GHASEMAIN: In 2014 studied the effect of HDPE
plastic waste on the UCS of soil. In a proportion of 1.5%, 3%, 4.5% and 6% of the weight of
dry soil. HDPE plastic waste was added. They concluded that the UCS of black Cotton soil
increased on addition of plastic waste.

CHOUDHARY, JHA AND GILL: In 2010 demonstrated the potential of HDPE to Convert
as soil reinforcement by improving engineering properties of sub grade soil. From Waste
plastic HDPE strips are obtained and mixed randomly with the soil and by varying Percentage
of HDPE strips length and proportions a series of CBR tests were carried out on Reinforced

Page | 3
soil. There results of CBR tests proves that inclusion of strips cut from reclaimed HDPE is
useful as soil reinforcement HDPE is useful as soil reinforcement in highway application.

RAJKUMAR NAGLE: In 2014 performed CBR studied for improving engineering

performance of sub grade soil. They mixed polyethylene, bottles, food packaging and shopping
bags etc as reinforcement within black cotton soil, yellow soil and sandy soil. Their study
showed that MDD and CBR value increases with increase in plastic waste. Load bearing
capacity and settlement characteristics of selected soil materials are also improved.

MERCY JOSEPH POWETH: In 2013 investigated on safe and productive disposal of

quarry dust, type waste and wastes-plastic by using them in the pavements sub grade. In their
paper a series of CBR and SPT test were carried out for finding the optimum percentages of
waste plastics, quarry dust in soil sample. The results shows only quarry dust should be mixed
with the soil plastic mix, to increase its maximum dry density and is suitable for pavement sub
grade. Types alone are not suitable for sub grade. They concluded that Soil plastic mixed with
quarry dust maintains the CBR value within the required limit. Soil type mixed with quarry
dust gives lesser CBR value than soil plastic quarry dust mix but it can be used for pavement
sub grade.

ACHMAD FAUZI: In 2016 calculated the engineering properties by mixing waste Plastic
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and waste crushed glass as reinforcement for sub Grade
improvement. The chemical element was investigated by Integrated Electron Microscope and
Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The engineering Properties PI, C, OMC
values were decreased and ф, MDD, CBR values were increased When content of waste HDPE
and Glass were increased.

CHEBET: In 2014 did laboratory investigations to determine the increase in Shear strength
and bearing capacity of locally available sand due to random mixing of strips Of HDPE (high
density polyethylene) material from plastic shopping bags. A visual Inspection of the plastic
material after tests and analysis indicates that the increased Strength for the reinforced soil is
due to tensile stresses mobilized in the reinforcement. The factors identified to have an
influence on the efficiency of Reinforcement material were the plastic properties
(concentration, length, width of the strips) soil properties (gradation, particle size, shape).

HATEM NSAIF: In 2013 concluded by mixing plastic waste pieces with two types Soil
(clayey soil and sandy soil) at different mixing ratios (0,2 ,4,6,8)% by weight There is
significant improvement in the strength of soils because of Increase in internal friction. The

Page | 4
percentage of increase in the angle of internal friction Sandy soil is slightly more than that in
clayey soil, but there is no significant increase in cohesion for the two types of soils. Also, it
was concluded that due to low specific Gravity of plastic pieces there is decreases in MDD and
OMC of the soil.

RAMAJ: A.E. (2012). “A Review on the Soil Stabilization Using Low-Cost Methods”.
Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 8(4), 2193-2196.The objective of this study is to review
the stabilization of soil using sustainable methods. These methods consist of stabilization with
soil replacement, chemical additives, moisture control, rewetting, surcharge loading,
compaction control and thermal methods. It is concluded that all the methods due to
ineffectiveness and expensiveness. Based on study is concluded that the Portland cement, scrap
tire, lime and polythene and are less expensive and effective to soil stabilization.

ALHASSAN (2008).“Potentials of rice husk ash for soil stabilization”. Assumption University
Journal of Technology, 11(4),246-250. The present study made an attempt to enhance the
geotechnical properties of a soil replaced with industrial wastes having Soil is replaced with
lime in 2%, 4% and 6% to dry weight of soil. It is observed that soil replaced with 4% is the
optimum for the soil used in this study from geotechnical point of view. To know the influence
of fly ash, soil is further replaced with lime A along with 4% poly theneIt is found that results
of soil replacement by both RHA and FA proved to be soil modification and not the
improvement. It concluded that a cost-effective accelerator like lime is used for further
replacing the above soil. The optimum lime content is found to be 8%.

MUNTHOAR and HANTORA.G. (2002), “Influence of Lime on Engineering Properties on

a Clayey Sub - grade ”,,Electronics Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 5.In India, the
soil mostly present is Clay, in which the construction of sub grade is problematic. Keeping this
in view stabilization of weak soil in situ may be done with suitable admixtures to save the
construction cost considerably. The present investigation has therefore been carried out with
agricultural waste materials like Rice Husk Ash which has mixed with soil to study
improvement of weak sub grade in terms of compactio n and strength characteristics .

APARNA ROY (2014)1 describes the suitability of the locally available Rice Husk Ash
(RHA) to be used in the local construction industry in a way to minimize the amount of waste
to be disposed to the environment causing environmental pollution. The common soil
stabilization techniques are becoming costly day by day due to the rise of cost of the stabilizing
agents like, cement, lime, etc. The cost of stabilization may be minimized by replacing a good

Page | 5
proportion of stabilizing agent using RHA. It will minimize the environmental hazards also.
Soil sample taken for the study is clay with high plasticity (CH) which truly requires to be
strengthened. The soil is stabilized with different percentages of Rice Husk Ash and a small
amount of cement.

Observations are made for the changes in the properties of the soil such as Maximum dry
density (MDD), Optimum moisture content (OMC), California bearing ratio (CBR) and
Unconfined compressive stress (UCS). The results obtained show that the increase in RHA
content increases the OMC but decreases the MDD. Also, the CBR value and UCS of soil are
considerably improved with the RHA content. From the observation of maximum improvement
in strength, 10% RHA content with 6% cement is recommended as optimum amount for
practical purposes. Observing the tremendous improvement of CBR value of soil, the present
soil stabilization technique may mostly be recommended for construction of pavement.

S. CHAKRABORTY, S.P MUKHERJEE, S. CHAKRABARTI, B.C

CHATTOPADHYAY (APRIL 2014)2 reported that the quality of a flexible pavement

depends on the strength of its sub-grade soil. The strength of sub-grade is the major parameters
for determining the thickness of pavement. In case of the flexible pavement the sub-grade must
be uniform in terms of geotechnical properties like shear strength, compressibility etc.
Materials selected for use in the construction of sub-grade must have to be of adequate strength
and at the same time it must be economical for use. In view of the above the present
investigation has been carried out with easily available materials like lime and rice husk ash
mixed individually and also in combination with locally available clayey soil in different
proportions at optimum moisture content (OMC). Since CBR is an important criterion in
flexible pavement design, the strength improvement has been found in terms of CBR in the
present study. The laboratory test results shown marked improvement of strength of soil with
the addition of admixtures in respect of California Bearing Ratio (CBR) in unoaked and soaked
condition.

T.K. ROY, B.C. CHATTOPADHYAY, S.K. ROY (2009)3 explained that Procurement of
conventional materials in huge quantity required for construction of subgrade of road is
becoming very difficult in many locations due to various problems. On the other hand, due to

Page | 6
increasing economic growth and industrialization, a huge quantity of waste materials generated
needs land for disposal and from that generally creates problems for public health and ecology.
So need has arisen for proper disposal of the waste materials. Utilizing these materials in the
area of road construction after improving their characteristics suitably can provide useful
solution of this problem. So keeping this in view, an experimental study was undertaken to
explore the possibility of utilization of the alternative materials like rice husk ash by mixing
with local alluvial soil by adding small percentage of lime for the construction of road subgrade
as cost effective mix.

SABYASACHI BISWAS, ARGHADEEP BISWAS, AMAR DIGHADE

(2012)4 reported that Emerging trend of using waste material in soil stabilizing or soil
strengthening is being working out all over the world in present days. The main reason behind
this trend is the excessive production of waste like fly ash, plastics, rice husk ash (RHA) which
is not only hazards but also creating deposition problems. Using some of these waste materials
in construction practice will reduce the problem in a great extent. However before using these
materials in practice, systematic analysis of the experimental result is a must so that it should
not create a new problem. RHA has been used with a small amount of lime of different quantity
to stabilize a highly plastic soil. The percentage by weight of virgin soil has been partially
replaced by RHA and lime to improve its strength property as CBR value. Series of laboratory
tests like soaked and un-soaked CBR; compaction has been performed to evaluate the effects
of the foreign materials on virgin soil. Result showed that only use of RHA decreases the
strength whereas in addition of RHA with soil, a very little amount of lime improves the soil
property to a great extent. Subsequently, result shows that for the mix, the optimum moisture
content (OMC) increases and the maximum dry density (MDD) decreases.

B. SUNEEL KUMAR, T.V. PREETHI (MAY 2014)5 carried out a research & found that in
India the soil mostly present is Clay, in which the construction of sub grade is problematic. In
recent times the demands for sub grade materials has increased due to increased constructional
activities in the road sector and due to paucity of available nearby lands to allow excavate fill
materials for making sub grade. In this situation, a means to overcome this problem is to utilize
the different alternative generated waste materials, which cause not only environmental hazards
and also the depositional problems. Keeping this in view stabilization of weak soil in situ may
be done with suitable admixtures to save the construction cost considerably. The present
investigation has therefore been carried out with agricultural waste materials like Rice Husk

Page | 7
Ash (RHA) which was mixed with soil to study improvement of weak sub grade in terms of
compaction and strength characteristics. Silica produced from rice husk ashes have investigated
successfully as a pozzolanic material in soil stabilization. However, rice husk ash cannot be
used solely since the materials lack in calcium element. As a result, rice husk ash shall be mixed
with other cementitious materials such as lime and cement to have a solid chemical reaction in
stabilization process. Lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is the name of the natural
mineral (native lime) CaO occurs as a product of coal seam fires and in altered lime stone
xenoliths in volcanic ejection. In this study RHA and Lime is mixed in different percentage
like (RHA as 5%, 10%, and 15%) and (Lime as 3%, 6%, 9%) and laboratory test CBR is done
with a curing period of 4, 7 and 14 days with different percentages of RHA & Lime and Lime+
RHA.

DR. H. K. MAHIYAR, PRAVIN PATEL (17 NOVEMBER 2014)6 carried out an

experimental investigation to study the effect of Rice husk ash, Fly ash and Lime on index and
engineering properties of Black cotton soils. The properties of stabilized soil such as
compaction characteristics, unconfined compressive strength and California bearing ratio were
evaluated. Various percentage of Rice husk ash, Fly ash, Lime have been used to improve the
engineering properties of expansive black cotton soil. One ingredient at a time has been mixed
with soil and index as well as engineering properties have been determined. The optimum
content of each ingredient has been mixed together and the same properties have been
evaluated. It has been concluded that liquid limit & plastic limit of soil is reduced by adding of
any ingredient individually. However, the improvement in shrinkage limit is not substantial.
The standard proctor perimeter is influenced negatively i.e. OMC varies from 15% to 18%
using RHA and Fly ash. The maximum dry density (MDD) is reduced from 1.71 to 1.57 gm/cc.
The Ф value decreases from 19 to 10 and Cohesion value is increases from 0.5 to 1 kg/cm2
using RHA The Ф value is decreases from 19 to 14 and Cohesion value increases from 0.5 to
1.1 kg/cm2 using fly ash. The CBR value increases from 1.52% to 3.64% using Lime, it
increases from 1.52% to1.70% using Fly ash and 1.52% to 1.70% using RHA. The CBR value
is 12.74% at combination of RHA, fly ash and lime. The UCS value increases with increase in
percentage of RHA, Fly ash and Lime. Swelling pressure is decreases at different percentage
of Lime and Fly ash.

Coefficient of permeability is decreases at different percentage of Lime and fly ash. Plasticity
index of soil is decreases with increase the percentage of RHA, Fly ash and Lime. The optimum
percentage of RHA, fly ash and lime is 8%,20% and 20%. On treated soil reduction in sub-

Page | 8
base layer by 60% and reduction in DBM layer by 40.7% in comparison to pavement design
on Untreated Black Cotton soil. Pavement cost also decreases on treated soil. The objective of
this work is to estimate the effect of RHA, Fly ash and Lime on some geotechnical properties
of black cotton soil, in order to determine the suitability of RHA, Fly ash and Lime for use as
a modifier or stabilizer in the treatment of black cotton soil for roadwork.

G. V. RAMA SUBBARAO, D. SIDDARTHA, T. MURALIKRISHNA, K. S. SAILAJA,

AND T. SOWMYA (18 JULY 2011)7 made an attempt to enhance the geotechnical properties
of a soil replaced with industrial wastes having pozzolanic value like rice husk ash (RHA) and
fly ash (FA). Soil is replaced with RHA in 2%, 4%, and 6% to dry weight of soil. It is observed
that soil replaced with 4% RHA is the optimum for the soil used in this study from geotechnical
point of view. To know the influence of fly ash, soil is further replaced with 4% FA along with
4% RHA. It is found that results of soil replacement by both RHA and FA proved to be soil
modification and not the improvement. Hence, a cost-effective accelerator like lime is used for
further replacing the above soil-4%, RHA-4% FA mix. The optimum lime content is found to
be 4%.

E.A. BASHA, R. HASHIM, H.B. MAHMUD, A.S. MUNTOHAR (22

OCTOBER 2004)8 carried out an investigation includes the evaluation of such properties of
the soil as compaction, strength, and X-ray diffraction. Test results show that both cement and
rice husk ash reduce the plasticity of soils. In term of compactability, addition of rice husk ash
and cement decreases the maximum dry density and increases the optimum moisture content.
From the viewpoint of plasticity, compaction and strength characteristics, and economy,
addition of 6–8% cement and 10–15% rice husk ash is recommended as an optimum amount.

Page | 9
STABILIZATION

Soil stabilization a general term for any physical, chemical, biological or combined method of
changing a natural soil to meet an engineering purpose.[1] Improvements include increasing
the weight bearing capabilities, tensile strength, and overall performance of in-situ subsoils,
sands, and other waste materials in order to strengthen road surfaces.

Some of the renewable technologies are: enzymes, surfactants, biopolymers, synthetic

polymers, co-polymer based products, cross-linking styrene acrylic polymers, tree resins, ionic
stabilizers, fiber reinforcement, calcium chloride, calcite, sodium chloride, magnesium
chloride and more. Some of these new stabilizing techniques create hydrophobic surfaces and
mass that prevent road failure from water penetration or heavy frosts by inhibiting the ingress
of water into the treated layer.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The objectives of the present experimental study are

• To determine the properties of the Marine clay and Saw Dust.

• To evaluate the performance of Marine clay when stabilized with Saw Dust as an
admixture and its suitability for the pavement sub grade.
• To evaluate the performance of stabilized Marine clay with an optimum of Sawdust, Lime
and their suitability for the pavements.
AIM OF SOIL STABILIZATION
The major objectives of the project are:

1.To explore the possibility of using sawdust & lime in road construction programme.

2. To study the effect of lime and sawdust on proctor’s density and OMC of clayey soil.

3.To study the effect of lime and sawdust on the consistency limits of clayey soil.

4.To study the changes in CBR of soil by the addition of lime and sawdust.

5.To study the effect of curing period on the properties of clayey soil

6.To study the effect of lime and sawdust on proctor’s density and OMC of clayey soil.

Page | 10
 BENEFIT FROM STABILIZATION

 Saves Money - Generally, there is no need for aggregates (and associated hauling).
 Savings by Design - Stabilized roads/bases are much stronger than conventional
granular sub base. Thus, you can reduce the asphalt thickness by 50%, and concrete
thickness by 30%. Concrete or blacktop can be laid directly onto stabilized soil.
Example: Chip sealing (instead of traditional 2-inch-thick HMA) is possible as wearing
course.
 Saves Time - Stabilization is very fast. Also, time associated with base preparation
(hauling of aggregates) is eliminated. Projects are less susceptible to rain/water/mud
related delays.
 Saves Environmental Impact - Imagine removing 50 truck loads of soil and bringing in
50 truck loads of imported material/aggregates. Less costs, less congestion, less carbon
footprint, and less angry motorists.
 Saves Maintenance Costs - Stabilized roads do not require as much maintenance as
compared to unstabilized roads. Pot-holes, rutting, mudding are virtually eliminated.
Funds normally earmarked for road maintenance can be utilized elsewhere.

TYPE OF SOIL STABILIZATION

1. MECHANICAL STABILIZATION
2. LIME STABILIZATION
3. FLY ASH STABILIZATION
4. CEMENT STABILIZATION
5. BITUMEN STABILIZATION
6. ELECTRICAL STABILIZATION
7. GEO FIBER
8. CHEMICAL STABILIZATION

Page | 11
STABILISATION OF MARINE CLAYS

Soil stabilization is a procedure where natural or manufactured additives or binders are used to
improve the properties of soils. Chemical additives, such as lime, cement, Saw Dust and other
chemical compounds have been used in marine clays stabilization for many years with various
degrees of success. The clay minerals have the property of absorbing certain anions and cations
and retaining them in an exchangeable state. The exchangeable ions are held around the outside
of the silica-alumina clay mineral structural unit. Compositional variation through ionic or
isomorphism substitution within the clay mineral crystal lattice can leave the structural unit
with a net negative charge. Substitution also reduces the crystal size and alters its shape.
Exposed hydroxyl groups and broken surface bonds can also lead to a net negative charge on
the structural unit. The presence of this net negative charge means that soluble cations can be
attracted or adsorbed on to the surface of the clay mineral structural units without altering the
basic structure of the clay mineral. The ability of clay to hold cations is termed its cation
exchange capacity. The most common soluble cations are Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, H+, and NH4
+. Cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.) has major significance in determining clay mineral
properties, particularly the facility with which they absorb water. Cation exchange capacity
(C.E.C.) measures two of the fundamental properties of clays: 1. The surface area and the
charge on this surface area. 2. The surface of clay can be of two sorts; external and internal.
The external exchange capacity measures nothing more than the average crystalline size. The
surface capacity of adsorption is largely dependent upon broken bonds and surface growth
defects. The internal exchange capacity is much more interesting in that it reflects the overall
charge imbalance on the layer structure and the absorption capacity of the clays. The exchange
capacity is an estimate of both the number of ions adsorbed between the layers of a clay
structure and of those adsorbed on the outer surfaces. C.E.C., measured in terms of milli
equivalent of the atomic weight of solvent/100 gram of the dry solid, varies widely for various
types of clay minerals The exchange capacity is almost always measured as a function of the
number of cations (positively charged) which can be measured on the clay surface once it is
washed free of exchange salt solution. The operation is performed by immersing a quantity of
clay in an aqueous solution containing a salt, usually chloride or ammonium hydroxide. The
soluble ions adsorbed with the water onto the interlayer structure can affect the adsorbed water
arrangement in several ways. Principally, they act as a bond of varying strength holding the
structural layer together and controlling the thickness of adsorbed water. Their effectiveness
will depend on the size and charge. Thus Na+, K+ will tend to be weak and a clay water system

Page | 12
containing these ions will be capable of adsorbing large amounts of water. Ca2+, Mg2+, on the
other hand, will have stronger links and a clay-water system containing them will possess
substantially lower water content. Inclusion of Fe3+ or Al3+ would reduce the water content
and plasticity and this is in fact the basis of the electro-chemical or electro-osmotic method of
clay stabilization. In this study, Saw Dust, Optimum Saw Dust and Lime will be utilized as
cementitious materials while trying to stabilize the marine clay sample.

SAW DUST

Wood cutting factories, generates a by-product known as Saw dust. This surrounds the Forestry
area. During cutting of trees about78% of weight is received from trees. Rest 22% of the weight
of trees is received as dust. This dust is used as fuel in burning of bricks & generates steam for
the parboiling process. As transportation system expand, they are more likely to be supported
by less desirable foundation soils, such as highly compressible deposits. The mass of the
earthwork for such systems can cause unacceptable long –term settlement or even shear failure
of these deposits. Ground improvement techniques may not be effective in stabilizing such
soils. Although not a composite, geo-foam provides a very lightweight manufactured fill for
embankments on such materials. The development of light weight fill has led to engineering of
fills.

Fig -1 sawdust

Page | 13
Consisting of soil-like particulate materials that are lighter than soil, not prohibitively
expensive and environmentally safe. Saw dust and Lime are excellent examples of such
materials.

Silica 86%
Aluminium oxide 2.6%
Ferric oxide 1.8%
Lime 3.6%
Magnesium oxide 0.27%
Loss in ignition (LOI) 4.2%

Table 1: Chemical composition of sawdust

SL. PROPERTIES VALUE

(passing)
1 Grain size distribution (mm) 4.75 100
2.0 96
0.6 80
0.425 50
0.21 29
0.075 8
2 Specific gravity 2.01

Table 2: Physical properties of sawdust

USES OF SAW DUST

As a stabilizer

The Saw Dust would appear to be an inert material with the silica in the crystalline form
suggested by the structure of the particles, it is very unlikely that it would react with lime to
form calcium silicates. It is also unlikely that it would be as reactive as fly ash, which is more
finely divided. So saw dust would give great results when it used as a stabilizing material.

Page | 14
In lightweight fill

The ash would appear to be a very suitable light weight fill and should not present great
difficulties in compaction, provided its initial moisture content is kept within reasonable limits
(say less than 50%). The very high angle of internal friction of the material will mean that its
stability will be high. However, its lack of cohesion may lead to problems in construction due
to erosion and shearing under heavy rollers. To overcome these, it will probably be desirable
to place a 3 to 6-inch-thick blanket layer of cohesive material every 2 to 3 ft.

Other uses

On an Industry, wide basis most saw dust is green. Green saw dust has limited uses, for
examples, as fuel at the producing plant or pulping. Green hard wood saw dust is also used in
fairly large amounts for meat smoking. In some localities green soft wood saw dust furnace for
domestic heating. Thus far it has seldom been considered economically feasible to dry saw dust
artificially.

Brief information on various uses of sawdust and shavings is tabulated in tables 1 and 2 of this
report.
under four general classification

1. Uses based on special physical qualities.

2. Fuel used.

3. Fiber & wood based board users

4. Chemical uses

LIME

Lime, chemically known as, Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt
lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline crystal solid at room
temperature.

Fig -2 lime

Page | 15
Properties of lime

 Lime is a white amorphous solid.

 It has a high melting point of 2600oC.
 It is highly stable and even fusion cannot decompose it.

Chemical Properties

 On hydration, quick lime forms slaked lime or lime water. When water is added to lime
it becomes hot and cracks to form a white powder. This is called slaking of lime.

 Calcium oxide is a basic oxide. It can react with acids to give calcium salts.

 With acidic oxides like silicon dioxide and phosphorus pent oxide, it forms silicates
and phosphates. This property makes lime useful as a flux in metallurgy to remove
impurities.

Lime is routinely used as a soil modification agent to improve the performance of sub grade
soils with the primary goal of reducing volume change. Effective mixing of lime and soil is
critical to ensuring that the expected improvements occur throughout the soil mass.

Lime also decreases the apparent amount of fines in a soil by causing flocculation and
agglomeration of the clay particles (Little 1995). This results in an increase in the percentage
of sand and silt size particles as measured by standard grain size distribution methods (Basma
and Tuncer 1991.Lime also tends to reduce the swell potential of fine grained soils (Kennedy
et al 1987).

Page | 16
Moisture content plays an important role in the swell potential of a lime treated soil; soils with
moisture content below optimum show a much greater swell potential than soils with moisture
content above optimum (Sweeney et al 1988).

It is found that soils with a significant amount of montmorillonite developed almost no increase
in unconfined compressive strength. They concluded that most of the lime was used to break
down the montmorillonite and the montmorillonite also had too great of a surface area for the
cementitious compounds to significantly affect the strength.

MATERIAL USED

Marine Clay

The soil used in this study is Marine Clay soil, obtained from Kakinada Sea Ports Limited,
Collected at a depth of 1.5m from ground level. The Index & Engineering properties of Marine
Clay soil are determined as per IS code of practice and determined & presented in Table 3.

Saw Dust

Locally available Saw Dust was used in the present work. The physical properties are
determined and presented in Table 4.

Lime

Lime stabilization is done by adding lime to a soil. It is useful for stabilization of clayey soils.
When lime reacts with soil there is an exchange of cations in the adsorbed water layer and a
decrease in plasticity of the soil occurs. The resulting material is more friable than the original
clay, and is, therefore more suitable as sub grade. Lime is produced by burning of lime stones
in kilns. The quality of lime obtained depends upon the parent material and the production
process.

(1) High calcium, quick lime (CaO)

(2) Hydrated, high calcium lime (Ca(OH)2)

(3) Dolomitic lime (CaO +MgO)

(4) Normal, hydrated dolomitic lime (Ca(OH)2)

(5) Pressure, hydrated dolomitic lime (Ca(OH)2+ MgO2)

Page | 17
 CHAPTER #3
3.1 METHODOLOGY

Preparation of
Collection Of
representative
materials
sample

Testing
Mix design
methods

Results and
Analysis
conclusions

Page | 18
3.2 DESCRIPTION

To working out the experiment of “A laboratort study on the stabilization of marine clay
with lime and saw dust” some methods are carried out. In this method we practice to increase
the physical and chemical property of soil sample for better construction woks. The
methodology of the project was described below.

At first, we were collected the soil sample from GOPALPUR SEA BEACH SIDE. We took
20 kg of marine clay for the experimental work & bought 4kg of lime @ Rs30 per kg. We
collected 10 kg of saw dust @ Rs3 per kg. For proceeding our project work we were removed
the impurities like vegetation & stone from the marine clay & large size wood pieces from the
saw dust by using sieve. We took 475µ sieve for the separation process. Then we checked the
properties of soil sample, lime & saw dust. After that we are going to add 10-50% of sawdust
of total sample with marine clay. After adding sawdust, we are checking its dry density & CBR
value. At which proportion the dry density & CBR value is maximum, this proportion will
continue & we adding 2-10% lime of total sample. we checked the property of soil whether
it’s bearing capacity, shear strength has increased or not. Now we got the result and conclusion
of the project work.

Page | 19
 CHAPTER #4
LABORATORY STUDIES

The laboratory studies were carried out on the samples of Marine clay, Marine clay+ Saw Dust,
Marine clay, Saw Dust and Lime mixes.

STANDARD PROCTOR TEST

The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory method of

experimentally determining the optimal moisture content at
which a given soil type will become most dense and achieve its
maximum dry density.

FREE SWELL INDEX TEST

Free swell or differential free swell, also termed as

free swell index, is the increase in volume of soil
without any external constraint when subjected to
submergence in water.

This test is performed by pouring slowly 10 gm of

dry soil, 10 gm of (soil+ Saw Dust) passing through
425-micron sieve, in two different 100 cc glass jar
filled with distilled water. The swollen volume of Marine Clay, Marine Clay- Saw Dust, Marine
clay, Saw Dust and lime mixes are recorded as per IS 2720 part 40 (1985).

Free swell (%) =Final volume – Initial volume *100

Initial volume

Page | 20
LIQUID & PLASTIC LIMIT

The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the critical water contents of a fine-grained soil: its
shrinkage limit, plastic limit, and liquid limit.

Depending on its water content, a soil may appear in one of four states: solid, semi-solid, plastic
and liquid. In each state, the consistency and behavior of a soil is different and consequently
so are its engineering properties. Thus, the boundary between each state can be defined based
on a change in the soil's behavior. The Atterberg limits can be used to distinguish between silt
and clay, and to distinguish
between different types of silts and
clays.

The liquid limit (LL) is

conceptually define as the water
content at which the behavior of a
clayey soil changes from plastic to
liquid. However, the transition from
plastic to liquid behavior is gradual
over a range of water contents, and
the shear strength of the soil is not
actually zero at the liquid limit. (ATTERBERG LIMIT)

The plastic limit (PL) is determined by rolling out a thread of the fine portion of a soil on a flat,
non-porous surface. The procedure is define in ASTM Standard D 4318. If the soil is at a
moisture content where its behavior is plastic, this thread will retain its shape down to a very
narrow diameter. The sample can then be remolded and the test repeated. As the moisture
content falls due to evaporation, the thread will begin to break apart at larger diameters.

Liquid limit test was conducted on Marine clay, Marine clay+15% Saw Dust, Marine
clay+15% Saw Dust + 4% lime using Casagrande’s liquid limit apparatus as per the procedures
laid down in IS: 2720 part 4 (1970).

Plastic limit test was conducted on Marine Clay, Marine Clay+15% Saw Dust, Marine
clay+15% Saw Dust+ 4%lime as per the specifications laid down in IS: 2720 part 4 (1970).

Page | 21
PERMEABILITY

Permeability is a measure of the ease in

which water can flow through a soil
volume.

It is one of the most important

geotechnical parameters.

However, it is probably the most

difficult parameter to determine. In
large part, it controls the strength and
deformation behavior of soils.

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

This continues to be use for many

measurements because of its simplicity,
cheapness, and ease of interpretation. Methods
may be simple shaking of the sample in sieves
until the amount retained becomes more or less
constant. Alternatively, the sample may be
wash through with a non-reacting liquid
(usually water) or blown through with an air
(IS SIEVE)
current.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY

Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to

the density of a reference substance; equivalently, it is the
ratio of the mass of a substance to the mass of a reference
substance for the same given volume. Apparent specific
gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance
to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance.

Page | 22
UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (USC)

The unconfined compression test is by far the most popular method of soil shear testing because
it is one of the fastest and cheapest methods of measuring shear strength. The method is used
primarily for saturated, cohesive soils recovered from thin-walled sampling tubes.

The unconfined compressive strength tests are conducted on Marine Clay, Marine Clay+ Saw
Dust, Marine clay, Saw Dust, lime mixture as per IS 2720 part 10 (1973). All the samples are
prepared by static compaction using split mould at Optimum moisture content and Maximum
dry density to maintain same initial dry density and water content. The test was conducted
under a constant strain rate of 1.5mm/min. The proving ring reading is noted for 50 divisions,
and loading was continued until 3 (or) more reading are decreasing (or) constant (or) strain
20% has been reach. The samples of Marine Clay –additive mixes were cured4 days, 7days
and 28days curing period and at the end of each curing period the samples were tested. Three
samples for each mix were tested.

DENSITY

Most soils have a dry bulk density (density of

soil taking into account voids when dry)
between 1.1 and 1.6 g/cm3, while the soil
particle density is much higher, in the range of
2.6 to 2.7 gm/cm3
(DENSITY BOTTLE)

Page | 23
CALIFORNIA BEARING RATIO TEST

The California bearing ratio tests are conducted on Marine Clay, Marine Clay+ Saw Dust,
Marine clay, Saw Dust, lime mixtures as per IS 2720 part 16 (1979). The test was conducted
under a constant strain rate of 1.25mm/min. The proving ring reading is noted for 50 divisions,
and loading was continued until 3 (or) more readings are decreasing (or) constant. The test was
conducted at Optimum moisture content. The samples were tested in soaked condition. The
tests were conducted at time interval of curing for 4 days, 7days and 14 days.

Page | 24
 CHAPTER #5
RESULT

PROPERTIES OF MARINE CLAY

Visual characteristics of soil

The following properties were observed from visual classification in dry condition.

Colour -- Black colour

Odour -- Odour of decaying vegetation

Texture -- Fine grained

PROPERTY OF SOIL

LIQUID LIMIT-

Sample no Liquid limit value(WL ) Avg. liquid limit

1 72.30
2 75.90 74.50

3 75.30
Table-3 From the experiment the average liquid limit=74.5%

PLASTIC LIMIT-

Sample no. Plastic limit value(WP) Avg. plastic limit

1 24.5
2 26.80 26.90
3 29.40
Table-4 From the experiment the average plastic limit=26.9%

PLASTICITY INDEX-

Plasticity index (Ip)= liquid limit (WL) - plastic limit (Wp)

=74.5-26.9

=47.6

Page | 25
 From the experiment the average plasticity index=74.6%

SPECIFIC GRAVITY-

Sample no Specific gravity(G) Avg. Specific gravity

1 2.4
2 2.1 2.35
3 2.55
Table-5 from the experiment sp. Gravity=2.35

OMC & MDD VALUE

1 Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) 35%
2 Maximum Dry Density(MDD) 1.27 gm/cc

From Table-6 OMC & MDD are calculated

1.5
Maximum dry density (gm/cc)

0.5

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Optimum moisture content (%)

Page | 26
 CHAPTER #6
6.1 SUMMARY

During the project work soil sample were collected from “GOPALPUR BEACH SIDE” . After
collecting soil sample above test were conducted in our laboratory and the results are grain size
=clay, liquid limit = 74.5%, plastic limit = 26.5%, plasticity index = 74.6%, specific gravity =
2.35, optimum moisture content =35%, maximum dry density =1.27mg/cc . These test are
nearly equal to the standard value.

6.2 FUTURE WORK

After marine soil test we are further calculation of properties of sawdust, properties of lime,
MDD value of marine clay & sawdust and MDD of marine clay, sawdust & lime, OMC &
MDD of design mix, specific gravity also going to calculating of design mix, CBR value are
going to calculated After that we conclude about the stabilization of soil.

Page | 27
 CHAPTER #7
LIST OF REFERENCES
1. Agarwala, V.S and Khanna, J.S (1969), Construction techniques for foundations of buildings
on black cotton soils, proceedings of the symposium on characteristics and construction
techniques in black cotton soil, the college of military Engg., Poona, India.
2. Al-Rawas, N.M (2000), Effect of curing and temperature on Rice Husk Ash stabilization,
Proc. Of Second Australian Conf. on Engineering Materials, Sydney, 1981, pp.611-662.
3. Anandarajah. A and Chu. J (1997), Laboratory Determination of shear strength parameters
for marine clay, Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, Vol.14, No.3, pp 39-46.
4. Arvind Kumar, Baljit Singh Walia and Asheet Bajaj (2007), Influence of Flyash, Polyester
Fibers on Compaction and Strength Properties of Expansive Soil, J.Mat in Civil Engineering,
ASCE, Vol. 19, Issue. 3, 2007, pp. 242-248.
5. Bansal, R.K., Pandey, P.K. and Singh, S.K (1996), Improvement of a Typical Clay for Road
Subgrades, Proc. Of National Conf. on Problematic Subsoil Conditions, Terzaghi-96,
Kakinada, India, 1996, pp. 193-197.
6. D. KoteswaraRao (2004), The performance studies on Geo-grid as reinforcement in the
flexible pavement construction, IGC-2004.
7. G.V.R. PrasadaRaju (2001), Evaluation of Flexible Pavement Performance with
Reinforcement and Chemical Stabilization of Expansive Soil Subgrade, a Ph.D. thesis ,
Kakathiya University, Warangal,(A.P, INDIA).
8. IS: 2720 part- 4 (1975): Grain size analysis.
9. IS: 2720 part- 5 (1970): Determination of Liquid limit and Plastic limit.
10. IS: 2720 part- 6 (1972): Determination of Shrinkage limit.
11. IS: 2720 part- 6 (1974): Determination of Dry density and Optimum moisture content.

Page | 28
12. IS: 2720 Part-10 (1973): Determination of Unconfined compressive strength
13. IS: 2720 Part-16 (1979): Determination of California bearing ratio.
14. IS: 2720 part-40 (1977): Determination of Free Swell Index.
15. KoteswaraRao. D et al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology
(IJEST)ISSN : 0975-5462 Vol. 4 No.01 January 2012 10
16. Praveen Kumar, Mehndiratta and Siddhartha Rokade, 2005. “ Use of reinforced fly ash in
highway embankments”. Highway Research Bulletin, Vol.No.73.
17. Sharma, R.K., 2005. “ Behaviour of reinforced soil under cyclic loading”. Highway
Research Bulletin, Vol.No.73.
18. Subgrades, Proc. Of IGC-99, Calcutta, 1999, pp 279-282

Page | 29