Feasibility of local lime for use in soil stabilization
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Date
1999
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Publisher
University of New Brunswick
Abstract
New policies requiring the use of available soils in highway projects have recently been
introduced at the New Brunswick Department of Transportation. These policies state that in-situ
soils must be incorporated into designs in order to reduce costs. This means that many low
strength soils that would normally have been excavated must now be left in place. This has led
to a greater emphasis being put on soil stabilization.
This study was therefore performed in order to determine if the lime from the Sussex area
in New Brunswick is suitable for use in soil stabilization. Soils from the Quisibis River Bridge
#1.5 and Southwest Miramichi River Bridge #3 project areas were used in this study. The
geotechnical properties of the soils were determined. The soils were then mixed with 3%
quicklime content, and were cured for periods of one day, one week, and four weeks. These
samples were then tested to determine strength gains, changes in plasticity, and changes in
compressibility.
The silt from the Quisibis River project site was not significantly improved with the
addition of lime. The clay from the Southwest Miramichi project site displayed noticeable
improvements in texture, workability, and strength. It also became non-plastic after the
quicklime treatment. The change in compressibility of the clay was not as high as some changes
reported in the literature, but the clay was still found to be reactive.