Nanaotechnology

Soil stabilization with very low water permeability

Dr Ajay Ranka1, Dr Prakash Mehta2 and Vivek Kane3
Zydex Industries, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
Email for correspondence: ashitpathak@zydexindustries.com

1 SOIL: A BIG UNKNOWN

The type of soil at the project location and its characteristics like expansiveness and its bearing strength are
often not consistent when projects are being implemented. Project design is always vulnerable to these variability.
Soil mainly consists of Sand, Silt and Clay, and is characterized by proportion of these three elements in it. Out
of the three, sand is the least expansive and the clay is the most expansive. The more sandy the soil the less expansive
it is and vice versa.
Expansiveness of the soil is inversely proportional to its bearing strength. The load bearing strength of the soil
is one of the most fundamental basis of any structural design, including roads and it is therefore imperative for a
designer to know the soil he has to deal with, before he proceeds.
2 SOIL COMPACTION, ITS BEARING STRENGTH AND MOISTURE AN INTERESTING PARADOX
Opening up soil and compacting it is the very first step as road construction activity begins. Soils can be
compacted only to a certain density, often called as Procter Density. Compaction close to this procter density can be
achieved only when the soil has Optimum Moisture Content or OMC.
On the other hand, most soils (with an exception of those having a high sand content) are expansive in nature,
i.e., they have a tendency of swelling when they become wet with water. The soils when wet, tend to lose their bearing
strength and give away under load.
Thus, the interesting paradox is soil needs moisture, in order to be compacted and once compacted, the
moisture is now its enemy, as far as its load bearing capacity is concerned. One has to live with this paradox.
But what if we have a technology that enables us, not only to deal with this paradox, but also converts it into an
opportunity to build better and stronger soil bases? This is exactly what Zydex Nanotechnology product Terrasil does.
Terrasil solution (Terrasil diluted with water in the right proportion) enables us to achieve a compaction near
Procter Density and upon drying makes the soil substantially less permeable to water and helps in retaining the bearing
strength by controlling its expansiveness by 90%.
Almost any type of soil (having a CBR > 2) can be treated to make it water-resistant. If added with polymers /
cement, the soil can be further stabilized to have a CBR of close to 50-100 or even more. All this can be achieved at a
globally affordable cost.

3 WATER IMPERMEABILITY, CONTROLED EXPANSIVENESS & HIGHER CBR

Table-1
Results of Laboratory testing of Terrasil on Bihar Soil, by Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
Laboratory Test Results
No

Soil Properties

1
2
3
4
5

CBR %
Saturated Moisture Content %
Liquid Limit %
Plasticity Index %
Permeability, cm/s

Untreated (4 day
soaking)

Treated with Terrasil

(4 Day dry)

1.1
23.3
58
14
8.3 x 10-4

9.7
13.7
-

Treated with Terrasil

(4 Day dry+ 4 Day
soaking)
6.5
18.9
1.0 x 10-6

Table-2
Results of Laboratory testing of Terrasil on Black Cotton Soil, by Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
Laboratory Test Results
No

Soil Properties

1
2
3
4
5

CBR %
Saturated Moisture Content %
Liquid Limit %
Plasticity Index %
Permeability, cm/s

Untreated (4 day
soaking)

Treated with Terrasil

(4 Day dry)

1.0
26.1
65
18
6.2 x 10-5

5.8
16.1
-

Treated with Terrasil

(4 Day dry+ 4 Day
soaking)
4.1
20.2
1.3 x 10-7

Table-3
Results of Laboratory testing of Terrasil in Spain, by Optimasoil
Sample
Control
Terrasil + Cement
Terrasil + ZycoBond

CBR
5.0 mm (4 days soak)
10.5
57.10
55.20

Water Absorbed

Expansion of soil (inches)

3.5
0.8
0.5

1.83
0.08
0.31

Conclusion
1.
2.
3.
4.

Terrasil is effective in improving the strengths properties of the soil samples. It was observed that the
CBR of the increased to more than 5 times for Bihar soil and more than 4 times for black cotton soil.
Terrasil also reduces the permeability of the soil and make it impermeable.
The use of Terrasil for in-situ stabilisation of the soil would result in substantial reduction of the pavement
thickness.
Terrasil can be effectively used in areas where the in-situ soil is of poor quality and not suitable to be
used as subgrade. After treatment with Terrasil, the in-suit soil can be used for subgrade. This eliminates
the need of bringing the soil from far-off distances, thus reducing the road construction cost.

4 CHARGE SHIELDING AND LUBRICITY EFFECT ON COMPACTION

Soil particles have negative electrical charges and tend to repel each other during compaction effort. This
repellent force offers resistance to compaction and makes it difficult to achieve higher densities.
Like most material having silicates in them, soil particles also have silanol groups (OH groups) on their
surface. Terrasil chemically reacts with these groups and forms an Si-O-Si bond, with Alkyl Siloxane long polymer

chains on the other side. In other words, the surface of the soil particles is now nano-modified from a polar hydrophilic
surface to a non-polar hydrophobic surface.
The new Alkyl Siloxane surface not only shields the charge of the soil particles but also provides the necessary
lubricity for the particles to move closer when compacted, to fill up inter-particle gaps.
This phenomenon further helps in achieving higher compaction than what we would otherwise have achieved.
This results in higher load bearing capacity with reduced permeability to water and control of expansivity by 90%

5 CASE STUDY LAGOS, NIGERIA

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Waterproofing of sub grade soil and sand, to stop soil water infiltration, by the multilayer approach in four layers for
filling the extension of the runway at Enugu Airport in Enugu State of Nigeria. Area 27,000 square meters (approx)
The Road Design was as under:
a) 10 cm sharp sand layer to act as the Drain layer
b) 30 cm Cement stabilized laterite soil subgrade
c) 30 cm stone base
d) 19 cm three layers of asphalt concrete
The selected site was a shale area containing clay, silt and other minerals. Terrasil was to be applied in the
laterite soil subgrade.
2. PROJECT CHALLENGES
The sub grade had shale (a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay
minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite) in the runway
extension and the client was looking for solution for soil stabilization and strength deterioration.
3. ZYDEX SOLUTIONS (PRODUCT/S APPLICATION)
Dilution: Terrasil was added to the water tanker in the ratio of 1:400 and mixed thoroughly to obtain a clear solution.
Application: The dry and compacted soil bed was treated with the Terrasil solution by Spray-Dry-Spray-Dry technique
on two layers for creating compacted hydrophobic soil layers.
Test of Waterproofing was done by performing a Water drop test. Water repellency of Terrasil treated soil layer was
checked by putting a drop of water on the treated dry soil surface and the depth of penetration was checked by drilling
the waterproofed surface. The treated surface did not absorb any water and created a puddle of water.
4. RESULT AFTER USING ZYDEX PRODUCTS
The soil bed became waterproofed and was compacted to the desired strength
5. CONCLUSION
The project was successfully completed to the clients satisfaction
6. PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHS
Figure-1 Laterite soil layer

Figure-2 Terrasil solution preparation & spraying

Figure-3 Confirmation of waterproofing

6 CONCLUSION
In summary, Zydex Nanotechnology product Terrasil can treat almost any type of soil to make it water
impermeable. It can also control expansiveness and achieve better compaction of soil at OMC.
The soil can be further stabilized with 1% cement, to improve the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) by 4-5 times.

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