BEHAVIOR

OF

COMPACTED SOIL-FLY ASH-CARBIDE LIME MIXTURES

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Antonio Harb Carraro,3

By Nilo Cesar Consoli,1 Pedro Domingos Marques Prietto,2 Joao
4
and Karla Salvagni Heineck
ABSTRACT: Unconfined compression tests, Brazilian tensile tests, and saturated drained triaxial compression
tests with local strain measurement were carried out to evaluate the stress-strain behavior of a sandy soil
improved through the addition of carbide lime and fly ash. The effects of initial and pozzolanic reactions were
investigated. The addition of carbide lime to the soil-fly ash mixture caused short-term changes due to initial
reactions, inducing increases in the friction angle, in the cohesive intercept, and in the average modulus. Such
improvement might be of fundamental importance to allow site workability and speeding construction purposes.
In addition, under the effect of initial reactions, the maximum triaxial stiffness occurred for specimens molded
on the dry side of the optimum moisture content, while the maximum strength occurred at the optimum moisture
content. After 28 days, pozzolanic reactions magnified brittleness and further increased triaxial peak strength
and stiffness; the maximum triaxial strength and stiffness occurred on the dry side of the optimum moisture
content.

INTRODUCTION
The improved characteristics of compacted soils resulting
from residue utilization may be very important to some geotechnical engineering applications such as landfill capping, canal lining, pavement structures, and engineered fills. Also, the
development of alternatives for reusing industrial by-products
mostly brings environmental and economical benefits. Materials such as fly ash and carbide lime, by-products of coal
combustion in thermal power plants and of manufacture of
acetylene gas, respectively, are profusely produced in southern
Brazil. However, they have been scarcely used for engineering
purposes with an overwhelming quantity being placed in storage or disposal sites.
Studies concerning fly ash and lime utilization for soil stabilization have been conducted in the last years by many investigators [e.g., Mitchell and Katti (1981), Little et al. (1986),
Kamon and Nontananandh (1991), Maher et al. (1993), Smith
(1993), Nontananandh and Kamon (1996), Jalali et al. (1997),
Carraro (1997), Consoli et al. (1997), Thome et al. (1998), and
Thome (1999)]. The physical-chemical mechanisms of both
short- and long-term reactions involved in lime stabilization
of soils or soil-fly ash mixtures have been extensively described in the literature [e.g., Herrin and Mitchell (1961), Mateos (1961), Minnick (1967), Ingles and Metcalf (1972),
Transportation Research Board (TRB) (1987), Brown (1996)].
Previous studies have also been concentrated on the effect of
compaction energy, moisture content and density, curing time
and temperature, lime and fly ash percentage, among others,
on the unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength of
the stabilized soil. Nevertheless, the influence of compaction
moisture content and density at a given compaction effort and
the influence of the initial reactions require further study. This
1
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Fed. Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul,
Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 3. andar, 90035-190, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande
do Sul, Brazil. E-mail: consoli@vortex.ufrgs.br
2
Assoc. Prof., School of Engrg. and Arch., Catholic Univ. of Pelotas,
Rua Felix da Cunha, 412, 96010-000, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
3
Res. Asst., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Fed. Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul,
Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 3. andar, 90035-190, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande
do Sul, Brazil.
4
Res. Asst., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Fed. Univ. of Rio Grande do Sul,
Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 99, 3. andar, 90035-190, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande
do Sul, Brazil.
Note. Discussion open until February 1, 2002. To extend the closing
date one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager
of Journals. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and
possible publication on January 18, 2000; revised May 15, 2001. This
paper is part of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Engineering, Vol. 127, No. 9, September, 2001. ASCE, ISSN 10900241/01/0009-07740782/$8.00 $.50 per page. Paper No. 22224.

is of paramount importance when looking for improvements

in the short-term. From a practical viewpoint, the immediate
changes in strength and stiffness of the soil-fly ash mixture
due to lime addition might allow site workability and permit
many construction processes to be started at an earlier stage,
avoiding lost working days to industry. On the other hand, the
long-term changes will be responsible for largely improving
strength and stiffness, on which design parameters will ultimately rely.
To provide information on the overall stress-strain-strength
behavior of a sandstone residual soil mixed with fly ash and
carbide lime, a series of laboratory tests was carried out to
define its response under static loading. The difference in the
mechanical behavior caused by the substitution of soil by fly
ash and how the material behavior is affected when carbide
lime is also supplemented to the mixture were analyzed. This
paper also presents the results of an experimental study to
investigate, through saturated drained triaxial tests, the
changes in the engineering behavior of the soil-fly ash-carbide
lime mixture immediately after blending and compaction,
when mainly carbonation, cation and base exchange, and flocculation-agglomeration occur. In addition, work is performed
to investigate such behavior after 28 days of curing, when
time-dependent chemical reactions between lime and clay/fly
ash particles, namely, pozzolanic reactions, have occurred. At
the same time, the influence of the compaction parameters
moisture content and dry unit weighton the mixture behavior was evaluated by testing specimens molded at the optimum
moisture content, on the dry side and on the wet side of the
optimum moisture content, using standard Proctor compaction
energy. The focus herein was on the immediate and long-term
effects of the carbide lime addition on the stress-strain response of the stabilized soil.
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM
Materials
The soil samples used in the present study, derived from
weathered sandstone, were obtained from the region of Porto
Alegre, in southern Brazil. The soil is classified as nonplastic
silty sand (SM) according to the Unified Soil Classification
System. The specific gravity of solids is 2.70. The grain-size
distribution is 27.8% medium sand (0.2 mm < < 0.6 mm),
33.4% fine sand (0.06 mm < < 0.2 mm), 31.3% silt (0.002
mm < < 0.06 mm), and 7.5% clay ( < 0.002 mm). The
Atterberg limits of the portion passing No. 40 sieve are as
follows: liquid limit of 22% and plastic limit of 15%. X-ray
diffraction showed that the fine portion is predominantly ka-

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olinite. The soil pH is 4.7 (acidic), and the cation exchange

capacity is 2.4 meq/100 g of material.
The fly ash selected [type F according to ASTM C 618
(ASTM 1998)]a residue of burning coal obtained in a thermal power stationis classified as nonhazardous material.
The specific gravity of solids is 2.03, which is typical for fly
ashes found all around the world [e.g., Helmuth (1987) and
Sridharan et al. (1988)]. The grain-size data indicate 5.3% medium sand, 18.6% fine sand, 74.3% silt, and 1.8% clay. The
material is nonplastic. The chemical analysis showed that the
fly ash is 67.1% SiO2, 21.3% Al2O3, 7.2% Fe2O3, 1.4% K2O,
0.8% CaO, and 0.1% SO3. Fly ash pH is 6.0 (slightly acidic),
cation exchange capacity is 3.0 meq/100 g of material, carbon
content is <0.05%, and loss on ignition at 1,000C is 0.5%.
The grain-size curves for the soil and the fly ash are shown
in Fig. 1.
The carbide lime, a by-product of the manufacture of acetylene gas, obtained from one source, was used throughout this

FIG. 1.

investigation. The chemical analysis showed that the carbide

lime is 96.6% CaO, 0.7% CaCO3, and 0.2% MgO.
Preparation and Testing of Specimens
All the specimens tested were prepared by mixing the relevant quantities of dry soil, fly ash, carbide lime, and water,
according to the mixture proportions and molding parameters
summarized in Table 1.
The minimum carbide lime content adopted was based on
plasticity changes, following the lime fixation point principle originally proposed by Hilt and Davidson (1960) for
clayey soils. As can be observed in Fig. 2, carbide lime contents >4% did not cause major changes to the plastic limit.
This threshold value, which is supposed to chemically satisfy
the soil-fly ash demand for lime, has often been suggested as
the starting content to adopt for construction expediency purposes [e.g., Rogers et al. (1997)]. Consequently, 4% was the
minimum carbide lime content selected, in addition to 7%
and 10%, which were expected to largely improve the me-

FIG. 2.

Grain-Size Distribution

TABLE 1.

Lime Fixation Point Determination

Mixture Proportions, Compaction and Curing Conditions, and Test Summary

Mixture Proportions

Triaxial Compression Tests

Dry unit
weight
(kN/m3)

Moisture
content
(%)

Compaction
conditiona

Soil
(%)

Lime
(%)

Fly
ash
(%)

100
75
96

0
0
4

0
25
0

17.4
16.6
17.2

15.8
15.3
16.3

OM
OM
OM

71

25

16.0

17.0

OM

15.6

14.8

DS

15.6

18.5

WS

68

25

15.7

17.7

OM

65

10

25

15.5

18.1

OM

Curing
period
(days)

Peak
cohesion
intercept
(kN/m2)

Peak
friction
angle
(degrees)

Secant Youngs
modulus for
a = 0.1%
(MN/m2)

Unconfined
compressive
strength
(kN/m2)

Brazilian
tensile
strength
(kN/m2)

28
180
0
7
28
90
180
0
28
0
28
7
28
90
180
7
28
90
180

10
7
42

24

122

18
129
16
57

35
36
38

41

46

40
49
38
45

1453
1627
6988

3280

304391

38113
453591
1937
65108

2,036

410
1,000
1,793
6,975

1,123

822
536
1,247
1,817
8,567
634
1,243
1,924
9,373

210

17
57
200
1,051

21
74
189
1,158
25
91
191
1,059

OM: optimum moisture; DS: dry side; WS: wet side.

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chanical properties of the soil-fly ash mixture. The amount of

fly ash used in this work (25%), which falls into the interval
suggested by National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) (1976), was selected according to the regional
practice and taking into account compaction difficulties found
using higher amounts of fly ash.
In general, specimens were molded at the optimum moisture
content and maximum dry unit weight, according to the values
obtained from the standard Proctor compaction tests shown in
Fig. 3 and summarized in Table 1. Specific analysis of the
influence of the compaction parameters on the behavior of the
soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixture was also performed. In
this case, specimens were also molded on the dry side and on
the wet side of the optimum moisture content, according to
the parameters shown in Table 1. It is interesting to notice that
the addition of fly ash to the soil caused a slight decrease in
the optimum moisture content and a significant reduction in
the maximum dry unit weight, when compared with the untreated soil. The addition of carbide lime to the soil and to the
soil-fly ash mixture caused a further reduction in the dry unit
weight and an increase in the optimum moisture content.
These effects were more significant for the mixtures containing
fly ash.
All the specimens (50 mm diameter by 100 mm high) were
compacted in three layers into a cylindrical mold to the dry
unit weight and at the optimum moisture content specified,
using the method proposed by Ladd (1978). Following, the
molds were wrapped in moisture proof bags and stored in a
humid room to cure before testing. The curing periods adopted
were 7, 14, 28, and 180 days for the unconfined compression
tests and the Brazilian tensile tests and 0 and 28 days for the
drained triaxial compression tests.
The triaxial tests were carried out under full saturation, for
the effective confining pressures of 20, 60, and 100 kN/m2,
which are consistent with realistic assumptions made in some
important engineering applications, such as pavement structures and shallow foundations built on improved soil layers.
Back pressures of up to 500 kN/m2 ensured B values of at
least 0.9 for all the specimens. Axial and radial strains were
monitored inside the triaxial cell by Hall effect instruments,
which enable accurate calculation of specimen moduli to be
made (Clayton and Khatrush 1986; Clayton et al. 1989). The

use of electrical instrumentation in measuring strains must be

emphasized. The relevance of such techniques to the assessment of more realistic values of soil deformation moduli, in
particular, for cemented materials, has been widely recognized
(Jardine et al. 1985; Cuccovillo and Coop 1997; Consoli et al.
1998). Full drainage during shear was ensured by using a sufficiently low axial strain rate (0.017%/min) and monitored by
measuring out the excess pore pressure on the specimen.
Membrane and area corrections followed recommendations
made by La Rochelle et al. (1988).
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
The mechanical behavior of the soil-fly ash-carbide lime
mixtures was examined through the use of unconfined compression tests, Brazilian tensile tests, and saturated drained triaxial tests, in which the effects of the initial compaction water
content and density, the curing time, and the percentage of fly
ash and lime were investigated. The results are summarized in
Table 1.
Unconfined Compression and Brazilian Tensile Tests
The effects of curing time and carbide lime content on both
unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength of the
soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixtures are shown in Figs. 4 and 5,
respectively. The results obtained for the soil-carbide lime
mixture are also plotted as a reference value for the curing
time of 180 days. Figs. 4 and 5 show that curing time is one

FIG. 4.

FIG. 3.

Compaction Curves for All Mixtures

Effect of Curing Time on Unconfined Compressive Strength

FIG. 5.

Effect of Curing Time on Tensile Strength

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of the major variables affecting the behavior of the stabilized

soil. It is important to observe that the increase in both compressive and tensile strength seemed to be delayed in the initial
stage of curing. They initially increased at a lower rate, approximately linearly up to 90 days, and at a much greater rate
after that up to 180 days. Similar behavior was reported by
Jalali et al. (1997) for a 20% fly ash-80% lime mixture. According to the researchers, significant strength gain only occurs
after a relatively long period, which is the induction time necessary for the chemical pozzolanic reactions between lime and
fly ash with the formation of a new cementitious phase. Also,
they showed that the delay period is strongly dependent on
the temperature of curing. For temperatures varying from 20
to 65C, Jalali et al. (1997) reported induction periods from
75 days to 4.8 h. Yet, it is interesting to notice that the increase
in strength shown in Figs. 4 and 5 was practically independent
of the carbide lime content up to 90 days, indicating that the
amount of lime exceeding the minimum content adopted had
no practical effect during the induction period. Beyond that,
however, an increase in strength with increasing lime content
was observed for the curing period of 180 days, as clearly
shown in Fig. 4 for the unconfined compressive strength. In
Fig. 5, the same trend can be observed for the tensile strength
of the specimens containing 4 and 7% of carbide lime. The
10% content specimens unexpectedly diverge from the general
pattern and probably were affected by some sort of experimental error.
The relative mobilization of both tensile and compressive
strengths can be easily assessed by plotting the ratio of Brazilian tensile strength to unconfined compressive strength
against curing time, as shown in Fig. 6. The average ratio
increased from 4% at 7 days to about 15% at 180 days. It is
suggested from the behavior observed in Fig. 6 that the tensile
strength is a function only of the amount of cementitious compounds formed, which increases with curing time. On the other
hand, the unconfined compressive strength is a function of
both granular packing and amount of cementitious compounds,
the latter increasing with curing time and the former being
constant and preponderant in the initial stages. If the tensile
strength is expected to play a main role in a stabilization design, such as in pavement structures, and assuming that the
ratio of tensile to unconfined compressive strength is independent of the lime content, the plots shown in Figs. 4 and 6 give
very helpful information concerning the lime content to adopt.
The importance of fly ash is clearly demonstrated by comparing the unconfined compressive strength values obtained at
180 days of curing for both the soil-carbide lime and the soilfly ash-carbide lime mixture, which were 2 and 7 MN/m2,

FIG. 6. Effect of Curing Time on Ratio of Tensile Strength/Unconfined

Compressive Strength

respectively. It should be emphasized at this point that the silty

sand utilized, a nonplastic soil with a plasticity index of 7, is
usually considered as inappropriate for lime stabilization [e.g.,
Ingles and Metcalf (1972) and Brown (1996)], since the pozzolanic reactions, responsible for largely improving lime stabilized soils, is basically dependent on the amount and physical-chemical activity of the clay minerals present in the soil
mass. The purpose of partially replacing the soil by fly ash is
therefore to ensure that there will be enough pozzolanic material in the mixture to eventually combine with the lime in
both short- and long-term chemical reactions.
Triaxial Tests of Mixtures under Optimum
Compaction Conditions
Fig. 7 compares typical deviatoric stress-axial strain-volumetric strain response for all compacted mixtures, for the confining pressure of 20 kN/m2 and refers to specimens cured for
28 days, when containing carbide lime, and molded at the
optimum moisture content and maximum dry unit weight.
It is readily observed in Fig. 7 that the overall soil behavior
was significantly influenced by the industrial by-products addition. Peak strength, stiffness, and brittleness were changed
as a consequence of either the separate or the joined effects
of carbide lime and fly ash contents. When comparing curves
0-0 and 0-25, denoting, respectively, the compacted soil and
the soil plus 25% of fly ash, it can be seen that the partial
replacement of soil by fly ash did not affect the stress-strain
behavior to a large extent. Peak strength and initial stiffness
remained quite similar, while axial strain at failure was slightly
changed. Although the soil and the fly ash grain-size curves
are different, the replacement of soil by 25% of fly ash did
not cause a fundamental change in the characteristics of the
new material. The effect of adding only carbide lime to the
soil was more pronounced. Comparing curves 0-0 and 4-0, the
latter corresponding to the soil plus 4% of carbide lime, a
significant increase in peak strength, stiffness, and brittleness

FIG. 7. Stress-Strain-Volumetric Response for All Mixtures Compacted at Optimum Moisture Content and Cured for 28 Days (Confining
Pressure of 20 kN/m2)

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was observed. The coupled effect of carbide lime and fly ash
contents are pointed out when curve 4-25, corresponding to
the soil plus 25% of fly ash and 4% of carbide lime, is compared with all the others. The shear strength and the stiffness
significantly increased compared to either the untreated soil
(0-0) or the soil plus fly ash (0-25), and are particularly greater
than those produced only by the carbide lime addition (4-0).
Finally, the soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixture showed an extremely brittle behavior, accompanied by a significant reduction in the failure axial strain.

FIG. 8. Peak Strength Envelopes for All Mixtures Compacted at Optimum Moisture Content and Cured for 28 Days

FIG. 9. Secant Deformation Modulus versus Axial Strain for All

Mixtures Compacted at Optimum Moisture Content and Cured for 28
Days (Confining Pressure of 20 kN/m2)
TABLE 2.

Peak strength envelopes and the corresponding parameters

are shown in Fig. 8 and Table 1, respectively. The strength
parameters obtained for the untreated soil (0-0) and for the
soil plus fly ash (0-25) are virtually equal, with a peak friction
angle of around 3536 and a peak cohesion intercept near
to 7 kN/m2. The addition of 4% of carbide lime to the soil (40) increased the peak friction angle to 38 and the peak cohesion intercept to 42 kN/m2, which is a very significant improvement for a soil with a plasticity index as low as 7.
However, adding the same 4% of carbide lime to the soil plus
fly ash (4-25) largely increased the peak friction angle to 46
and the cohesion to 122 kN/m2, clearly demonstrating the importance of fly ash to enhance the amount of pozzolanic reactions. The increase in the cohesion intercept obviously reflects the increase in cementation, while the change in the
friction angle is probably linked to alterations in soil texture,
essentially caused by the flocculation-agglomeration mechanism of lime stabilization.
Typical curves of secant deformation modulus versus axial
strains are presented in Fig. 9, on a logarithmic scale, for the
mixtures molded at the optimum moisture content and the confining pressure of 20 kN/m2. Values of secant deformation
modulus are presented in Table 1 for 0.1% axial strain and
confining stresses ranging from 20 to 100 kN/m2. The moduli
of the compacted soil (0-0) and of the compacted soil plus fly
ash (0-25) are very similar, with an average value of about 25
MN/m2. As expected, the addition of carbide lime to the soil
(4-0) and to the soil plus fly ash (4-25) increased the moduli
to around 75 and 350 MN/m2, respectively.
The behavior described so far mainly reflects the changes
in the stress-strain response with the degree of cementation
and is qualitatively in agreement with triaxial test results reported in the literature for naturally cemented and chemically
stabilized soils [e.g., Thompson (1966, 1969), Clough et al.
(1981), Little et al. (1986), Leroueil and Vaughan (1990),
Coop and Atkinson (1993), Gens and Nova (1993), Cuccovillo
and Coop (1997, 1999), and Consoli et al. (1998)]. Table 2
summarizes typical strength and deformation parameters reported in the literature, though triaxial test results for lime and
lime-fly ash stabilized soils are rather limited. The comparison
with the values presented in Table 1 shows that the unconfined
compressive strength and the cohesive intercept obtained for
the soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixtures fall somewhat below the
typical range. However, caution should be taken when comparing friction angles and cohesive intercepts, since strength
envelopes are not actually linear and the values will depend
on the considered confining stress range. Also, a comparison
of deformation moduli is quite restricted since their values are
strongly influenced by shear strain level. Nevertheless, the
shear strength and the stiffness observed for the soil treated
with carbide lime and fly ash are expected to be substantially
higher for curing times >28 days, as can be inferred from the
unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength shown in
Figs. 46.
The volumetric change curves in Fig. 7 show a similar behavior for all the investigated mixtures. The initial compressive response is followed by an expansion that reaches the

Typical Deformation and Strength Properties of Lime and Lime-Fly Ash Stabilized Soils

Property
Unconfined compressive strength qu (kN/m2) at
28 days, immersed
Peak cohesive intercept (kN/m2)
Peak friction angle
Deformation modulus in compression (MN/m2)
at 100 kN/m2 confining pressure

Typical range or
correlation
1,4009,000
64 0.292 qu (kN/m2)
2535
4953
70 0.124 qu (kN/m2)

Material

Reference

Lime-fly ash stabilized soils

NCHRP (1976)

Lime stabilized soils

Lime stabilized fine-grained soils
Lime-fly ash stabilized gravels
Lime stabilized soils

Thompson (1966)
Brown (1996)
Brown (1996)
Thompson (1966)

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maximum rate near the peak strength. Subsequently, the dilation rate decreases as the soil presumably approaches an ultimate or critical state. This is a typical volumetric response for
an uncemented frictional soil sheared denser than its critical
void ratio. For the cemented soil, these observations can be
interpreted considering the relative contributions to the stressstrain response of the cohesive and frictional components. At
first, cemented soil behavior is mostly controlled by cementation, as indicated by its high initial stiffness. Then, as the
bonds are gradually broken, localized structure collapses and
compression are likely to occur. Friction is then progressively
mobilized, and the volumetric response becomes dilatant as
the soil goes toward failure. In Fig. 7, it seems that the amount
of initial compression and the dilation rate are affected by
carbide lime and fly ash contents. Apparently, as the material
becomes more cemented and resistant, both the amount of initial compression and the dilation rate increase. It should be
figured out, however, that the initial densities reported in Table
1 are not the same for all the mixtures investigated, since a
constant standard Proctor compactive effort was used to mold
the specimens. For this reason, the differences among the volumetric responses depicted in Fig. 7 might result partially from
inherent variations in density rather than changes in carbide
lime and fly ash contents.
Triaxial Tests of Compacted Soil-Fly Ash-Carbide
Lime Mixtures under Variable Curing Time and
Compaction Conditions
Consoli and Carraro (1998) investigated the unconfined
compressive behavior of the same compacted soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixture (4-25) used in this work. They observed
that the maximum 28-day unconfined compressive strength did
not occur at the optimum moisture content (maximum dry unit
weight) but at moisture contents around 2% to the dry side of
the optimum moisture content. Similar findings for a lime-fly
ash stabilized sandy soil are reported by Mateos and Davidson
(1963). Although the specimens tested by Consoli and Carraro
(1998) had been soaked in water for 24 hours before testing,
full saturation was not guaranteed, and the results were possibly influenced by suction. To further investigate such behavior, saturated drained triaxial compression tests were carried
out on soil-fly ash-carbide lime specimens (without curing and
cured for 28 days). These specimens were compacted using
standard Proctor compaction energy, respectively, at the optimum moisture content, on the dry side and on the wet side of
the optimum moisture content.
The deviatoric stress-axial strain-volumetric strain curves
obtained for the confining pressure of 20 kN/m2 and for all
compaction and curing conditions are shown in Figs. 10 and
11. Similar patterns were also observed for the confining pressures of 60 and 100 kN/m2.
For both curing conditions, higher stiffness occurred for the
specimen molded on the dry side, while lower stiffness occurred for the specimen molded on the wet side, showing that
the structure imparted by compaction is fundamental even after
the development of cementation. Regarding triaxial shear
strength and considering the immediate effects of lime addition, the uncured specimen molded at the optimum moisture
content showed the higher strength. However, after 28 days of
curing, triaxial strength was higher for the specimen compacted on the dry side, confirming the results obtained by Consoli and Carraro (1998) from unconfined compression tests.
The peak strength envelopes shown in Fig. 12 and the corresponding parameters reported in Table 1 indicated that the
peak friction angle for the specimens compacted at the optimum moisture content increased from 36, for the soil-fly ash
mixture, to about 41 as a result of immediate flocculation,
when lime is added to the mixture, and to 46, as a conse-

FIG. 10. Stress-Strain-Volumetric Response for All Compaction Conditions, Cured for 28 Days (Confining Pressure of 20 kN/m2)

FIG. 11. Stress-Strain-Volumetric Response for All Compaction Conditions, without Curing (Confining Pressure of 20 kN/m2)

quence of pozzolanic reactions. Furthermore, peak cohesion

intercept increased from around 7 kN/m2 to about 24 kN/m2,
due to flocculation/agglomeration, and 122 kN/m2, after pozzolanic reactions occurrence. An additional analysis of the data
presented in Table 1 shows that, after 28 days of curing, the

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peak friction angle is about 46 for the specimens compacted

at the optimum moisture content and on the wet side, increasing to around 49 for the specimens compacted on the dry
side. The cohesion intercept of the specimens compacted on
the wet side was approximately half the cohesion intercept of
the specimens compacted at the optimum moisture content and
on the dry side. For the specimens tested without curing, it
can be observed that the peak friction was 4041 for the
specimens molded on the dry side and at the optimum moisture content, decreasing to 38 for the specimens molded on
the wet side. The peak cohesion intercept of the specimens
compacted at the optimum moisture content was around 24
kN/m2, decreasing to about 1618 kN/m2 on the wet side and
on the dry side of the optimum moisture content.
Typical curves of secant deformation modulus versus axial
strains, obtained for the soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixture, are
presented in Fig. 13, on a logarithmic scale, for the confining
pressure of 20 kN/m2 and for all compaction and curing conditions. Also, values of secant deformation modulus, obtained
at an axial strain of 0.1% and for confining stresses ranging

from 20 to 100 kN/m2, are presented in Table 1. Regarding

the specimens prepared without curing, it can be seen in Fig.
13 that, for the whole analyzed axial strain range, the moduli
of the specimens molded on the dry side are higher than the
moduli observed for the specimens molded at the optimum
moisture content, which are superior to the values observed
for the specimens molded on the wet side. Similar observations can be made for the same mixture after 28 days of curing.
It is important to note that, for the specimens cured for 28
days and those prepared without curing, the moduli for the
specimens molded on the dry side were 4060% higher than
the values obtained at the optimum moisture content and 300
350% higher than those observed for the specimens molded
on the wet side.
From the overall stress-strain-strength behavior described in
the foregoing paragraphs, it can be understood that the soilfly ash carbide lime mixture is strongermore resistant and
stifferwhen molded either on the dry side for 28 days of
curing or at the optimum moisture content without curing. This
fact may be explained considering the coupled effect of the
two main contributing factors on the shear strength of the stabilized soil: (1) the contribution of the structure imparted by
compaction, mainly density and packing, which predominates
before pozzolanic reactions have been started, and whose maximum is associated with optimum compaction conditions; and
(2) the contribution of the cementitious matrix, which predominates after pozzolanic reactions have been developed. The efficiency of the matrix is supposed to be a function of the waterto-binder (carbide lime plus fly ash) ratio, similar to concretes
and mortars [e.g., Mehta and Monteiro (1993) and Mitsui et
al. (1993)]. It is stated, therefore, that the higher strength observed for the specimens compacted on the dry side of the
optimum, after 28 days of curing, results from the lower waterto-binder ratio associated with the dry side compaction.
CONCLUSIONS
An extensive laboratory testing program was carried out to
investigate the effectiveness of using industrial by-products
such as carbide lime (a residue derived from the manufacturing
of acetylene gas) and thermal power plant fly ash (a residue
from coal burning) to improve the engineering behavior of a
weathered sandstone soil, prepared using a variety of curing
and compaction conditions. The observations and conclusions
can be summarized as follows:

FIG. 12. Peak Strength Envelopes for Soil 25% Fly Ash 4%
Carbide Lime (All Compaction and Curing Conditions)

FIG. 13. Secant Deformation Modulus versus Axial Strain for All
Compaction Conditions of Mixture of Soil 25% Fly Ash 4% Carbide
Lime, Cured for 28 Days and without Curing (Confining Pressure of 20
kN/m2)

The addition of carbide lime significantly improved

strength and stiffness properties of the soil, even considering the nonplastic characteristic of the silty sand utilized. However, the presence of fly ash is fundamental to
further improve the material behavior, due essentially to
the occurrence of a larger amount of time-dependent pozzolanic reactions.
Factors such as curing temperature, compressive and tensile strength mobilization rate, and compaction parameters, which definitely affect the stress-strain-strength behavior of the soil-fly ash-carbide lime mixture with time,
have to be cautiously taken into account when designing
or executing ground works with such material.
Unconfined compression and Brazilian tensile test results
showed that, for the temperature of curing selected
(22C), a gain in strength largely occurs after 90 days,
probably due to an induction period for the pozzolanic
reactions between lime and fly ash. Undoubtedly, this
might be a drawback to the practical utilization of the
stabilized soil. However, at a greater temperature of curing, which is reasonable for most of the year in tropical
and subtropical regions, a reduction in the induction period is expected to occur.

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Based on triaxial compression tests, it can be stated that,

after a short delay following compaction, the maximum
stiffness occurs for specimens compacted on the dry side
of the optimum moisture content and the maximum
strength at the optimum moisture content. After 28 days,
maximum strength and stiffness occur on the dry side of
the optimum moisture content. Such behavior is suggested
to result from the coupled effects of the two main contributing factors to the stress-strain response of the fly ashcarbide lime stabilized soil, namely, the structure imparted
by compaction, mainly density and packing, which predominates in the short-term, and the formation of a cementitious matrix, which predominates after pozzolanic
reactions have been developed.
The results indicate that, for the soil-fly ash-carbide lime
investigated, the compaction should be performed about
2% to the dry side of the optimum moisture content obtained from a standard Proctor compaction test. On this
particular issue, further studies considering different types
of soil are necessary.
The present work has been envisaged as a contribution to the
field of ground improvement and soil stabilization by discussing some fundamental aspects of a soil-fly ash-carbide lime
mixture behavior, such as the short-term changes due to initial
reactions, which is of fundamental importance to allow site
workability, and the influence of compaction parameters on
strength and stiffness properties. Experimental evidences, obtained from high quality triaxial tests, were useful in identifying patterns from which the stress-strain behavior of the stabilized soil can be characterized. Finally, it is necessary to
emphasize that the present study was constrained to the range
of low confining stresses, making it attractive to a great range
of problems such as shallow foundations assented on improved
layers and pavement structures.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The writers wish to express their gratitude to the Federal University
of Rio Grade do Sul, as well as to the British Council and Coordination
of Training of Higher Education Graduate (CAPES) (Project CAPESBritish Council 088/99) for the financial support to the research group.
Particular thanks are also due to Dr. Andrew M. Ridley of the Imperial
College of Science, Technology and MedicineUniversity of London
and Dr. Fernando Schnaid of Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
for their comments on the draft paper.

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NOTATION
The following symbols are used in this paper:
B
qu
a
1
3

=
=
=
=
=

Skemptons pore-presure parameter;

unconfined compressive strength;
axial strain;
major principal stress; and
minor principal stress.

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