Permeability Characteristics of Compacted and Stabilized Clay with Cement, Peat Ash and Silica Sand

Abstract

The present paper investigates the influence of stabilization with cement, peat ash, and silica sand on permeability coefficient (<em>k_v</em>) of compacted clay, using a novel approach to stabilize the clay with peat ash as a supplementary material of cement in the compacted and stabilized soil. In order to assess the mentioned influence, test specimens of both untreated and stabilized soil have been tested in the laboratory so that their permeability could be evaluated. Falling head and one dimensional consolidation tests of laboratory permeability were performed on the clay specimens and the chemical compositions of the materials as well as microstructure of the stabilized soil with 18% cement, 2% peat ash, and 5% silica sand were investigated, using X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy respectively. Results show that for soil stabilization with up to 8% cement content (of the dry weight of the soil), the average value of coefficient of permeability (<em>k_v</em>) is very close to that of untreated soil, whereas the <em>k_v</em> value decreases drastically for 18% cement under identical void ratio conditions. It is further revealed that addition of 18% cement, 2% peat ash, and 5% silica sand had decreased the coefficient of permeability by almost 2.2 folds after 24 h, while about 1.7 folds increase was observed in coefficient of permeability once 13.5% of cement, 1.5% of peat ash, and 20% of silica sand were added. The partial replacement of cement with the 2% peat ash can reduce the consumption of cement for soil stabilization.