Geotechnical properties of problematic expansive subgrade stabilized with guar gum biopolymer

Hamza, Muhammad; Nie, Zhihong; Ijaz, Nauman; Fang, Chuanfeng; Ghani, Muhammad Usman; Ijaz, Zain; Noshin, Sadaf; Salman, Muhammad

doi:10.1007/s10098-023-02466-7

Cited by 20 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Lemboye and Almajed [ 7 ] improved the UCS of pectin-stabilized sandy soil by 137-fold and attributed the strength gain to the loss in the moisture of the stabilized sand. Hamza et al [ 8 ] evaluated the long-term strengthening effect of a problematic swelling clay on treatment with guar gum biopolymer and noted a linear increase in strength with the curing period, with the UCS attaining 654 kN/m 2 after 365 days. Babatunde and Byun [ 9 ] treated sandy soil with zein biopolymer and enhanced its stiffness by 2050%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freeze-Dried β-Glucan and Poly-γ-glutamic Acid: An Efficient Stabilizer to Strengthen Subgrades of Low Compressible Fine-Grained Soils with Varying Curing Periods

Vishweshwaran,

Sujatha,

Baldovino

2024

Polymers

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The freeze-drying of biopolymers presents a fresh option with greater potential for application in soil subgrade stabilization. A freeze-dried combination of β-glucan (BG) and γ-poly-glutamic acid (GPA) biopolymers was used to treat low compressible clay (CL) and low compressible silt (ML) soils in dosages of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%. The California bearing ratio (CBR) test for the treated specimens was performed under three curing conditions: (i) thermal curing at 60 °C, (ii) air-curing for seven days followed by submergence for 4 days, and (iii) no curing, i.e., tested immediately after mixing. To investigate the influence of shear strength on the freeze-dried biopolymer-stabilized soil specimens and their variations with aging, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted after thermal curing at 60 °C for 3 days, 7 days, and 7 days of thermal curing followed by 21 days of air curing. The maximum CBR of 125.3% was observed for thermally cured CL and a minimum CBR of 6.1% was observed under soaked curing conditions for ML soils. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy, average particle size, permeability, and adsorption tests revealed the pore filling, biopolymer adsorption and coating on the soil surface, and agglomeration of the soil along with the presence of hydrogen bonds, covalent amide bonds, and Van der Waals forces that contributed to the stiffening of the stabilized soil. Using three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) and layered elastic analysis (LEA), a mechanistic–empirical pavement design was carried out for the stabilized soil and a design thickness catalog was prepared for the maximum CBR. The cost reductions for a 1 km section of the pavement were expected to be 12.5%.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%