International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

G AND ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET)

ISSN 0976 6308 (Print) ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), pp. 26-37 IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijciet.asp Journal Impact Factor (2012): 3.1861 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com

IJCIET
IAEME

STABILIZATION OF WEAK PAVEMENT SUBGRADES USING CEMENT KILN DUST

Brijesh Kumar1, Nitish Puri2
1

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, HCTM Technical Campus Kaithal brijesh.k.thakur@gmail.com 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, GCET, Greater Noida nitishpuri.ce.89@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Clays are notoriously well known for giving rise to swelling problems and difficulties in construction due to excessive settlement and limited strength. Hence, such types of soils need to be stabilized before construction for improving their engineering properties. In soil stabilization, cement is commonly used as a stabilizing agent, to simultaneously increase the strength and stiffness of the originally weak, soft material. However cement is relatively expensive and potentially harmful to the environment when admixed with soils. The need for alternative stabilizing agents which could reduce the use of cement is therefore apparent. The objective of the present study is to investigate shear strength characteristics as well as mechanical strength of Kaolinite clay soil treated with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 % by weight of cement kiln dust. This has been done to make the soil suitable to build pavements over it. Standard Proctor tests have been conducted to determine optimum moisture content and maximum dry density of Kaolinite clay and Kaolinite clay stabilized with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 % of CKD passing 425 micron IS sieve. It has been observed that with increase in the percentage of cement kiln dust, OMC decreases and MDD increases. The decrease in OMC with increase in cement kiln dust content may be attributed to the addition of material which is classified as silty sand to the parent material. The presence of cement kiln dust having higher specific gravity may be the cause for increase in density. A series of unconfined compressive strength tests have been conducted to determine the strength characteristics of Kaolinite clay treated with various percentages of cement kiln dust. It has been observed that up to 20 % mixing of admixture, unconfined compressive strength (qu) and undrained shear strength (cu) increase significantly then decrease with further increase in percentage of stabilizer. It may be attributed to the addition of non-plastic silty material having free lime content. However, when the same samples were tested for mechanical strength by performing CBR tests, it has been observed that the CBR values increases with increase in percentage of CKD. It may also be attributed to the addition of non-plastic silty material having free lime content. Overall, it has been observed that the cement kiln dust effectively increases strength and hence make clays suitable for building pavements over it.
26

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

Keywords: Stabilization, Cement kiln dust (CKD), Maximum dry density (MDD), Optimum moisture content (OMC), Stabilization, Unconfined compressive strength (qu) and Undrained shear strength (Cu). 1. INTRODUCTION Weak foundation soil conditions can result in inadequate support and reduce structural life. Soil properties can be improved through the addition of chemical or cementatious additives i.e stabilization [1]. Soil stabilization refers to the procedure in which a soil, a cementing material, or other chemical material is added to a parent soil to improve one or more of its properties. One may achieve stabilization by mechanically mixing the natural soil and stabilizing material together so as to achieve a homogenous mixture or by adding stabilizing material to an undisturbed soil deposit and obtaining interaction by letting it permeate through soil voids. These chemical additives range from waste products to manufactured material which includes Portland cement, Fly ash, chemical stabilizers and cement kiln dust. These additives can be used with variety of soils to improve their native engineering properties. The effectiveness of these additives depends on the soil treated and the amount of additive used. The high strength obtained from cement and lime may not always be required, however, and there is justification for seeking cheaper additives which may be used to alter soil properties. Invariably, any one of two methods is used to accomplish soil stabilization mechanical and additive. The effectiveness of a stabilization process can be gauged by the uniformity in blending the many materials. Usually, the preferred way of mixing is in a stationary or traveling plant. However other methods like scarifies, plows, disks, graders, and rotary mixers, are also largely practiced. The method of soil stabilization is decided by the amount of stabilization required and the prevailing conditions. Care must be taken to ensure that an accurate soil description and classification is procured in order to select the correct materials and procedures. Mechanical Stabilization is done by mixing soils of two or more gradations to result in a material of the required specifics. This mixing of the soil can take place at the construction site, at a central plant, or at a borrow area. The blended material is then spread and compacted to required densities. In additive method, an additive is any manufactured or commercial product that can be used to improve the quality of the soil, when added in accurate quantities. Portland cement, lime, lime-cement-fly ash and bitumen, alone or in combination, are commonly used additives to stabilize soils. The selection and quantity of additive used depends entirely on the type of soil and the degree of improvement required. In this study, cement kiln dust (CKD) was used as an additive to improve the texture, compaction properties and strength of kaolinite clay. Current study is based on the fact that when the additives containing free calcium hydroxide are mixed with the soil, the calcium causes the clay particles to flocculate into a more sand like structure reducing the plasticity of soil. Soil stabilization includes the effects of modification with a significant additional strength gain. Since the soil stabilization mechanism of fine grained soil requires calcium (in the form of lime) as the major stabilizing agent, hence we can use CKD which contains high free lime for stabilization of clay soil. 2. NEED FOR PRESENT STUDY The shear strength is, without doubt, the most important engineering property of soil. Also bearing capacity criteria or shear strength failure criteria must be satisfied for satisfactory performance of foundations. Hence the most important design input parameter needed for geotechnical design is soils shear strength [6].
27

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

There are three different type of failure mechanism, based on the pattern of shearing zones, have been identified as general shear failure, local shear failure and punching shear failure. In clays, punching shear failure is of great importance. It occurs in soils possessing the stress-strain characteristics of a very plastic soil. Typical features of this mode are: a) Poorly defined shear planes b) Soil zones beyond the loaded area being little affected. c) Significant penetration of a wedge shaped soil zone beneath the foundation, accompanied by vertical shear beneath the edges of the foundation. d) Ultimate load cannot be clearly recognized. Hence proper investigations regarding strength of soil must be done to ensure long serviceability of pavements. The present work aims to understand the strength characteristics of kaolinite treated with cement kiln dust. The globally growing demand of cement results in towering collection of CKD from cement plants. The disposal of this fine dust is very difficult and poses a serious environmental threat [7]. Our study also focuses on the reduction of the huge stock piles of this material. A better understanding of these properties will enhance the usage of this material in geotechnical engineering and highway engineering works. 3. MATERIALS USED 3.1 Kaolinite clay Clay mineral used in the experiments was collected from Starke & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 17 Najafgarh Road, Near Zakhira Chowk, New Delhi-110015. It was classified as CI (clay of intermediate compressibility) as per specifications of IS: 1498 (1970) [2]. The chemical and physical properties are reported in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively. Table 1. Chemical properties of kaolinite clay Constituents Al2O3 Fe2O3 TiO2 SiO2 CaO MgO Na2O + K2O LOI Percentage By Weight (%) 30.3 1.5 1.0 56.2 0.56 0.90 1.0 8.5

3.2 Cement kiln dust It was collected from Jaypee cement plant, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. It was classified as SM as per specifications of IS: 1498 (1970) [2]. The physical properties are reported in Table 1.

28

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

Table 2. Physical properties of materials Index Properties IS Classification Specific Gravity Liquid Limit Plastic Limit Plasticity Index OMC MDD CBR (Unsoaked) CBR (Soaked) 4. SAMPLE PREPARATION The whole process of sample preparation is divided into three parts, 1) Composition of samples, 2) Mechanical Mixing and 3) Static compaction. Composition of specimens Specimens of Kaolinite clay and Kaolinite clay treated with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 % of cement kiln dust passing 425 micron IS sieve were prepared at maximum dry density and optimum moisture content as per specifications of IS: 2720 (Part 7) (1974) [3]. 4.2 Mechanical mixing Oven dry soil was dry mixed with various percentages of oven dried cement kiln dust (CKD). Sufficient quantity of water was then added to bring the moisture content to the desired level. The mixture was then manually mixed thoroughly with a spatula. 4.3 4.1 Materials Kaolinite Clay CI 2.36 45 22 23 18% 1.69 g/cc 5.88 2.36 Cement Kiln Dust SM 2.52 NP -

Static compaction Cylindrical specimens were compacted by static compaction in 3.9 cm diameter split mould to the required height of 8.5 cm. The inner surface of the split mould was smeared with oil to reduce friction during the extraction of sample. The wet homogenous mixture was placed inside the split mould using spoon with continuous tapping with spatula and leveled. The whole assembly was statically compacted in loading frame to the desired density. The sample was kept under static load for not less than 20 minutes in order to account for any subsequent increase in height of sample due to swelling. All the specimens were kept in polythene bags for maturing for three days.
29

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

Fig. 1 Samples kept for maturing

5. ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS & DISCUSSION The objective of the present study is to investigate strength characteristics of Kaolinite clay soil treated with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 % by weight of cement kiln dust. This has been done to make the soil suitable to build pavements over it. In order to assess improvement in strength, unconfined compressive strength (qu), failure load and undrained shear strength (cu) have been evaluated [8]. The results of these tests have been analyzed under the following headings: 5.1 Moisture-density relationship Standard Proctor tests have been conducted to determine optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) of Kaolinite clay stabilized with various percentages of cement kiln dust as per specifications of IS: 2720 (Part 7) (1974) [3] and the results are tabulated in Table 3. For Kaolinite clay OMC and MDD have been observed as 18 % and 1.69 g/cc respectively. For Kaolinite clay stabilized with Cement kiln dust OMC varies from 19 to 16.5 % and MDD varies from 1.682 to 1.736 g/cc. It has been observed that with increase in the percentage of cement kiln dust OMC decrease and MDD increases upto 20 % CKD content as an additive. But beyond that, the value of MDD decreases and value of OMC increases. The decrease in OMC with increase in cement kiln dust content upto 20 % may be attributed to the addition of material which is classified as silty sand to the parent material. The presence of cement kiln dust having higher specific gravity may be the cause for increase in density.

30

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

Table3. Compaction characteristics of Kaolinite clay treated with various percentages of cement kiln dust Description Of Sample Kaolinite + 5% CKD Kaolinite + 10% CKD Kaolinite + 15% CKD Kaolinite + 20% CKD Kaolinite + 25% CKD MDD (g/cc) 1.682 1.692 1.745 1.768 1.736 OMC (%) 19 18.7 18.5 15 16.5

Fig 2 to Fig 7 shows comparison of MDD and OMC for clay stabilized with various percentages of cement kiln dust. Dry Density in g/cc 1.7 1.65 1.6 1.55 1.5 0 10 20 30 Moisture Content (%)

Fig 2. Moisture content vs Dry densitycurve for Kaolinite clay 1.7 Dry Density in g/cc 1.65 1.6 1.55 1.5 0 10 20 30 Moisture Content (%) Fig 3. Moisture content vs Dry density curve for Kaolinite clay + 5% CKD

31

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

Dry Density in g/cc

1.75 1.7 1.65 1.6 1.55 0 10 20 30 Moisture Content (%)

Fig 4. Moisture content vs Dry density curve for Kaolinite clay + 10% CKD Dry Density in g/cc 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 0 20 40 Moisture Content (%)

Fig 5. Moisture content vs Dry density curve for Kaolinite clay + 15% CKD
Dry Density in g/cc 1.8 1.75 1.7 1.65 1.6 1.55 0 10 20 30 Moisture Content (%)

Fig 6. Moisture content vs Dry density curve for Kaolinite clay +20 % CKD
Dry Density in g/cc 1.75 1.7 1.65 1.6 1.55 0 10 20 30 Moisture Content (%)

Fig 7. Moisture content vs Dry density curve for Kaolinite clay +25 % CKD
32

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

5.2 California bearing ratio California bearing ratio (CBR) tests were conducted to determine mechanical strength of kaolinite clay treated with cement kiln dust in soaked as well as unsoaked condition as per specifications of IS: 2720 (Part 16) (1987)[5]. It has been observed that value of CBR in both conditions increases with increase in CKD content as additive. In unsoaked condition CBR varies from 6.78 to 9.21 and in soaked condition it varies from 2.84 to 3.147. CKD Values for all samples are reported in Table 4 and represented in Figure 8. Table 4. CBR values of kaolinite samples stabilized with CKD

Description Of Sample

CBR (Unsoaked) 6.78 7.67 7.81 8.95 9.21

CBR (Soaked) 2.84 2.94 2.96 3.047 3.147

Kaolinite + 5% CKD Kaolinite + 10% CKD Kaolinite + 15% CKD Kaolinite + 20% CKD Kaolinite + 25% CKD

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 10 20 30 Percentage of CKD content (%)

CBR values

CBR (Unsoaked)

CBR (Soaked)

Fig. 8 Variation of CBR values with percentage of CKD content

33

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

5.3 Strength Characteristics A series of unconfined compressive strength tests were conducted to determine the strength characteristics of Kaolinite clay treated with various percentages of cement kiln dust as per specifications of IS: 2720 (Part 10) (1973) [4] and the results are tabulated in Table 5. It has been observed that unconfined compressive strength (qu) and undrained shear strength (cu) increase with increase in percentage of CKD upto 20 %. Further increase in percentage of CKD as stabilizer leads to decreased values of qu and cu. This can be attributed to the addition of non-plastic silty material having free lime content. Fig.9 shows comparison of cu for Kaolinite clay stabilized with various percentages of cement kiln dust. Table 5. Strength characteristics of Kaolinite clay treated with various percentages of cement kiln dust Failure Load (kg) 23.85 74.1 74.7 75.3 77.26 78 UCS qu (kg/cm2) 1.691 5.254 5.517 5.636 5.782 5.684 Undrained Shear Strength Cu (kg/cm2) 0.845 2.627 2.758 2.818 2.891 2.842

Description Of Sample Kaolinite Kaolinite + 5% CKD Kaolinite + 10% CKD Kaolinite + 15% CKD Kaolinite + 20% CKD Kaolinite + 25% CKD

3.5 Undrained shear stregnth 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Percentage of CKD asstabilizer (%)

Fig. 9 Undrained shear strength Vs. Percentage of CKD as stabilizer

34

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

The failure patterns of kaolinite clay samples treated with various percentage of CKD content are shown in Fig. 10 to 15.

Fig. 10 Failure pattern of axially loaded sample of Kaolinite

Fig. 11 Failure pattern of axially loaded sample of Kaolinite + 5% CKD

Fig. 12 Failure pattern of axially loaded sample of Kaolinite + 10% CKD

Fig. 14 Failure pattern of axially loaded sample of Kaolinite + 15% CKD

35

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

Fig. 13 Failure pattern of axially loaded sample of Kaolinite +20 % CKD

Fig. 15 Failure pattern of axially loaded sample of Kaolinite + 25% CKD

6. CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrates the influence of cement kiln dust on the strength characteristics of Kaolinite clay. The following conclusions have been drawn based on the laboratory investigations carried out in this study: 1. It has been observed that with increase in the percentage of cement kiln dust OMC decrease and MDD increases. The decrease in OMC with increase in cement kiln dust content may be attributed to the addition of material which is classified as silty sand to the parent material. The presence of cement kiln dust having higher specific gravity may be the cause for increase in density. 2. Strength analysis of the kaolinite clay and Kaolinite clay stabilized with various percentages of cement kiln dust indicates that up to 20 % mixing of admixture qu and cu increases then decreases. It can be attributed to the addition of non-plastic silty material having free lime content. However, it has been observed that mechanical strength evaluated from CBR test increases with increase in CKD content. The study shows that treatment of soil with cement kiln dust is an effective method of stabilization of problematic soils. To summarize, use of this industrial wastes is a beneficial proposition which is economical and environment friendly as well. Results of this study can be used in construction of pavements over CKD stabilized clay beds.

36

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN 0976 6308 (Print), ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 4, Issue 1, January- February (2013), IAEME

REFERENCES [1] Ho Meei-Hoan, Tarmizi Ahmad, Chan Chee-Ming and Bakar Ismail (2011), Leachability and Strength of kaolin Stabilized With Cement and Rubber, International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering & Technology, Vol.2, Issue1. [2] IS: 1498 (1970),Indian Standard Methods of Test for Soils: Classification and Identification of Soil for General Engineering Purposes, Bureau of Indian Standards. [3] IS: 2720 (Part 7) (1974), Indian Standard Methods of Test for Soils: Determination of Moisture Content-Dry Density Relation using Light Compaction, Bureau of Indian Standards. [4] IS: 2720 (Part 10) (1973), Determination of Unconfined Compressive Strength, Bureau of Indian Standards. [5] IS: 2720 (Part 16) (1987), Indian Standard Methods of Test for Soils: Laboratory determination of CBR, Bureau of Indian Standards. [6] Ranjan, Gopal and Rao, A.S.R. (2000), Basic and Applied Soil Mechanics, New Age International (P) Ltd., New Delhi. [7] Robert L. Parsons, Elizabeth Knee Bone, Justin P. Milburn (2004), Use o Cement Kiln Dust For Sub-Grade Stabilization. [8] Singh, Alam and Chowdhary, G.R. (1994), Soil Engineering in Theory and Practice, Geotechnical Testing and Instrumentation, Vol. 2, CBS Publishers and Distributors, Delhi.

37