Stabilisation of an erodible soil using a chemical admixture

Abstract

Internal erosional behaviour of a lignosulfonate-treated dispersive soil has been studied using apparatus designed and built at University of Wollongong. The effectiveness of lignosulfonate-treated dispersive clay on its erosion resistance has been investigated and its advantages over traditional admixtures (cement) have been presented. Lignosulfonate is a non-toxic admixture that can stabilise certain erodible and dispersive soils effectively, without causing any adverse environmental impact on the ground unlike some traditional stabilisers. Test results show that the erosional parameters such as critical shear stress and coefficient of soil erosion are improved with the increase in the amount of lignosulfonate. Knowledge about the clay particles and lignosulfonate interaction mechanisms is pertinent for long-term environmental sustainability of treated soils, a factor which is poorly understood at microscopic level. Considering this, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were carried out on representative samples to understand the stabilisation mechanism at the particle scale level. The improvement of performance exhibited by the lignosulfonate-treated soil can be mainly attributed to the reduction of the doublelayer thickness by the neutralisation of surface charges of the clay particles and the formation of more stable particle clusters by polymer bridging. Internal erosional behaviour of a lignosulfonate-treated dispersive soil has been studied using apparatus designed and built at University of Wollongong. The effectiveness of lignosulfonate-treated dispersive clay on its erosion resistance has been investigated and its advantages over traditional admixtures (cement) have been presented. Lignosulfonate is a non-toxic admixture that can stabilise certain erodible and dispersive soils effectively, without causing any adverse environmental impact on the ground unlike some traditional stabilisers. Test results show that the erosional parameters such as critical shear stress and coefficient of soil erosion are improved with the increase in the amount of lignosulfonate. Knowledge about the clay particles and lignosulfonate interaction mechanisms is pertinent for long-term environmental sustainability of treated soils, a factor which is poorly understood at microscopic level. Considering this, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were carried out on representative samples to understand the stabilisation mechanism at the particle scale level. The improvement of performance exhibited by the lignosulfonate-treated soil can be mainly attributed to the reduction of the doublelayer thickness by the neutralisation of surface charges of the clay particles and the formation of more stable particle clusters by polymer bridging.the Institution of Civil Engineers Ground Improvement 163 February 2010 Issue GI1 Pages 43

The swelling behaviour of lignosulfonate-treated expansive soil

“…Tingle and Santoni, 2003;Indraratna et al 2010;Vinod et al 2010;Athukorala et al 2013). Many of these non-traditional stabilizers have shown to require much less quantity for soil stabilization compared to traditional admixtures or superior durability properties and/or reduced curing time Harichane, 2011).…”

Estimating the Rate of Erosion of a Silty Sand Treated with Lignosulfonate

“…A lignin-based chemical known as lignosulfonate (LS), has shown promise at stabilizing some problematic soils (Puppala and Hanchanloet 1999;Pengelly et al 1997;Tingle and Santoni 2003;Indraratna et al 2008a,b;Vinod et al 2010). Indraratna et al (2008b) carried out laboratory experiments on dispersive soils treated with LS using the novel Process Simulation Apparatus for Internal Crack Erosion (PSAICE).…”

An Investigation into Strength and Permittivity of Compacted Sand-Clay Mixtures by Partial Replacement of Water with Lignosulfonate

“…It was underlined that lignosulfonate is free of corrosive and toxic substances [11]. Use of lignosulfonate stabilizes the pH level and the vegetation remains possible [12,13]. Evaluation of compressive strength of stabilized specimens has shown that similar strength values could be obtained using lower amounts of lignosulfonate, in comparison with traditional stabilizers [6,12].…”

“…Evaluation of compressive strength of stabilized specimens has shown that similar strength values could be obtained using lower amounts of lignosulfonate, in comparison with traditional stabilizers [6,12]. Several studies include microstructural analyses for a better evaluation of interaction between grains and lignosulfonate [8,13]. X-ray diffraction analysis results have revealed that crystallization or irregular compounds were not observed in dispersive clays stabilized by lignosulfonate.…”