Usage of Quarry Dust and Lime as a stabilization agent for Fine grained soils

Abstract

From recent past, a great amount of attention has been given to the use of alternative materials, which provide higher engineering quality than conventionally used materials as well as the financial affordability. Engineers have been facing a challenging task of improving the qualities of fine grained soil by using different materials. Clay soils have been found to be having better plastic properties because increased moisture results in a lower shear strength, compressive strength and volume changes. Soils of this nature can be tackled effectively using soil stabilization. This research was done to determine whether quarry dust (QD) with the combination of lime (L) can be used as stabilizing agents for fine grained soils. In this study, different mixture proportions of quarry dust and lime were used to improve the soil. Then the properties of soils including liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL), maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) were determined and compared to another soil based on the laboratory observations. It was found that 13% of lime and 27% of quarry dust as the optimum mixture. From the cost comparison, it was found that soil stabilization method is more economical than the conventional excavation and backfilling method.