Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Geotechnics

SOIL MIX WITH QUICKLIME FOR MOISTURE CONTENT REDUCTION TO

OPTIMUM OF COMPACTION. LABORATORY AND CASE STUDY

Lecturer. PhD. Ernest Olinic1

Teaching Assist. PhD. Tatiana Ivasuc2
1
Technical University of Civil Engineering, Romania
2
University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Romania

ABSTRACT
Soil compaction is effective and is realized on site at moisture levels close to optimum
of compaction. In periods of excess moisture produced by heavy rainfall or snowmelt,
moisture reduction is obtained by adding quicklime. This method was applied to build a
compacted cushion consisting of two types of cohesive materials: silty clay with
moisture content with 5% greater than the optimum of compaction and loess
(collapsible soil) with moisture content with 5…10% greater than the optimum of
compaction. The paper presents extensive laboratory tests conducted to determine the
optimum percentage of quicklime to reduce the excessive moisture to the optimum of
compaction, the degree of compaction achieved by mixing in comparison to the
compacted untreated material and the methodology for conducting the mixture and the
compaction on site.
Keywords: soil mix, quicklime, degree of compaction

INTRODUCTION
In order to build a compacted cushion consisting of two types of cohesive materials:
brownish silty clay with moisture content with 5% greater than the optimum of
compaction and yellowish silty clay (loess - collapsible soil) with moisture content with
5…10% greater than the optimum of compaction, the stabilization with quicklime was
applied.
Soil samples were taken from the site and grain size distribution, moisture content and
plasticity limit tests were performed. Table 1 shows the physical characteristics of the
analyzed soils.
Table 1. Physical characteristics of the soils

w wP wL IP IC
Soil type
Sand
Clay

[%] [%] [%] [%] [-]

Silt

Brownish silty clay 25 58 2 17.6 12.4 43.9 30.4 0.75

÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷
35 72 5 20.4 14.5 48.7 34.2 0.86
Yellowish silty clay 24 71 2 17.1 14.5 39.7 24.9 0.58
(compacted loess) ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷
26 73 4 26.8 15.7 45.0 30.3 0.90
14th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2014

COMPACTION CHARACTERISTICS ON NATURAL SOIL SAMPLES

Standard Proctor compaction tests were performed on both types of soils, on brownish
silty clay and on yellowish silty clay (loess). The optimal parameters of compaction
were determined by Proctor compaction curve (Figure 1). Oedometric compression tests
were performed on these samples to determine the oedometric modulus. The values of
optimal parameters of compaction and the oedometric modulus are shown in Table 2.

Figure 1. Compaction curves for brownish silty clay and yellowish silty clay
Table 2. Compaction characteristics and the oedometric modulus of the sample around
the optimum of compaction
wopt ρdmax Eoed200-300
Soil type Sample
[%] [t/m3] [kPa]
Brownish silty clay A2 12270
17.2 1.74
A3 7491
Yellowish silty clay L3 13333
14.9 1.79
(compacted loess) L4 8065
QUICKLIME STABILIZATION. REACTION IN TIME
By mixing soil with quicklime, moisture reduction is obtained due to the exothermic
reaction of extinguishing lime [2], [3]. The first step in quicklime stabilization is to
determine the moisture content variation in time. In this case a brownish silty clay
sample (2000 g of dry soil) has been brought to a moisture content of approx. 28% and
was mixed, for 5 minutes, with 5% of quicklime. The moisture content and soil
temperature were measured in time. The sample was maintained in laboratory
conditions (ambient temperature about 20°C) and at every 20 minutes was homogenized
and samples were taken for moisture content determination. The soil temperature was
measured periodically. Figure 2 shows the variation of temperature and moisture
content in time. In this figure can be seen that the sample temperature reaches a value of
41.2°C after 20 minutes of mixing the soil with quicklime. The moisture content
decreases with 7% immediately after the addition of lime and remains quasi-constant.
 Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Geotechnics

Figure 2. The temperature and moisture content variations after quicklime stabilization
of the brownish silty clay sample
The same test procedure was repeated for the yellowish silty clay (loess). It was noticed
that for 5% quicklime addition the moisture content decreased by 5% (Figure 3).
Analyzing these experiments, due to the time reaction between quicklime and soil, it
was noticed that moisture content decrease immediately as soon as the lime reacts to the
soil.

Figure 3. The temperature and moisture content variations after quicklime stabilization
of the yellowish silty clay sample
DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL PERCENTAGE OF QUICKLIME
These soils was stabilized with quicklime in order to determine the optimum percent of
lime which reduces the moisture content up to a moisture content close to the optimal
compaction moisture content [1].
Initially, the brownish silty clay sample has been brought to 25% of moisture content
and quicklime was added in different percentages: 2, 4 and 6%. Figure 4 shows that it is
necessary to add approx. 5% quicklime to bring the sample to a moisture content close
to optimum compaction moisture (wopt = 17.2%).
If the molding water is close to 20%, for the same soil type, the necessary percent of
quicklime which gives optimum compaction moisture of 17.2% is 4%. The 7 samples of
brown clay taken from the site have a moisture content of 17.6 ... 22.1% with an
14th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2014

average value of approx. 20%, this test was performed to simulate the site conditions as
closely as possible in the laboratory tests (Figure 4).
The same test procedure was performed for the yellowish silty clay (loess) under the
same conditions:
For a loess sample with an initially moisture content of approx. 25% by the addition of
8% lime the moisture content reaches a minimum value of 19.3%; this value is much
higher than the optimum of compaction moisture content (wopt = 14.9%). In conclusion,
if the material has similar properties, quicklime stabilization does not decrease the
moisture content enough to achieve optimum of compaction moisture content.
By the addition to 5% quicklime to a loess sample with 20% moisture content the
optimum compaction moisture content is reached (Figure 5).

Figure 4. The variation of moisture content with qiucklime percentage added to

brownish silty clay sample

Figure 5. The variation of moisture content with qiucklime percentage added to

brownish silty clay sample
 Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Geotechnics

COMPRESIBILITY CHARACTERISTICS ON SOIL-QUICKLIME MIXTURES

Compresibility test were carried out on the stabilized samples in order to determine the
oedometric moduli. Figure 6 shows the stabilized samples overlapped on Standard
Proctor curves.
It is noticed that the compacted sample of brownish silty clay is around the optimum of
compaction both in terms of dry density as well as optimum moisture content by the
addition of 4…5% quicklime if the initial moisture content varies between 20 and 25%.
In the case of yellowish silty clay (loess) the compacted sample is around the optimum
of compation if 5% of lime is added the sample with initial moisture content of
maximum 20%.

Figure 6. Quicklime stabilized samples overlapped on Proctor curves

The compressibility tests performed on stabilized compacted samples revealed that the
oedometric moduli reaches values even higher than the compacted samples without
addition of quicklime (Eoed200-300 = 16949 ÷ 19608 kPa) (Table 3).
The tests were canceled on samples with high content of quicklime because the material
becomes breakable and it was impossible to preserve undisturbed samples.
Table 3. Oedometric tests results performed on compacted stabilized samples
Sample Initial moisture Percentage of Oedometric modulus,
content quickime Eoed200-300
[%] [%] [kPa]
2 16000
25 4* 16949
6* 17699
Brownish silty clay
2 16949
20 4* 19608
6 n/a
2 12195
25 5 17544
Yellowish silty clay 8 n/a
(loess) 3 23810
20 5* 19048
7 n/a
* - samples around optimum of compaction
14th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2014

CONCLUSIONS
In order to establish the optimum percentage of quicklime added to reach the optimum
of compaction moisture content, the following should be taken into account.
• The brownish silty clay will reach the optimum of compaction, both in terms of
density in the dry state and optimal moisture content, with addition of 4...5%
quicklime, if the initial moisture content varies between 20 and 25%.
• The loessoid material (yellowish silty clay) will reach the optimum of compaction
with addition of 5% quicklime if the initial moisture content is maximum 20%. For
higher values of moisture content the treatment with quicklime is inefficient.
• The compressibility tests performed on stabilized compacted samples revealed that
the oedometric moduli reaches values even higher than the compacted samples
without addition of quicklime (Eoed200-300 = 16949 ÷ 19608 kPa).
• The experiments performed to record the time reaction between quicklime and soil
noticed that moisture content decrease immediately as soon as the lime is added. This
conclusion indicate the fact that, for in situ works, after the spreading of quicklime,
the mixing and the compaction should be performed immediately, without having to
wait for a reaction time.
REFERENCES
[1] Kavak A. & Akyarh A. A field application to lime stabilization, Environmental
Geology, 2007, pp 987-997.
[2] Nicolescu L. Consolidation and stabilization of soils. Ed. Ceres, Romania, 1981.
[3] Rao S. & Shivananda P. Role of curing temperature in progress of lime-soil
reactions, Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 2005, pp 79-85.