Stabilization of Clayey Soil Using Lime
and Prosopis Fibers
Gopinath Rudramurthy, Poopathi Ramasamy, and Arun Rajendran
Abstract
In this paper, an experimental study was carried out to
evaluate the geotechnical properties of clayey soil
stabilized using lime and prosopis fibers. In the present
study, the fibers used were at 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and
1.0% by weight of the soil and the amount of lime used
was kept constant as 4%. From the test results, it was
inferred that the optimum content of lime and prosopis
fibers required to achieve superior geotechnical properties
in clayey soil was found to be 4 and 1%. At this optimum
combination, unconfined compressive strength (UCS)
increases by 73.5%, California bearing ratio (CBR)
resistance increases by 51.9% and linear shrinkage
decreases by 69% when compared to the natural soil.
Formation of cementitious compounds upon addition of
lime and better interlocking of soil grains by prosopis
fibers contributed to the significant improvement in the
properties of clayey soil.





Keywords
Clayey soil Lime Prosopis UCS
CBR
1 Introduction
An economical construction of earth embankments and
pavements requires the use of the locally available soils with
properties modified using appropriate stabilization methods.
In India, expansive soils like black cotton soil are the second
largest distributed soil covering over 20% of the total land
area. Chemical additives like cement and lime prove to be an
effective material for achieving the desirable properties for
these types of weak soils. 4–5% lime addition can
G. Rudramurthy (&)
P. Ramasamy
A. Rajendran
Department of Civil Engineering, University College of
Engineering, Tindivanam, 604001, TamilNadu, India
e-mail: gopinathrudramurthy@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
A. Kallel et al. (eds.), Recent Advances in Geo-Environmental Engineering, Geomechanics and Geotechnics,
and Geohazards, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01665-4_60
appreciably reduce the swelling and shrinkage of black
cotton soils and make them stable even in wet conditions [1].
However, soils treated using lime or cement tend to exhibit
high stiffness and brittle behavior [2]. The addition of natural
or synthetic fibers along with these additives substantially
improves the ductility and the post-peak strength of the soils
[3]. Prosopis juliflora (PJ) is a woody weed tree that belongs
to the genus prosopis which includes 44 species, 40 among
these are native to Americas, three to Asia and one to Africa
[4]. PJ is widely spread in tropical and subtropical regions of
the world and grows in areas of low rainfall. In India and
other regions, PJ is largely used as fuel wood by rural people
and serves as food for livestock [5]. In this paper, the effect
of the addition of lime and PJ fibers on geotechnical prop-
erties of clayey soil has been experimentally investigated.
2 Materials and Methods
The materials used in this work are black cotton soil,
hydrated lime, and PJ fibers. The black cotton soil used in
this study was brought from a site called Kutaripattu village
near Tindivanam located at about 121 km from Chennai,
TamilNadu, India. The soil was obtained through a pit
excavated up to a depth of 1 m below the earth surface. The
particle size distribution of the natural soil was determined
using a hydrometer. The soil was classified as CL according
to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) with
ASTM D 2487 [6]. The plastic and liquid limits of the
natural soil were 44 and 25%, respectively. After extraction
by wet retting process, PJ fibers were dried in hot air oven
and ground to a size of 1–3 mm.
Tests such as standard proctor compaction, atterberg
limits, pH, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), California
bearing ratio (CBR), linear shrinkage and consolidation were
carried out as per Indian Standards [7–13]. Six different soil
compositions (untreated, treated with only lime and treated
with both lime and PJ fibers) were used for the investigation.
PJ fibers were used in four different percentages namely
259
260 G. Rudramurthy et al.

0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1% by weight of the dry soil. In the

preparation of all specimens, the method adopted differs
slightly depending on the ingredients added to the soil.

3 Results and Discussion

The compaction curves obtained through proctor compaction

test revealed the value of maximum dry unit weight and
optimum moisture content (OMC) for the natural soil sample
as 1.825 kg/m3 and 23.72%. The optimum content of lime
required for long term pozzolanic reaction can be found by
performing pH test as illustrated in [14]. The pH value of the
natural soil was found to be 9.36 and in lime-added soils, the
pH value tends to increase with the addition of lime. At 4%
lime, pH value was 9.51 and the value remained constant on
further increase in the lime content. Thus, the optimum Fig. 1 Results of uniaxial compressive strength test
content of lime added in all the treated soil mixes was kept
constant as 4%. The soil showed an immediate decrease in the treated soil using 4% lime and 1% PJ fiber, about 73.5%
plasticity index (PI) upon addition of lime. The decrease in more than that of natural soil. A similar trend was observed
PI value indicates an improvement in the workability of the during CBR test wherein soil treated with 4% lime and 1%
soil. The addition of 4% of lime was enough to enhance the PJ fibers exhibited higher CBR resistance of about 51.93%
workability of the soil by reducing the PI from 19.44 to more than the natural soil. The CBR value for soil samples
12.38%. The addition of lime (4% wt.) increases the opti- under soaked condition (Fig. 2), exhibited a decreasing trend
mum moisture content (OMC) from 23.72 to 25.13% and compared to soils under unsoaked condition. It is mainly
reduces the maximum dry density from 1.825 to because in a soaked condition, the water molecules tend to
1.707 kg/m3 when compared to 0% lime added. The fill up the voids upon saturation [19].
increase in OMC upon addition of lime is mainly due to The soil compression index (Cc) was found to decrease
excess water required for hydration reaction and the reduc- with the addition of lime. This is mainly due to two basic
tion in the dry density could be due to the aggregation of reactions namely (a) ion exchange reaction and (b) floccula-
cemented soil particles and the effective change in grading tion, which transform the soil structure from plastic to
[15]. In soil samples treated with both lime and PJ fiber, a granular [20].
further increase in OMC and decrease in MDD were
observed. This can be attributed to the low specific gravity of
PJ fibers and the lubricating effect of absorbed water by PJ
fibers which mitigate the compaction effort [16].
From UCS test results, it was inferred that the untreated
soil exhibits a more ductile behavior and smaller peak
strength than the lime-treated soil. Although the initial
stiffness of the soil added with both lime and PJ fiber appears
to be the same as that of the untreated soil, the fracture
toughness of the former was found to be appreciably higher
than the latter mainly due to the crack bridging ability of the
fibers [17]. Also, the decrease in the failure strain of the
lime-treated soil has been overcome by the fiber addition. In
soils treated with both lime and fiber, the axial stress was
found to increase with the increase in the axial strain until
the peak value was reached, but the lime-treated soil expe-
riences a sudden drop in stress [18]. From Fig. 1, it can be
observed that addition of 4% lime increases the UCS value
marginally. However, with the inclusion of PJ fibers the
UCS value of soil increases sharply with the increase in the Fig. 2 Variation of CBR value at penetration 2.5 and 5 mm at soaked
fiber content. The maximum UCS value was reported for condition
Stabilization of Clayey Soil Using Lime and Prosopis Fibers
Further, the Cc value decreases sharply with the increase
in fiber content, with the maximum reduction of 52.09%
observed in the soil stabilized using 4% lime and 1% fibers.
4 Conclusion
In this study, the effect of the addition of lime and PJ fibers
on geotechnical properties of clayey soil was experimentally
investigated. Based on the test results, it can be concluded
that:
1. The optimum content of lime and PJ fibers for achieving
best results was found to be 4 and 1% by weight of soil.
2. At optimum combination of lime and fibers,
– UCS and CBR value of soil increases by 73.5 and
51.9%.
– linear shrinkage of the soil decreases by 69%.
– compression index decreases by 52.09%.
References
1. Uppal, H.L., Chadda, L.R.: Physico-chemical changes in the lime
stabilization of black cotton soil (India). Eng. Geol. 2(3), 179–189
(1967)
2. Ayeldeen, M., Kitazume, M.: Using fiber and liquid polymer to
improve the behaviour of cement stabilized soft clay. Geotext.
Geomembr., 1–11 (2017)
3. Chen, M., Shen, S.L., Arulrajah, A., Wu, H.N., Hou, D.W., Xu, Y.S.:
Laboratory evaluation on the effectiveness of polypropylene fibers on
the strength of fiber reinforced and cement stabilized shanghai soft
clay. Geotext. Geomembr., 1–9 (2015)
4. Burkart, A.: A monograph on the genus Prosopis (Leguminosae
subfam Mimosoideae). (Part 1 and 2). Catalogue of the recognized
species of Prosopis. J. Arnold Arboretum 57, 219–249, 450–525
(1976)
261
5. Pasiecznik, N.M., Vera-Cruz, M.T., Harris, P.J.C.: Prosopis
juliflora withstands aridity and goat browsing in the Republic of
Cap Verde. Nitrogen Fixing Tree Res. Rep. 13, 89–91 (1995)
6. ASTM D2487-17: Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for
Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System). ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA (2017)
7. IS: 2720-5: Determination of Liquid and Plastic Limit. Bureau of
Indian Standards publications, New Delhi (1985)
8. IS: 2720-5: Determination of pH Value. Bureau of Indian
Standards publications, New Delhi (1987)
9. IS: 2720-26: Determination of Water Content-Dry Density Rela-
tion Using Light Compaction. Bureau of Indian Standards
publications, New Delhi (1985)
10. IS: 2720-10: Determination of Unconfined Compressive Strength.
Bureau of Indian Standards publications, New Delhi (1991)
11. I.S. 2720-16: Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
CBR. Bureau of Indian Standards publications, New Delhi (1997)
12. I.S. 2720-20: Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
Linear Shrinkage. Bureau of Indian Standards publications, New
Delhi (1992)
13. I.S. 2720-15: Indian Standard for Laboratory Determination of
Consolidation Properties. Bureau of Indian Standards publications,
New Delhi (1986)
14. Muhmed, A., Wanatowski, D.: Effect of lime stabilisation on the
strength and microstructure of clay. IOSR J. Mech. Civil Eng. 6(3),
87–94 (2013)
15. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: A study on the potential utilization of
crumb rubber in cement treated soft clay. J. Build. Eng. 9, 177–191
(2017)
16. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: Behaviour of cement stabilized treated
coir fiber reinforced clay-pond ash mixtures. J. Build. Eng. 8,
131–140 (2016)
17. Ates, A.: Mechanical properties of sandy soils reinforced with
cement and randomly distributed glass fibers (GRC). Compos.
B 96, 295–304 (2016)
18. Tang, C., Shi, B., Gao, W., Chen, F., Cai, Y.: Strength and
mechanical behavior of short polypropylene fiber reinforced and
cement stabilized clayey soil. Geotext. Geomembr. 25, 194–202
(2007)
19. Yadav, J.S., Tiwari, S.K.: Effect of waste rubber fibers on the
geotechnical properties of clay stabilized with cement. Appl. Clay
Sci. 149, 97–110 (2017)
20. Rao, S.M., Shivananda, P.: Compressibility behavior of lime-
stabilized clay. Geotech. Geol. Eng. 23, 309–319 (2005)