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http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/gae.2015.8.5.687

Soil water characteristic curve and improvement in lime treated expansive soil  

Al-Mahbashi, Ahmed M. (Eng. Abdullah Bugshan Research Chair in Expansive Soils, Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University)
Elkady, Tamer Y. (Eng. Abdullah Bugshan Research Chair in Expansive Soils, Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University)
Alrefeai, Talal O. (Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University)
Publication Information
Geomechanics and Engineering / v.8, no.5, 2015 , pp. 687-706 More about this Journal
Abstract
Methods commonly used to evaluate the improvement of lime-treated expansive soil include swelling characteristics and unconfined compressive strength. In the field, lime-treated expansive soils are in compacted unsaturated state. Soil water characteristic curves (SWCCs) represent a key parameter to interpret and describe the behavior of unsaturated expansive soil. This paper investigates the use of SWCC as a technique to evaluate improvements acquired by expansive soil after lime treatment. Three different lime contents were considered 2%, 4% and 6% by dry weight of clay. Series of tests were performed to determine the SWCC for the different lime content under curing periods of 7 and 28 day. Correlations between key features of the soil water characteristic curves of lime treated expansive soils and basic engineering behavior such as swelling characteristics and unconfined compression strength were established. Test results revealed that initial slope ($S_1$), saturated water content ($w_{sat}$), and air entry value (AEV) play an important role in reflecting improvement in engineering behavior achieved by lime treatment.
Keywords
unsaturated soil; expansive soil; lime treatment; soil water characteristic curves;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
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