Expansive and Compressibility Behavior of Lime Stabilized Fiber-Reinforced Marine Clay

Abstract

Expansive soils are liable to cause damages to engineering structures and subsequent yearly repairs worth billions of dollars worldwide. Given the extensive global occurrence of expansive soils, it is imperative to restrain the natural expansive and compressibility behavior of such soils to a controllable extent. Consequently, the present study examined the expansive and compressibility behavior of lime-stabilized marine clays reinforced with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% natural coir fibers (CF) and synthetic polypropylene fibers (PPF). Accordingly, a series of one-dimensional (1D) swell-consolidation and linear shrinkage tests were conducted on untreated and treated 7-day cured clay samples to examine their volume-change behavior. Results indicated an optial reduction in the swelling potential of the lime-stabilized clay upon the addition of 1% CF or 1.5% PPF and a maximum reduction in the linear shrinkage of the clay upon the addition of 2% CF or 1.5% PPF, respectively. Similarly, an optimal reduction in the compressibility of the lime-stabilized clay was achieved upon the addition of 2% CF or 1% PPF. The microstructural analysis showed the formation of cementation compounds (C-S-H and C-A-H) owing to the clay-lime interaction. The reported findings engaged the concurrent application of lime and natural/synthetic fibers to improve the expansive and compressibility behavior of soft marine clayey deposits.