Strength, Hydraulic, and Microstructural Characteristics of Expansive Soils Incorporating Marble Dust and Rice Husk Ash

Abstract

Expansive/swell-shrink soils exhibit high plasticity and low strength, which lead to settlement and instability of lightly loaded structures. These problematic soils contain various swelling clay minerals that are unsuitable for engineering requirements. In an attempt to counter the treacherous damage of such soils in modern geotechnical engineering, efforts are underway to utilize environmentally friendly and sustainable waste materials as stabilizers. This study evaluates the strength and consolidation characteristics of expansive soils treated with marble dust (MD) and rice husk ash (RHA) through a multitude of laboratory tests, including consistency limits, compaction, uniaxial compression strength (UCS), and consolidation tests. By using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses, the effect of curing on UCS after 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 112 days was studied from the standpoint of microstructural changes. Also, the long-term strength development of treated soils was analyzed in terms of the interactive response of impacting factors with the assistance of a series of ANN-based sensitivity analyses. It is found from the results that the addition of MD and RHA lowered down the water holding capacity, thereby causing a reduction in soil plasticity (by 21% for MD and 14.5% for RHA) and optimum water content (by 2% for MD and increased by 6% for RHA) along with an increase in the UCS (for 8% MD from 97 kPa to 471 kPa and for 10% RHA from 211 kPa to 665 kPa, after 3 days and 112 days of curing, respectively). Moreover, from the oedometer test results, mv initially increased up to 6% dosage and then dropped with further increase in the preconsolidation pressure. Furthermore, the compression index dropped with an increase in the preconsolidation pressure and addition of MD/RHA, while the coefficient of permeability (k) of RHA stabilized soil was higher than that of MD-treated samples for almost all dosage levels. The formation of the fibrous cementitious compounds (C-S-H; C-A-H) increased at optimum additive dosage after 7 days and at higher curing periods. Hence, the use of 10% RHA and 12% MD as replacement of the expansive soil is recommended for higher efficacy. This research would be helpful in reducing the impacts created by the disposal of both expansive soil and industrial and agricultural waste materials.