Soil-Water Characteristic Curves of Stabilized Expansive Soils
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 6
Abstract
The engineering properties of expansive soils are conventionally improved through the use of additives such as fly ash, lime, and chemical additives. Such soils are often referred to as stabilized or modified or treated expansive soils. The soil-water characteristic curves (SWCC) of two expansive soils from Texas were measured both in natural and stabilized conditions using the pressure plate apparatus in the suction range of 0-1,000 kPa. The SWCC results are used to interpret the expansive soil behavior due to stabilizer treatment. In addition, relationships were developed between the basic soil and stabilizer properties such as water content, dry density, liquid limit, plastic limit, and stabilizer dosages and the model constants of the SWCC formulation of Fredlund and Xing via multiple linear regression analysis. The analysis showed that higher coefficients of correlations can be achieved by using six independent soil properties. The comparisons between the predicted and measured volumetric water contents are within for ash-treated expansive soils, and within for combined ash- and fiber-treated expansive soils. The research data and interpretation analysis presented here can be extended to understand volume change behaviors of other stabilized expansive soils using the SWCC test data.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Austin, Tex., under Research Grant No. UNSPECIFIED1407610-50. The writers would like to acknowledge this support. Also, the writers would like to acknowledge Boral Material Technologies, Texas, for providing material support and E. Garven for assistance in the preparation of the figures of this paper.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 6 • June 2006
Pages: 736 - 751
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 1, 2003
Accepted: Oct 7, 2005
Published online: Jun 1, 2006
Published in print: Jun 2006
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