Compaction and Shear Behaviors of Sandy Soil Treated with Lime and Metakaolin

• Published in: Geotechnical and geological engineering 2024, Vol.42 (1), p.79-95
• Main Authors: Alhakim, Ghida, Baalbaki, Oussama, Jaber, Lina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Admixtures; Brittleness; Civil Engineering; Construction sites; Dry weight; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Hydrogeology; Lime soil stabilization; Mechanical properties; Metakaolin; Moisture content; Normal stress; Original Paper; Sandy soils; Shear strength; Shear tests; Soil chemistry; Soil compaction; Soil improvement; Soil lime; Soil mechanics; Soil mixtures; Soil moisture; Soil properties; Soil stabilization; Soil treatment; Terrestrial Pollution; Urbanization; Waste Management/Waste Technology; Water content; Weight
• ISSN: 0960-3182; 1573-1529
• DOI: 10.1007/s10706-023-02555-w

With civilization and urbanization growth, appropriate construction sites with satisfactory geotechnical conditions become less available. Hence, the chemical stabilization of soil has always been an issue of concern for engineers, applied for ground improvement. The present article discusses the influence of metakaolin on the geotechnical properties of sandy soil treated with lime. For this purpose, Proctor and Direct Shear tests were performed to study the mechanical behavior of both untreated and treated soil specimens. The lime in percentages of 3, 6, 9, and 12% by dry weight of sand was utilized, and the metakaolin was added to partially substitute this stabilizer by 10, 20, and 30% of its weight. The results indicated that the inclusion of lime increased the maximum dry unit weight and decreased the optimum moisture content of the soil. While the metakaolin addition slightly augmented the moisture content of the lime-soil mixtures and improved their maximum unit weights at high contents. The research findings showed that for all the stabilizer contents, the shear strength and shear strength parameters of the soil were improved. Yet, the highest improvement was detected when lime was partly replaced by the metakaolin admixture for some contents. The brittleness index of the soil mixtures augmented with the incorporation of lime or L-MK and reduced by increasing the normal stress.