Sustainable soil stabilization using marble dust waste on high plasticity soils: Physical and mechanical properties study

Abstract

Soils with high plasticity tend to have strong plastic properties and easily deform when exposed to shear forces. These soils are often a problem in construction because of their ability to cause deformation and cracks in structures. Therefore, high plasticity soils require stabilization to increase their bearing capacity and reduce the risk of damage to the structure. A sample of this soil-stabilizing is marble dust waste which is normally generated in large quantities and has been discovered to hurt the environment. Therefore, this study focuses on determining the effect of marble dust waste addition as a stabilizer on soil's physical and mechanical properties. The physical properties tests carried out were the physical properties tests for compaction, Atterberg limit, specific gravity and particle size distribution of the original soil, the mixed soil, and the marble powder's chemical properties. The chemical properties test of marble powder consists of XRF and SEM-EDX tests. Based on the characterization results, marble powder is dominated by CaO compounds, the morphology of the particles is agglomerated and irregular shape. The mechanical test conducted was a CBR with the marble powder waste varied at 0%, 7% and 27% for a curing time of 0, 3 and 7 days. The results showed that adding the material reduced the plasticity index (PI) value from 29.24% to 10.56% and increased the CBR value by 15.50% by applying a 7% variation over a 7-day cure time. Additionally, it's important to note that the CBR standard for subgrade specifications typically requires a value exceeding 6%. This indicates that the curing time affects the increment in the CBR value and that marble powder wastes can be used as an additive for sustainable soil stabilization.