Some Geotechnical Properties of Clay Soil Enhanced with Silica Fume

Abstract

Engineering structures found in, or on, some clay soil types may be subject to different damages due to the problematic nature and unfavorited properties of these soils. The unfavorited properties of these soils include shrink and swell changes, high settlement, and low bearing capacity. These soils have high sensitivity to moisture change. The way to reduce or overcome the unfavorited properties of problematic soils is the treatment or enhancement of these soils using different mechanical or chemical methods. In the present paper, silica fume selected as a soil stabilizer material, the effect of different contents of this material on the geotechnical properties of expansive clay soil has been experimentally investigated. Tests included soil specific gravity, soil plasticity, soil compaction, and soil compressibility. It was noted that silica fume, with different contents, decreased the specific gravity, and compaction density, while the compaction water content and Atterberg limits increased. The consolidation parameters of the expansive clay soil were affected by adding the silica fume. The silica fume reduced the consolidation parameters values of the clay soil. At low content silica fume, less than 10%, a very slight reduction can be seen especially for the rebound index value. The final findings of this paper appeared that the high settlement of clay soil can be reduced with the presence of silica fume.