EFFECTS OF GGBS ON

GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES OF
BLACK COTTON SOIL

Under the guidance of

Shri. B.M. Gudadappanavar
Assistant Professor
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
PRESENTED BY:
ABHIJEET KUMAR SINGH 2SD11CV001
1
AQUIB NASIR RAZI 2SD11CV009
DIBYAJYOTI SARMA 2SD11CV020
KAMLESH KUMAR 2SD11CV031

8th Semester B.E., Civil Academic Year: 2014-2015

CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
3. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
4. WHAT IS GGBS ?
5. METHODOLOGY
6. CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

2
INTRODUCTION
Innovative methods of soil stabilization are in great demand all over the
world.
Black cotton soil which is occupying nearly 23% of the area in India is a
problematic soil, available up to a depth of 3.7 meters on an average. The
black cotton soil has various problems like less stability, less shear strength
and large expansion & shrinkage in volume with changing seasons.
These demerits obstruct construction like big infrastructure, road
pavements, etc. on this soil.
Ground Granulated blast furnace slag(GGBS) have puzzolanic properties
and are being used in the construction industry along with cement or lime
as activators.
Very few researchers have done some work in the stabilization of black
cotton soils using GGBS.

3
 LITERATURE REVIEW
Various researchers evaluated the potential of GGBS to stabilize soil .
Gyanen Takhelmayum, Savitha, Krishna Gudi (March 2013) carried out a series
of test on black cotton soil with various proportions of GGBS . They concluded
that addition of GGBS to black cotton soil in various percentages affects the
compaction characteristic which is primarily due to alteration of gradation of
soil mixtures. The increase of the maximum dry unit weight with the increase of
the percentage of GGBS is mainly due to the higher specific gravity of the fine
GGBS compared with expansive soil and the immediate formation of cemented
products by hydration which increases the density of soil.

Laxmikant Yadu and Dr. R.K. Tripathi(2013) studied the effects of GGBS in the
engineering behavior of soft soil. The study and experimental results indicated
that the use of GGBS had significantly improved the physical and strength
properties of the soil and reduced swelling behavior of the soil.
4
LITERATURE REVIEW
o K V Manjunath ,Himanshu Shekhar ,Manish Kumar ,Prem Kumar and
Rakesh Kumar (2012) studied and carried out test to stabilize black
cotton soil using GGBS and concluded that the use of GGBS had
enhanced the engineering properties of the black cotton soil and had
increased the stability of the soil and Unconfined Compressive
Strength had increased after the percentage addition of GGBS to the
soil. Which came out to be an economical solution and partial
replacement of ordinary Portland cement.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To study the effects of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace

Slag(GGBS) on the Engineering performance of black cotton
soil and to check if it can be used as a soil stabilizer.

6
WHAT IS GGBS ?
Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is a by-product
from the blast-furnaces used to make iron. These operate at a
temperature of about 1,500 degrees centigrade and are fed with
a carefully controlled mixture of iron-ore, coke and limestone.
The iron ore is reduced to iron and the remaining materials
form a slag that floats on top of the iron. This slag is
periodically tapped off as a
molten liquid and if it is to be
used for the manufacture of
GGBS it has to be rapidly
quenched in large volumes of
water.
7
GGBS
o The quenching, optimizes the
cementitious
properties and produces granules
similar to a coarse sand. This
granulated slag is then dried and
ground to a fine powder.

8
BENEFITS OF USING GGBS
The major benefits of using GGBS are:
better workability, making placing and compaction easier

lower early-age temperature rise, reducing the risk of thermal

cracking in large pours
high resistance to chloride ingress, reducing the risk of reinforcement
corrosion

9
METHODOLOGY
In this study, we have studied the variation in properties of black cotton
soil on addition of varying percentages of GGBS and the following tests
were carried out:-

Test on Atterbergs Limits

Grain Size Distribution
Free Swell Index
Maximum Dry Density
Unconfined Compressive Strength
California Bearing Ratio

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MATERIALS USED

Black cotton soil : The soil used for this study were
collected from Y.S. Colony, Dharwad , Karnataka at a
depth of 0.5 m.
GGBS : It was procured from PWD Dharwad and they
had brought it from Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Ltd in
Toranagallu, Bellary, Karnataka
PROPERTIES OF BLACK COTTON
SOIL

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS DESCRIPTION

Maximum dry density 1.396 g/cc
Optimum moisture content 16%
Specific gravity 2.63
UCS 220 kPa
CBR (SOAKED) 2.36 %
Free swelling index 60%
Liquid limit 68%
Plastic limit 25%
Plasticity index 43%
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ATTERBERGS LIMITS (IS:2720(PART 5)-1985)

BC SOIL + LIQUID PLASTIC PLASTICITY

FINE GGBS LIMIT(WL) LIMIT(WP) INDEX (IP)

100% + 0% 68% 25% 43%

90% + 10% 75% 42.85% 32.15%
80% + 20% 61% 42.85% 18.15%
70% + 30% 49% 42.85% 6.15%

NOTE: As per MORTH specifications the plasticity index of soils to

be used for embankments, subgrades, earthen shoulders and
miscellaneous backfills should be less than 25.

13
PLASTICITY INDEX OF GGBS MIXES

14
 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION
(IS: 2720 (PART 4)-1985)
PARTICLE WEIGHT PERCENT CUMMULATIVE CUMMULATIVE %
SL.NO IS SIEVE SIZE D(mm) RETAINED RETAINED %RETAINED FINER
(g)
1 100mm 100 0 0 0 100

2 63mm 63 0 0 0 100

3 20mm 20 0 0 0 100

4 10mm 10 0 0 0 100

5 4.75mm 4.75 6 0.6 0.6 99.4

6 2mm 2 18 1.8 2.4 97.6
7 1mm 1 12 1.2 3.6 96.4
8 600micron 0.6 0 0 3.6 96.4
9 425micron 0.425 11 1.1 4.7 95.3
10 300micron 0.3 8 0.8 5.5 94.5
11 212micron 0.212 7 0.7 6.2 93.8
12 150micron 0.15 9 0.9 7.1 92.9
13 75micron 0.075 14 1.4 8.5 91.5 15
14 PAN <0.075 915 91.5 100
 GRAIN SIZE DISTRIBUTION GRAPH
102

100

98

96

94
PERCENTAGE FINER (N)

92

90

88

86
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 16

PARTICLE SIZE IN MM
GRAIN SIZE ANALYSIS
% OF GRAVEL 0.6

% OF SAND PARTICLES 7.9

% OF SILT and CLAY 91.5

SOIL CLASSIFICATION
INDIAN STANDARD SOIL CLASSIFICATION CH

NOTE: As per MORTH specifications any soil that classifies as OL, OH ,

or Pt are considered as unsuitable for the construction of embankments.

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FREE SWELLING INDEX
(IS: 2720(PART 40)- 1977)

BC SOIL + FREE
GGBS SWELLING
INDEX(%)

100% + 0% 60
90% + 10% 40
80% + 20% 20
70% + 30% 10

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MAX DRY DENSITY OF BC SOIL ON ADDITION
OF FINE GGBS
(IS: 2720(PART 8)- 1983)

19
BC SOIL + FINE O.M.C(%)
GGBS
(g/cc)
100% + 0% 16 1.396 (13.63 KN/m3)
90% + 10% 15 1.43 (14.03 KN/m3)
80% + 20% 14 1.46 (14.32 KN/m3)
70% + 30% 10 1.66 ( 16.28 KN/m3)

NOTE:
Density requirements of Embankments and sub-grade materials as per
MORTH specifications should not be less than 16 KN/m3

20
UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
(IS: 2720(PART 10)- 1991)

UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH IN kPa

No of days of 0 7 28
curing
BC SOIL ONLY 220 220 220

BCS + 10% GGBS 151.2 222.8 247.9

BCS + 20% GGBS 191.6 434.2 450.8

BCS + 30% GGBS 214 1712.2 1882.2

NOTE: Unconfined Compressive strength has increased

up to 8 times that of ordinary Black Cotton Soil.
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STRENGTH VARIATION ON
ADDITION OF GGBS

22
CBR VALUES (IS:2720(PART 16)-1987)
GGBS CBR (%)

0% 2.36

10% 2.67

20% 4.72

30% 14.96

23
CBR VALUES

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 COST ANALYSIS
Assumptions:
N= 5 msa
Width of subgrade=7.5m PAVEMENT COMPOSITION
Carriage width =3.75m
WITHOUT USING GGBS
Road length = 1 km
USING GGBS (30%)
Pavement thickness 795 mm 475 mm

Semi dense bituminous concrete 25 mm 25 mm

Dense bituminous concrete 70 mm 50 mm

Granular base 250 mm 250 mm
Granular sub-base 450 mm 150 mm
Estimated cost Rs 62,35,706.2 Rs 53,49,281.2

It is apparent that there is 14 % savings by using GGBS.

CONCLUSION
MDD increased while OMC decreased with addition
of GGBS to the soil.
There is significant reduction in the swelling
behaviour of the soil.
UCS has increased up to 8 times that of ordinary

Black Cotton Soil by adding 30% GGBS.

CBR value has increased up to 7 times that of

ordinary Black Cotton Soil by adding 30% GGBS.

The blended soil meets the requirements as per

MORTH specifications of subgrade.

Hence GGBS can be used for the stabilization of
Black Cotton Soil as it has significantly improved the
geotechnical properties of Black Cotton Soil.
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REFERENCES
[1]. GyanenTakhelmayum1, savitha.A.L2, Krishna Gudi GSS Institute of Technology,

VTU Experimental Studies on Soil Stabilization Using Fine and Coarse GGBS, ISSN
2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2013

[2]. Laxmikant Yadu and Dr. R.K. Tripathi Effects of Granulated Blast Furnace Slag in
the Engineering Behavior of Stabilized Soft Soil", Chemical, Civil and Mechanically
Engineering tracks of third Nirma University International Conference, Procedia
Engineering 51 (2013)125-131.

[3]. K.V. Manjunath, Himanshu Shekhar, Manish Kumar, Prem Kumar and Rakesh
Kumar Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil Using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace
Slag, Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Architecture and Civil
Engineering (AARCV 2012), 21st - 23rd June 2012 387 Paper ID GET114, Vol. 1

[4].IS:2720 (PART-4)-1985, Methods of test for soils: Part 4 Grain size analysis (Second
27

Revisions).
REFERENCES
[5].IS:2720 (PART-5)-1985, Methods of test for soils: Part 5 Determination
of liquid limit and Plastic limit (Second revision).

[6].IS:27270 (PART-8)-1983, Methods of test for soils: Part 8 Determination

of water content-dry density relation using heavy compaction (Second
Revision).

[7].IS:2720 (Part-10)-1973, Methods of test for soils: Part 10 Determination

of Unconfined compressive strength (First Revision).

[8].IS:2720 (Part -16)-1979, Methods of test for soils: Part 16 Laboratory

determination of CBR. (First revision).

[9].IS:2720 (Part -40)-1977, Methods of test for soils: Part 40 Determination

of free swelling index of soils.
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