Department of Civil Engineering Research Project Organisation & Design

Department of Civil Engineering
Research Project Organisation & Design
Contents
Abstract
1.
Project objectives
2.
Background and justification
3.
Literature review
3.1. Introduction
3.1.1.
Lime stabilisation
3.1.2.
The effect of lime stabilisation
3.1.3.
The suitable soil type
3.2. The behaviour of lime stabilized clay

3.2.1. The strength behaviour
3.2.2. The compressibility behaviour
3.3. Construction procedure
4.
Experimental program
4.1.
Material selection
4.2.
Sample preparation
4.3.
4.2.1.
Determination of soil physical properties
4.2.2.
Initial Lime Consumption Test
4.2.3.
Soil-lime mixture
Test description
4.3.1.
Unconfined Compressive Strength Test
4.3.2.
One Dimensional Consolidation Test
4.3.3.
Consolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Test
5.
Project expected outcomes
6.
Work done to date
7.
Work schedule
Acknowledgement
References list
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Abstract
The addition of lime into the fine grain cohesive soil in order to modify its physical
and engineering properties has been an extremely potential technique when the
construction takes place in a soft clay area. The treatment of soil with lime has
been applied for varying project types, for instance, the construction of pavement
base layers, the slope protection of earth dam and a provision of a strong layer for
shallow foundation. Therefore this project aims to study the utilisation of lime for
improving soft clay in some criteria with respect to evaluation of the effect of lime
on the plasticity and strength of soft clay, and determination of optimum lime
content required for stabilising clay. A range of test types will be carried out in
order to quantify the criteria above. They are unconfined compressive strength test,
one dimensional consolidation test and consolidated undrained triaxial compression
test. Before preparing specimens for these tests, initial consumption lime test was
carried out to determine the initial required lime content by 2%.
This report presents the background and justification, project objectives and a
detail experimental program followed by work plan for the whole project work
during summer semester.
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1.
Project objectives
The main objectives of this project are to determine the suitability of soil for
lime stabilisation and investigate the effectiveness of lime stabilization on
plasticity, compressibility and strength of soft clay.
In order to achieve these objectives, a range of soil-lime mixture specimens
will be tested using:
2.
Unconfined Compressive Strength Test (UCS)
One Dimensional Consolidation Test (1-D)
Consolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Test (CU)
Background and justification

Chemical stabilisation of soil technique has been employed successfully for more
than four decades to strengthen the bearing capacity, reduce the settlement and
increase the stability of soft soils ( Broms and Boman, 1976). With the addition of
lime, the interaction between lime and clay minerals (silica and aluminia) develops
cementation bonds which impart a structure onto the treated soil and provide
strength increase( Lo et al, 2003). Several methodologies were used in the last five
decades in order to study the behaviour of lime stabilisation and determine the
appropriate lime content for modification of soil characteristic and obtaining the
target strength to use (Hilt and Davidson 1960). Of such methodologies, unconfined
compressive strength test is predominantly employed and reported by many
authors. A reason for this is explained by Consoli et al (2009) that UCS test is
simple and fast, while being reliable and cheap. Therefore, UCS test is employed
mainly in this project to evaluate the effectiveness of lime on the strength of soft
clay and determine the optimum lime content.
In addition, compressibility is an important characteristic of soft clay that needs to
be investigated. However, in the earlier studies conducted the compressibility of
lime treated clay has a less attention. In this project, therefore, the effect of lime
stabilisation on the compressibility of stabilised clay is also investigated by using
one dimension test.
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3.
Literature review
3.1.
Introduction
3.1.1.
Lime stabilisation
Lime stabilisation is the addition of lime into fined grain cohesive soil (clay and silt)
in order to modify its properties and strengthen its bearing capacity. The use of
lime stabilised clay in construction has been over than 5000 years old. An
illustration of this is The Pyramids of Shersi in Tibet which were built using the
compacted mixture of clay and lime (Greaves, 1996). In the new age, lime
stabilisation has an ultimate development since the soil mechanics laboratory
techniques were applied widely into soil-lime mixtures in 1950s. Up to date, lime
stabilisation is the prior choice for improving soft clay soil or remediating the
unsuitable site.
Lime stabilisation provides structural improvement to many soils and aggregates.
The wide application of lime stabilisation is to provide a strong capping layer
supporting road pavement thickness reduce as well as improve the workability of
soils by reducing the moisture content . It has also been used for slope protection
of earth dam, provision of a strong layer for shallow foundation and clean up the
contaminated soil. This soil improvement technique is a simple and economical
solution for fined grain cohesive soil.
3.1.2.
The effects of lime stabilisation
Lime products: Lime stabilisation process can be achieved with calcium oxide
(quick lime or burnt lime) or calcium hydroxide (slaked or hydrated lime). Quick
lime has higher available lime content (the amount of calcium oxide) than that of
hydrated lime. It means that using the quick lime is more economical than hydrated
lime in comparison of available lime content. However, there are greater risk of skin
and eyes burnt as using quick lime. Moreover, storing quick lime is a concerned
issue due to its erosion capacity.
Lime stabilisation effects: The result of lime stabilisation is dependent on the
reaction between lime and clay minerals (Greaves, 1996 and McDowell, 1966). The
principle effects of this reaction:
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Bearing capacity improvement due to the increase of shear strength
Increase plasticity limit leading to the improvement in workability and compaction

characteristics.
Improve stability against swell and shrinkage

Process of lime stabilisation
When lime is mixed with soft clay soil, the physical characteristic is modified
immediately due to the cation exchange (short term effect). Then further chemical
reaction between clay mineral (aluminia and silica) and lime (water and calcium
oxide) to create the cementicious products which bind the soil particles together
(long term effect). This process is called stabilisation.
Short term effect: Rapid physio-chemical reactions between lime and clay
minerals changes soil properties immediately, particular soil plasticity and
workability. Some effects of this term are listed below:
Increase of optimum moisture content
Increase of plasticity limit while plasticity of soil reduced
Bearing capacity increase.
Figure 1: The effect of lime on soil plasticity change (Greaves, 1996)
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Long term reaction stabilisation: Soil stabilization occurs when sufficient lime
added to a reactive soil results in an alkaline environment with the pH value in
excess of 12 so that the long-term strength gain through a pozzolanic reaction. This
reaction makes the clay soils chemically changed into a natural cement structure
and produces stable calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminates hydrates as
the calcium from the lime reacts with the aluminates and silicates solubilized from
the clay that called cementitious material (Figure 2) (James et al, 2007). The fullterm pozzolanic reaction can continue for a very long period of time, even decades
- as long as enough lime is present and the pH remains high (Greaves, 1996).
CaO + Al2O3 + SiO2->Calcium silicate hydrate+calcium aluminates hydrates+ heat
Figure 2: Cementation material form (James et al, 2007)

Some effects of this phase:
3.1.3.
Increase the strength of lime stabilised clay
Improve stability against swell and shrinkage
The suitability of soil
The reaction between lime and soil is the interaction between lime and clay
minerals (silica and alumina). Therefore the reaction between lime and clay is
dependent on the reactive of clay content. Perry et al (1995) pointed out that soil
plasticity limit lower than 10% should assure the ability of soil for lime stabilisation
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to happen. Therefore, a range of soil tests for suitability and acceptability of

material for stabilisation should be carried out before treatment.
Smith (1996) proposed some specification requirements to check the ultimate
suitability of untreated soil such as 100% passing 75mm seize, high plasticity
index, no more than 2% organic matter and no more than 1% total sulphate
content.
In addition, Initial Consumption of Lime (ICL) test must be carried out prior
treatment in order to determine the minimum of lime that is required to be added
to a material to allow the reaction with the clay to occur completely (BS 1924-2).
3.2.
The behaviour of lime stabilized clay
3.2.1.
The strength behaviour
A wide range of investigation of strength behaviour has been studied on soft soil
lime stabilisation in previous years by several authors. It is that the stabilised clay
strength is affected by many factors such as lime content, curing period, moisture,
porosity, compaction process and clay content. Of these factors, lime content and
curing period has a significant effect. Consoli (2009) stated that unconfined
compressive strength of stabilised soil increases approximately linearly with an
increase in the lime content (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Variation of unconfined compression strength with lime content

(28 days of curing) (Consoli,2009)
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On the other hand, from the result of series of unconfined compressive strength
tests of four soft clay soil types at different lime content that Davidson and Pietsh
did in 1962 (figure 4), it showed that the longer curing period is, the higher
strength the soil gains. Moreover, the change of strength at varying lime content is
fluctuated. As the initial amounts of lime, the strength increases slightly, stays the
same or decrease slightly. Then it increase sharply until a breaking point is
achieved with the addition of more lime. After this breaking point, the strength
decreases , increases slightly or remains the same. The lime content at this point is
called optimum lime content.
Figure 4: Unconfined Compressive Strengths at varying lime contents and

curing periods (Davidson and Pietsch, 1962)
3.2.2.
The compressibility behaviour
With the change in structure, the compressibility of the stabilised clay is improved
considerably. From the result of triaxial consolidation test of the soft clay soil
treated by 5% lime content, Oh et al (2008) represented the relationship between
voids ratio and log mean stress in the figure 5. It can be seen that the lime treated
samples undergo very little change when the mean stress increases from 10 KN/m2
to 100 kN/m2. This change is completely different from the compressibility
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characteristic of soft clay since its voids ratio usually change dramatically at the
initial loadings applied. Looking at the shape of the curve (e-logp), it is extremely
similar to the cure of heavily over-consolidated clay.
Therefore, lime stabilisation not only plays an important role in soft soil strength
improvement, it also contribute significantly to improve the stability of soft soil by
reducing the swell and shrinkage property.
Figure 5: (e-logp) relationship during anisotropic consolidation tests

(5% lime content, 1 month curing) ( Oh et al., 2008)
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3.3.
3.3.1.
Construction procedure of lime stabilized clay

Construction procedure overview
The lime treatment in soil is executed by the following basic procedure

Scarifying or partially pulverizing soil
Spreading lime
Adding water and mixing
Maturing period
Remixing and Compacting to maximum practical density
Curing prior to placing the next layer or wearing course

There are two principle methods for lime treatment in soils, in-place mixing and offsite mixing. The criteria for choosing the method are the soil type, site
characteristic and availability of equipment.
In-place mixing
This method involves in-situ mixing of lime, water and soil using a special mixing
device followed by trimming and compaction. It can be applied for soil types from
granular to heavy clays and carried out faster than off-site mixing in the same
treatment area (NLA, 2004). Therefore, it is more widely used in the world.
Off-site mixing
This method involves in using the equipment similar to the concrete mixing plant in
order to mix lime, soil and water before the stabilized material is transported to
site, laid and compacted. If this method is applied, the first steps in the above
procedure can be ignored. This method is more suitable for the small area and the
clayey granular materials treatment (NLA, 2004).
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3.3.2.
Detail of construction steps for using hydrated lime in
stabilisation
Lime stabilisation application is various from infrastructure construction to
residential buildings. However it is applied mainly in infrastructure construction,
particularly in sub base (subgrade) of road construction. Therefore the detail of
construction steps mentioned here is for sub base improvement.
1. Scarification and Initial Pulverization
The sub base is scarified to the specified depth and width before adding lime
(Figure 6). During this stage, non-soil material larger than 3 inches such as stumps,
roots, turf and aggregates should be removed (NLA, 2004). Scarification and
pulverization stage is to provide more soil surface contact area for lime interaction.
In order to avoid the case that lime runs off to the sides, a small soil windrow can
be constructed along each side.
Figure 6: Scarification before lime application (NLA, 2004)

2. Lime spreading
Dry hydrated lime
For the project where the dust can be acceptable, the use of dry lime is preferable.
Lime should be uniformly spread at a determined quantity via the suitable
equipment. The common device for transporting and spreading lime is the selfunloading bulk tanker due to its operation without rehandling (Figure 7). The
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spreader is designed to spread lime in a constant rate and it checked by spreading

over a tray every 500m2 which is weighted and adjusted to the correct rate (Smith,
1996). Dry lime should not be spread under wind condition due to the excessive
dusting. In this case the better method is slurry lime application.
Figure 7: Dry hydrated lime with trunk spreader (NLA, 2004)
Slurry method
The slurry can be spread by a distributor truck (Figure 8). In order to prevent run
off and non uniform lime distribution, after spreading lime should be mixed with soil
immediately. Distributor trucks with recirculating pump are recommended to keep
slurry in suspension.
Figure 8: Lime slurry distributor (NLA, 2004)

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3. Mixing and watering

Once lime has been spread, mixing operation should be carried out by a powerful
rotovator (Figure 9) in order to distribute lime uniform to required width and height
of soil. The typical width of the rotor is 2450mm and the mixing depth up to
500mm can be achievable but the thickness of mixing should be limited to between
250mm and 350mm for the effective compaction operation (Smith, 1996). Water
should be added during the initial mixing process through the hood of rotovator
( Fig. 9). Once initial mixing and water addition is complete, the mixture can be
slightly compacted to increase the lime-soil contact area, minimise the evaporation
loss and lime carbonation as well as reduce possible damage from rain.
Figure 9: Rotovator and water trunk supplier to the hood of rotovator

4. Maturing period
Lime-soil mixture should be matured sufficiently to allow the chemical reaction
between lime and soil to modify the soil characteristic. The maturing period is
dependent on soil type and typically between 24 and 72 hours (Smith, 1996).
5. Remixing and compacting
Prior to the compaction stage, remixing and final water adjustment are carried out
by a rotovator in order to achieve the required pulverisation and moisture content.
After finishing the mixing stage, compaction should be carried out immediately in
compliance with the specification to obtain the required density. For the thicker
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layers, the tamping sheeps foot, roller followed by a smooth wheeled roller should
be employed (Figure 10)
Figure 10: Compaction by using a tamping sheeps foot roller (Balang, 2007)
6. Curing and protection

Curing and protection is an important stage to enable the lime stabilisation to
achieve its ultimate strength and durability. As with other cementious material, an
appropriate period of curing is required for the compacted soil lime mixture getting
hardened until the dump truck can operate without rutting the surface prior to
placing the subsequent layer. According to NLA (2004), there are two principle ways
to cure the soil lime mixture, moist curing by light sprinkling and rolling if
necessary, and membrane curing by adopting a bitumen seal coat.
3.3.3.
Advantage and disadvantage between using dry and
slurry lime
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Choosing dry or slurry lime for soil stabilisation is an important issue for engineer.
While dry lime can be applied more rapidly than slurry, its dust trouble is as
significant issue when the construction takes place in a residential area. Moreover,
slurry lime method combining sprinkling and spreading leads to less additional
water required. However the equipment using for this method is quite expensive
and it is not applicable for the very wet soil. In conclusion, it is advised to consider
carefully the project condition such as site environment, soil type and weather
condition prior to making a choice of what method for application.
4.
Experimental program
4.1.
4.1.1.
Material selection
Soil and lime use

Soil use
Based on the soil investigation report from the study area in Vietnam, the soil
samples can be classified as high and very high plasticity clay according to
British Soil Classification System. The consolidation test shows that these soils
are extremely compressible. Therefore they are not able to provide a stable
foundation for the construction without treatment. However, it is impossible to
use soil collected from Vietnam (S2) for sample preparation to test in this
project. Therefore, the similar soil samples (S1) collected from the Engineering
& Science Learning Centre in University of Nottingham can be considered to
employ for this project.
According to plasticity chart ( Fig.11) and the value of liquid limit and plastic
limit of soil collected from Nottingham University (S1) and Vietnam (S2) shown
in table 1, soils in group S1 are laid in the boundary between high clay and
intermediate clay type while soils in group S2 are classified as high clay.
Therefore, two soil groups have quite similar characteristic. However, the shear
strength of soil S2 is weaker than S1. This is due to their much difference in
natural moisture. While the soil S1 has moisture of around 23% much under its
liquid limit, soil S2 at approximately 71% over liquid limit. Therefore this
difference can be dealt with by adding water to soil S1 to cause it weaker and
into the same properties with the soil S1. With this analysis, the soil collected
from Nottingham University can employed for this project.
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Table 1 : Soil comparison

Soil
group
S1
S2
Bore
Hole
BH1
BH2
BH3
BH3
BH1
Moisture
W(%)
21
25
75
70.5
70.97
Liquid
limit
LL(%)
52
48
101
69
70
Plastic
Limit
PL(%)
21
19
31
31
Plasticity
Index
PI(%)
31
29
N/A
38
39
Soil
description
Brown clay
Brown clay
Black clay
Black clay
Black clay
Soil
Classified
(BSCS)
CH
CI
N/A
CH
CH
Shear
strength
(kPa)
N/A
29
6
11.6
6.9
Figure 11: Plasticity Chart (BS 5930:1981)

Lime use
4.2.
4.2.1.
Hydrated lime is chosen to stabilise clay.

Sample preparation
Determination of soil physical properties
It is applicable to use the soil investigation report for soil collected from Nottingham
Unviersity for determination the physical properties of soil sample. However in
order to evaluate the effect of lime on the plasticity of soft clay, Atterberg limits test
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need to be carried to determine the liquid limit and plastic limit before and after
treatment.
4.2.2.
Initial Lime Consumption Test (ICL)

Description
Initial Lime Consumption Test developed by Eades and Grim is used for the
determination of minimum lime content that is needed to add to a material so as to
cause a significant change in its properties.
It is required to maintain an environment with pH of 12.4 (the pH value when
saturated lime in distilled water) in order to enable the pozzolanic reaction between
lime and any clay mineral. Therefore 7 soil specimens are mixed with different lime
content (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%,4%,5%,6%) and water to determine the minimum
amount of lime required to give a pH of 12.4.
Testing and Results
The test is carried out in compliance with British Standard BS1924 part 2. The
apparatus prepared for this test is shown in the figure 12 and the results are shown
in the table 2.
Based on the data collected from the test, a plot of lime content (% of oven dry
weight) against the pH value corrected at 25oC is represented. From the graph, it
can be seen that the lime content interpolated at the pH value of 12.4 is around
2%. With the addition of lime , the pH value is stayed the same . Therefore, the
initial required lime content for lime stabilisation can be chosen by 2%.
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Figure 12: Apparatus for ICL test: Distill water, lime, plastic bottles, pH
meter, thermometer, clock, seize 425 mm, device to break down soil
Table 2:
Determination of the initial consumption of lime (BS 1924-2:1990 clause 5.4)
Laboratory
L2/132
Operator
Hung Nguyen
Job
MSc Student
Type of lime used
pH of lime-water mixture
Temperature (oC)
pH corrected to 25 oC
Lime content (%)
0%
1%
pH of soil lime water
mixture
7.53 11.94
o
Temperature ( C)
20
20
pH corrected to 25 oC
7.38 11.79
Material
Site
Date
2%
3%
12.57
20
12.42
12.7
20
12.55
Soil sample received at

Laboratory
ESLC, University of Nottingham
21/04/2011
Hydrated lime
12.72
21
12.6
4%
5%
6%
12.71
20
12.56
12.71
20
12.56
12.71
20
12.56
The graph of Lime content(%) against

pH(25oC)
13
12
11
pH (25oC)
10
9
8
7
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
Lime content (%)
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4.2.3.
Soil-lime mixture procedure (BS 1924-2)

Mixture made procedure
Firstly, spreading out the test portion into a suitable metal tray and place it in the
oven and dry at 105oC until the material is readily broken. Then the dry soil is
broken down by hand roller or the gentle use of a normal pestle. Next, the initial
amount of water is added to the soil and they are mixed thoroughly to bring them
to a uniform consistency. Subsequently, a required mass of lime is added and mixed
to a uniform condition by hand for 2 minutes. The remainder water is then added
and mixed for further 8 minutes. After mixing allow the material to stand for 24 to
48 hours before proceeding further step.
Moulding and Curing

The mixed material is sieved on the 5mm test sieve and only the fraction passing
the sieve for preparation of specimens. Next, the material is placed in the mould for
compaction and can be kept until it gets harden. Then, the specimen is removed
from the mould and coat with wax to keep its moisture content. In this project, the
specimens will be cured for 28 days before testing.
4.3.
Tests description
4.3.1. Unconfined Compressive Strength Test

(BS 1377-7:1990, load frame method)
Principles
This test is applicable to fine grained soil or cemented soil which can keep their
form without confining pressure. This test is used for rapid determination of
undrained shear strength of the soil and normally carried out on 38mm diameter
specimen of a length equal to about twice the diameter.
An axial load is applied to the specimen in a predetermined rate (<2%/min) until
the failure of specimen. One half of stress at this point is determined as undrained
shear strength. In very plastic soils, an axial strain of 20% is used as the criterion
of failure.
Equipment
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Figure 12: Typical load frame for unconfined compression test (BS 1377-7)
Procedure
At the preparation stage, a remoulded specimen is compacted at the required water

content and unit weight. Then the mass of the specimen is recorded and the initial
height and diameter of the specimen is measured before placing it on the pedestal
of the compression machine and lowering the upper plate so that it just contacts
the top of the specimen. Next the initial dial gauge and load cell are read. At the
testing stage, the compression to the specimen is started apply at a constant strain
rate of about 1% /min until the maximum value of the axial stress has been
passed, or the axial strain reaches 20%. Finally, a sketch of the failure plane or the
deformed specimen is drawn before removing the specimen, and determining the
water content (w).
4.3.2. One-dimensional Consolidation Test (BS 1377-5:1990)
Principles
This test is used to measure the one-dimensional consolidation of a saturated or

near-saturated specimen of soil, the relationship between pressure and voids ratio,
and the coefficient of consolidation at various increasing pressures. The specimen is
in the form of cylindrical confined laterally subjected the vertical axial pressure and
allowed to drain freely from the top and bottom surfaces. The method is related
mainly with the primary consolidation phase, but it can also be applied to calculate
the secondary compression properties.
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In this test, the increments of vertical loads are applied axially to the specimen.
Each stress level is kept constant until the primary consolidation has ceased. During
this process the water has drained out via top and bottom surfaces resulting in the
decrease of the specimen height measured at each interval applied stress. These
measurements are used to determine the relationship between the voids ratio and
applied stress as well as the parameters of consolidation process such as coefficient
of compressibility and consolidation.
Equipment
Consolidation loading device.
Consolidation cell is of corrosion-resistant material within it is placed consolidation

ring containing the specimen. The cell shall be capable of being filled with water
higher than top of the upper porous plate. Moreover the cell is stiff enough to
prevent the horizontal deformation during testing.
The porous plates shall be of corrison-resistant material at the top and bottom
surfaces of the test specimen. They allow the water drained out throughout the test
A dial gauge for measuring the vertical compression is readable to 0.002mm.
Stopwatch to time the deformation readings
Figure 13: Consolidation loading device (Fratta et al, 2007)
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Figure 14: Front Loading Oedometers
Procedure
At the beginning, the oedometer ring diameter, the ring mass, and the ring height
are measured. Then the soil is trimmed to fit and completely filled the ring.
Subsequently, the mass of the soil specimen and ring is recorded before assembling
the apparatus. Next, the dial indicator is set to zero as well as the distilled water is
added to the consolidation cell at the same time that the first load is being applied.
Then the weights are assembled depending on a range of pressure selected, for
example 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200. Following that the dial reading is recorded at
increasing time intervals (around 6, 15, 30, 1 min, 2 min, 4 min, 8 min, 15min,
30 min, 60 min, 120 min ...). According to the load-unload sequence, the specimen
is allowed to swell for 24h at the final load (5 N). The final change in height is
recorded. Finally, the ring from cell and surplus water are removed and the mass of
the ring plus specimen is determined before placing them in an oven.
4.3.3. Consolidated-undrained triaxial compression test ( CU test)
(BS 1377-8 clause 7)
Principles
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CU test which is one of typical triaxial tests is used to evaluate the undrained shear
strength, stress-strain behaviour, contractive and dilative response, and generation
of pore-pressure of soils.
In this CU test, the saturated cylindrical soil specimen covered by a rubber
membrane is loaded with confining stress in a chamber (figure 15a), but is allowed
to consolidate ( the pore water is allowed to leave and enter the specimen freely).
After the consolidation stage, the drainage path is closed and the cell pressure is
kept constant while the specimen is sheared (figure15b) at a constant rate of axial
deformation (strain-controlled compression) until failure occurs(figure 15c). The
changes in pore pressure are usually measured at the base of specimen, and the
rate of axial deformation is applied slowly enough to ensure adequate equalization
of excess pore pressure.
Figure 15: Shearing in Triaxial Cell Process (Fratta et al, 2007)
Equipment
The major component of triaxial equipment is the triaxial cell illustrated in the
figure ??. This cell is a pressure chamber with a piston enabling the application of
axial load and is often transparent so that the specimen can be observed during the
test. The cell has four ports connecting to the exterior. One port is used to fill the
cell with water and to apply the confining pressure. Another port connected to the
top of the specimen is used to for back pressure application. The other ports
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connected to the bottom of the specimen are used for pore pressure measurement
and drainage control.
Another major component is the loading frame. This frame has a loading platen and
an upper crosshead that can be adjusted to move the triaxial cell up and down at a
suitable range of speed. When the platen moves up, the piston at the top of the cell
is forced downwards which applies an axial force to the top of the specimen. The
magnitude of the load and the axial deformation of specimen are measured by the
dial gauges.
The third major component is pressure system. It is used for the application of
pressure to the specimen as well as the monitoring of pressure and volume changes
in each of the four connections with the cell.
Figure 16: Essential features of typical triaxial cell (BS1377-8)
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Figure 17: Typical general arrangement of triaxial test equipment

(BS 1377-8)
Figure 18: Triaxial Testing System

5.
Project expected outcomes
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At the end of research project, some conclusions will be drawn out from the
analysis of test results including:
-
The effects of lime content on plasticity stabilised clay.
Determination of optimum lime content for lime stabilisation
The effects of lime content on the strength and compressibility of lime

stabilised clay.
The outcomes will be achieved through a specific testing schedule given below:
Table 3: Test schedule
ID
1
6.
Determination
Plastic and Liquid limits
Test
Atteberg Limits
test
ICL test
UCS test
Unconfined Comression
Strength and Optimum
Lime Content
Compressibility
characteristics
Shear strength and
stress strain behaviour
1-D test
CU test
Initial lime content
Specimen size
~350g ( pass 425
mm ray )
~100g ( pass 425
mm ray )
50mm x 100mm
No of tests
2
1
15
63mm x 20mm
50mm x 100mm
Work done to date

Through a plan working with the tutor every week , some works have been
established
Hung Nguyen 4120762
26
7.
Determination of physical properties of the unstabilised soil sample.
Determination of initial lime content.
Familiarisation with testing equipment and process.

Work schedule
The whole project work including lab tasks and report is projected to carried out
during eleven weeks in summer semester. The work is commenced at 06 th June and
finished at 22nd August, 2011. The work is detail planned for this period with five
working days per week from Monday to Friday (Table 2).
The whole project work can be divided into four phases:
Phase 1: Preparation
Phase 2: Laboratory Test
Phase 3: Results Analysis
Phase 4: Report Write-up
References list
British Standard Institution (1990), BS 1377, Methods of tests for Soils for Civil
Engineering Purpose, British Standard Institution, London, UK.
British Standard Institution (1990), BS 1924-1, Stabilized materials for civil
Engineering purposes., British Standard Institution, London, UK.
British Standard Institution (1990), BS 1924-2, Methods of test for cementstabilized and lime-stabilized materials.., British Standard Institution, London,
UK.
Brom BB. and Boman P. (1976), Stabilisation of Soil with Lime Comlumns, Royal
Institute od Technology, Stockholm.
Consoli N.C., Lopes L.S. and Heineck K.S. (2009) Key Parameters for the Strength
Control of Lime Stabilized Soils, Journal of Material in Civil Engineering.
Davidson D.T. and Paul E. (1962), Effect of Lime on Plasticity and Compressive
Strength of Representative Iowa Soils, Highway Research Board, Bulletin 335,
p 11-30
Hung Nguyen 4120762
27
Greaves H., 1996, An introduction to Lime Stabilisation, Lime Stabilisation, p5-13,

Thomas Telford.
James R., Kamruzzaman A.H.M., Haque A. and Wilkinson (2007), Behaviour of lime
slag-treated clay, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Ground
Improvement 161, November 2008 Issue GI4,Pages 207216.
Lo S.C.R., Lade P.V. and Wardani S.P.R. (2003) An Experiment Study of the
Mechanics of Two Weakly Cemented Soils, Geotechnical Testing Journal.
McDowell C. (1966), Evaluation of Soil-Lime Stabilisation Mixture, Highway
Research Board Report, No 139, p15-24.
National Lime Association (NLA), 2004, Lime-treated soil construction manual,
National Lime Association Bulletin 326.
Oh E.Y.N, Bolton A.S, William M., Balasubramaniam A.S. and Buessucesco, B.
(2008), Undrained Behavior of Lime Treated Soft Clays, Proceedings of the
Eighteenth (2008) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference.
Perry J., Snowdon R.A. and Wilson P.E. (1985), Site Investigation for Lime
Stabilisation of Highway Works, Proc. Int Conf. Advances in Site Investigation
Practice. Thomas Telford, London.
Smith J. H., 1996, Construction of Lime or Lime Plus Cement Stabilised Cohesive
Soils, Lime Stabilisation, p13-26, Thomas Telford
Smith J.S. (1996), Construction of Lime or Llime Plus Cement Stabilised Cohesive
Soils, Lime Stabilisation, Thomas Telford, London p13-26.
Hung Nguyen 4120762
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Department of Civil Engineering Research Project Organisation & Design

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Research Project Organisation & Design

Background and justification

The effect of lime stabilisation

The suitable soil type

3.2. The behaviour of lime stabilized clay

Determination of soil physical properties

Initial Lime Consumption Test

Unconfined Compressive Strength Test

One Dimensional Consolidation Test

Consolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Test

Project expected outcomes

Work done to date

Hung Nguyen 4120762