A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIFFERENT ADDITIVE ON THE INDEX PROPERTIES OF EXPANSIVE SOILS
Muntohar, A.S., and Abidin, Z., 2001, " A comparative study of different additive on the index properties of
expansive soils ", Jurnal Semesta Teknika, Vol. 4 No. 2 November 2001 pp. 59-67.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIFFERENT ADDITIVE ON
THE INDEX PROPERTIES OF EXPANSIVE SOILS
Agus Setyo Muntohar 1, Zainal Abidin 2
ABSTRACT
Expansive soils pose a detrimental for any construction that rest upon this soil. This paper
presents a comparative study of different additives on the index properties of expansive soils.
Three additives are used. One is lime, and two others are waste materials, calcium carbide,
and rice husk ash. A laboratory study consisted of the following tests on samples treated with
stabilizer: Atterberg Limits, Particle Size, and Specific Gravity. It was found that the addition
of 4 % additive be able minimize plasticity index and reduce clay particle of tested samples.
The results confirmed that, however, lime is more effective as stabilizer, then calcium carbide,
and RHA the latest.
Keywords: soil stabilization, expansive soils, index properties.
INTRODUCTION
Human have always realized that soil influences their survival. Soils is the ground on which
human stand and build with soil. The study of expansive clay soils has attracted a great deal
of attention in the last few years; since many countries are somehow affected by these soils,
Indonesia being perhaps one very dramatic example. Besides the purely scientific interest in
soils, the growth of the cities has led to dedicate more resources towards the investigation in
this area, for it represents both a technological and social problem. For instance, some articles
(Jones & Holtz, 1973) mentioned that the estimated damage, which could be attributed to soil
expansion, amounts over 2,000 million dollars a year, as summarized in Table 1.
Table 1 Estimated damaged caused by expansive soils
Construction category
Single-family homes
Commercial buildings
Multi-story buildings
Walks, drives, parking areas
Highway and streets
Underground utilities and service
Airports
Urban landslides
Others
Estimated average annual
loss (millions of dollars)
300
360
80
110
1,140
100
40
25
100
In areas with expansive clays, the soils are generally stiff, and the chance of lightly
loaded structures cracking due to settlement is rather remote. At the same time, there exist a
large number of instances where heavy cracks have appeared in the basement walls that were
not caused by foundation failure but by the earth pressure exerted on the wall, generally
1
2
Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
Alumnae, Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
compounded by seepage pressure. Many cases where vertical or horizontal cracks have
developed in the basement wall, earth pressure problems are immediate suspects. In turn,
diagonal cracks, which develop below windows and above doors, are a strong indication of
swelling movement.
While it is true that swelling soils are probably responsible for most of the cracking and
movement of lightly loaded structures, other aspects of foundation movement cannot and
should not be ignored (Chen, 1975). The recent volcanic nature of most of the soft material In
Indonesia sometimes means the presence of less weathered clay minerals, such as smectites
Areas with swelling soils can also be found, such as in Java hold the majority 60% (Younger,
1991). Generally, these soils have highly swelling and compressibility.
Therefore, due to all the problems generated by expansive soils when moisturized,
several alternatives have already been suggested, among them the treatment of the soils by a
number of materials. In recent years, researchers from many fields have attempted to solve the
problems posed by industrial wastes. Finding a way for the utilisation of these wastes would
be an advantageous way of getting free of them. Recent projects illustrated that successful
waste utilisation could result in considerable savings in construction costs (Kamon &
Nontananandh, 1991).
Accordingly, a comparative study of different materials, which have been proposed as
stabilizing agents for expansive clays, is presented in this work. Two wastes materials, rice
husk ash (RHA) and calcium carbide (CC), were studied and compared due to lime. It is an
age – old practice to use lime in one form or the other to improve the engineering behaviour
of expansive soils. Use of lime as admixtures for ground improvement has been in practice.
This paper presents a comparative study of those additives on the index properties of
expansive soils.
Measurement of expansive soils
Index properties refer to those properties of a soil that indicate the type and condition of the
soil, and provide a relationship to structural properties, such as the strength and the
compressibility or tendency for swelling and permeability.
The presence of even small amounts of certain clay minerals in a soil mass can have
significant effect on the properties of the soil. Identifying the type and amount of clay
minerals may be necessary in order to predict the soil’s behaviour or to develop methods for
minimizing detrimental effects. Clay minerals can be identified using a variety of techniques.
The most commonly employed techniques are: Mineralogy Identification, Indirect Methods
(Index properties, Potential Volume Change (PVC), Activity (Ac)) and Direct Methods
(Laboratory tests) (Nelson, et al, 1990).
The physical properties of expansive soils are (1) moisture content, (2) dry density, and
(3) index properties. Table 2 is a guide for estimating the potential volume changes of
expansive soils (Chen, 1975), reproduced here to aid comparisons.
Table 2 Data for making estimates of potential volume changes for expansive soils
% Passing
No. 200 sieve
Liquid
limit
> 35
60 – 90
30 – 60
< 30
(%)
> 60
40 – 60
30 – 40
< 30
Standard
penetration
resistance
(blows/ft)
> 30
20 – 30
10 – 20
< 30
Probable
expansion
Swelling
pressure
Degree
of expansion
%
> 10
3 –10
1–5
expansive soils ", Jurnal Semesta Teknika, Vol. 4 No. 2 November 2001 pp. 59-67.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIFFERENT ADDITIVE ON
THE INDEX PROPERTIES OF EXPANSIVE SOILS
Agus Setyo Muntohar 1, Zainal Abidin 2
ABSTRACT
Expansive soils pose a detrimental for any construction that rest upon this soil. This paper
presents a comparative study of different additives on the index properties of expansive soils.
Three additives are used. One is lime, and two others are waste materials, calcium carbide,
and rice husk ash. A laboratory study consisted of the following tests on samples treated with
stabilizer: Atterberg Limits, Particle Size, and Specific Gravity. It was found that the addition
of 4 % additive be able minimize plasticity index and reduce clay particle of tested samples.
The results confirmed that, however, lime is more effective as stabilizer, then calcium carbide,
and RHA the latest.
Keywords: soil stabilization, expansive soils, index properties.
INTRODUCTION
Human have always realized that soil influences their survival. Soils is the ground on which
human stand and build with soil. The study of expansive clay soils has attracted a great deal
of attention in the last few years; since many countries are somehow affected by these soils,
Indonesia being perhaps one very dramatic example. Besides the purely scientific interest in
soils, the growth of the cities has led to dedicate more resources towards the investigation in
this area, for it represents both a technological and social problem. For instance, some articles
(Jones & Holtz, 1973) mentioned that the estimated damage, which could be attributed to soil
expansion, amounts over 2,000 million dollars a year, as summarized in Table 1.
Table 1 Estimated damaged caused by expansive soils
Construction category
Single-family homes
Commercial buildings
Multi-story buildings
Walks, drives, parking areas
Highway and streets
Underground utilities and service
Airports
Urban landslides
Others
Estimated average annual
loss (millions of dollars)
300
360
80
110
1,140
100
40
25
100
In areas with expansive clays, the soils are generally stiff, and the chance of lightly
loaded structures cracking due to settlement is rather remote. At the same time, there exist a
large number of instances where heavy cracks have appeared in the basement walls that were
not caused by foundation failure but by the earth pressure exerted on the wall, generally
1
2
Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
Alumnae, Department of Civil Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
compounded by seepage pressure. Many cases where vertical or horizontal cracks have
developed in the basement wall, earth pressure problems are immediate suspects. In turn,
diagonal cracks, which develop below windows and above doors, are a strong indication of
swelling movement.
While it is true that swelling soils are probably responsible for most of the cracking and
movement of lightly loaded structures, other aspects of foundation movement cannot and
should not be ignored (Chen, 1975). The recent volcanic nature of most of the soft material In
Indonesia sometimes means the presence of less weathered clay minerals, such as smectites
Areas with swelling soils can also be found, such as in Java hold the majority 60% (Younger,
1991). Generally, these soils have highly swelling and compressibility.
Therefore, due to all the problems generated by expansive soils when moisturized,
several alternatives have already been suggested, among them the treatment of the soils by a
number of materials. In recent years, researchers from many fields have attempted to solve the
problems posed by industrial wastes. Finding a way for the utilisation of these wastes would
be an advantageous way of getting free of them. Recent projects illustrated that successful
waste utilisation could result in considerable savings in construction costs (Kamon &
Nontananandh, 1991).
Accordingly, a comparative study of different materials, which have been proposed as
stabilizing agents for expansive clays, is presented in this work. Two wastes materials, rice
husk ash (RHA) and calcium carbide (CC), were studied and compared due to lime. It is an
age – old practice to use lime in one form or the other to improve the engineering behaviour
of expansive soils. Use of lime as admixtures for ground improvement has been in practice.
This paper presents a comparative study of those additives on the index properties of
expansive soils.
Measurement of expansive soils
Index properties refer to those properties of a soil that indicate the type and condition of the
soil, and provide a relationship to structural properties, such as the strength and the
compressibility or tendency for swelling and permeability.
The presence of even small amounts of certain clay minerals in a soil mass can have
significant effect on the properties of the soil. Identifying the type and amount of clay
minerals may be necessary in order to predict the soil’s behaviour or to develop methods for
minimizing detrimental effects. Clay minerals can be identified using a variety of techniques.
The most commonly employed techniques are: Mineralogy Identification, Indirect Methods
(Index properties, Potential Volume Change (PVC), Activity (Ac)) and Direct Methods
(Laboratory tests) (Nelson, et al, 1990).
The physical properties of expansive soils are (1) moisture content, (2) dry density, and
(3) index properties. Table 2 is a guide for estimating the potential volume changes of
expansive soils (Chen, 1975), reproduced here to aid comparisons.
Table 2 Data for making estimates of potential volume changes for expansive soils
% Passing
No. 200 sieve
Liquid
limit
> 35
60 – 90
30 – 60
< 30
(%)
> 60
40 – 60
30 – 40
< 30
Standard
penetration
resistance
(blows/ft)
> 30
20 – 30
10 – 20
< 30
Probable
expansion
Swelling
pressure
Degree
of expansion
%
> 10
3 –10
1–5