Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE.

For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Stability Behavior of Lime Stabilized Gypseous Soil under Long-Term Soaking

ALDAOOD1, A. BOUASKER2, M. AL-MUKHTAR3, M.

1
Ph.D Student, Research Center in Divided Matter, CRMD, FRE CNRS 3520, Orleans, France;
1
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Mosul University, Al—Majmooah Street,
Mosul, Iraq;Abdulrahman.aldaood@etu.univ-orleans.fr
2
Assistance Professor, Research Center in Divided Matter, CRMD, FRE CNRS 3520, Orleans, France;
Marwen.bouasker@univ-orleans.fr
3
Professor, Research Center in Divided Matter, CRMD, FRE CNRS 3520, Orleans, France;
Muzahim@cnrs-orleans.fr

ABSTRACT: This paper aims to study the effect of long-term soaking and leaching on
the stability properties of fine-grained soil with and without gypsum content, in relation
to changes of the mechanical properties and permeability. The soil samples were
stabilized with 3% lime and cured for 28 days at 20°C. The cured samples were
subjected to soaking for different period extended to 180 days. Also, permeability values
of stabilized and unstabilized soil samples were measured under 30 days of leaching.
Results showed that, the long-term soaking has strong effect on the unconfined
compressive strength, wave velocity and volume change of the stabilized soil samples.
These properties are degraded when compared with initial properties of the unsoaked
samples. Moreover, the results indicate that an increase in gypsum content have
significant effects on stability properties of soil samples. The leaching test revealed a
marked increasing in permeability values of unstabilized soil samples and to a lesser
extent in the permeability of stabilized samples. The results also showed that, the
permeability of soil samples is highly related to the quantity of gypsum during leaching
test, however, the lower gypsum content, the lowest permeability.

INTRODUCTION

Gypseous soils are generally unsuitable for supporting engineering constructions, such
as roads, buildings or hydraulic structures. Most risks are related to construction on
gypseous soils occurred when these soils subjected to water, causing softening the soil
and reducing the shear strength (Razouki and El-Janabi 1999; Al-Zubaydi, 2011;
Aldaood et al., 2013). Gypsum can causes serious damages when it acts as cementing
agent as dissolution of the cement can result in the destroy of the soil structure, the

170

IACGE 2013
 IACGE 2013 171

leaching of the fine particles and the formation of the soil pipes (Abduljauwad and Al-
Amoudi, 1995). Gypseous soils are highly soluble materials in their nature, and the types
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

of problems associated with it. The failures include collapse and settlement, which can
affect all constructions including buildings, roads and other structures (Cooper 2008).
There are many situations in situ where the soils are subjected to soaking, resulting
the soils in fully saturate state or have at least high water content. Soaking can take place
in different ways such as local shallow wetting, deep local wetting, slow and uniform
rise of ground water level, and the increase of the moisture content of a thick layer of
soil resulting from condensation of steam and accumulation of moisture caused by
changes in the evaporation process (Razouki et al., 2006).
The mechanical properties of natural soil can be improved by chemical stabilization.
Chemical stabilization of soils involves additives such as cement, lime and other
chemical additives. Lime stabilization is one of the most economical techniques to
improve the engineering behavior of soils. The addition of lime to a soil causes two
basic sets of reactions, one being a short-term reaction while the second is long-term
reaction. The immediate effect of lime addition to the soil is to cause flocculation and
agglomeration of the clay particles caused by cation exchange at the surface of the soil
particles. The result of this short-term reaction is to enhance workability and plasticity.
The long-term reactions that are accomplished over period of time may require weeks,
months or even years for completion of these reactions depending on the rate of
chemical decomposition and hydration of the silicates and aluminates. This results in the
formation of cementations material, which binds the soil particles together (Little, 1995).
This study was amid to assess the stability behavior of lime stabilized gypseous soil.
The effect of gypsum content and long-term soaking on the mechanical properties was
investigated. Furthermore, leaching effect on permeability was examined.

MATERIALS AND METHODS OF TESTING

Materials
The soil used in this research work is a fine – grained soil, obtained from borrow pit
near Jossigny region in eastern part of Paris – France. Its main geotechnical index
properties are liquid limit is (29%), plastic limit (21%) and specific gravity is 2.66. The
percentages of clay, silt and sand are 19, 64 and 17% respectively. The soil can be
classified as sandy lean clay (CL) per the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS).
The quick lime used in this study, is a very fine lime and passes through an 80 μm
sieve opening. The activity of lime used was 94%. The gypsum used in this study, is a
very fine gypsum and passes through an 80 μm sieve opening, and with purity more than
99%.

Samples Preparation
For preparing the samples, the required amounts of oven-dried soil (2 days at 60°C)
were initially mixed with pre-determined quantity of gypsum (0, 5, 15 and 25% by mass

IACGE 2013
 172 IACGE 2013

of the dry soil) in dry state. The mixing process continued till obtain uniform color.
When no lime was added, the dry soil-gypsum mixtures were directly mixed with the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

required amount of water, representing the optimum moisture content of the natural soil
and the mixture was subsequently put into polyethylene bags. After that the bags were
sealed and stored for 24 hrs as mellowing time before compaction. A standard Proctor
compaction effort (ASTM D-698) was adopted in the preparation of soil samples. A
total of 24 samples of natural (un-stabilized) soil were prepared for unconfined
compression test. The soil samples with different gypsum content were stabilized by 3%
lime; representing the optimum lime content; based on the Eades and Grim Method
(1966). The mixtures were prepared firstly, by thorough mixing of dry predetermined
quantities of soil, gypsum and lime to obtain uniform color. Thereafter the
aforementioned procedure is used to get a uniform mixture. The mixture was then placed
in polyethylene bags and left for 1 hour as mellowing time (Little, 1995).
After that, the soil samples were statically compacted inside a cylindrical stainless
steel mold, so that reached the maximum dry unit weight of the natural soil, with a final
dimension of soil sample of 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height. After the
compaction, the soil sample was immediately extracted from the mold, then placed
within polyethylene bags to avoid significant variations in moisture content till testing.
For the lime stabilized soil samples, these samples were immediately wrapped with cling
film and coated with paraffin wax to reduce the moisture loss and cured at room
temperature (20°C) for 28 days. A total of 48 samples of stabilized soil were prepared
for unconfined compression test.

Soaking Test

At the end of the curing time of 28 days (which represent the initial state), the soil
samples were unwrapped of the wax and cling film covering, recorded all dimensions
and soaked in water at room temperature (20°C) for 7, 14, 28, 90 and 180 days. The soil
samples were subjected to prolonged soaking (i.e. more than 28 days) in order to assess
the impact of increasing severity of environmental degrading forces of soaking. The
water content of the soil samples were recorded at the end of each soaking period.
Volume change variations were considered by measuring the height and diameter of soil
samples to evaluate the stability.
The unconfined compressive strength was determined according to the ASTM
procedure (D-5102). The wave velocity of soil samples were measured before
performance the unconfined compression test. The PUNDIT instrument and two
transducers (a transmitter and a receiver) having a frequency of 50 kHz were used.

Leaching Test

During the preparation of soil samples for leaching test, the soil samples were
statically compacted inside the stainless steel mold with inside diameter of (97 mm) and

IACGE 2013
 IACGE 2013 173

a net height of (38.5 mm), at rate of 1 mm/min. The compaction mold with the soil
sample in it was used as part of the leaching apparatus, in order to eliminate disturbance
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

of the sample on extrusion from the mold. Constant head test was adopted to simulate
the leaching process. After saturation, the water was allowed to seep through the soil
sample under hydraulic gradient of 20 for 30 days. The daily flow water volume was
collected in glass vessel for permeability calculations.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Evolution of Unconfined Compressive Strength

The variation of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of soil samples under

different soaking periods is shown in figure (1). Note that it was not possible to
determine the effect of soaking on the unconfined compressive strength of unstabilized
soil samples as they almost immediately began to collapse when soaked in water. It can
be observed that the unconfined compressive strength of soil samples decrease as the
soaking period increases. The unconfined compressive strength is less for soil samples
having 0% gypsum content at 90 days soaking period and the value was (0.03 Mpa).
With the increase in the gypsum content, the unconfined compressive strength of soil
samples has been also decreased and the values were (0.38, 0.2 and 0.18 Mpa) for 5, 15
and 25% gypsum content respectively at 90 days of soaking.

1.5
0% G

1.2 5% G
UCS (Mpa)

15% G

0.9 25% G

0.6

0.3

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Soaking Period (day)

FIG. 1. Unconfined compressive strength variation with soaking periods

The effect of gypsum content was most pronounced on the soil samples having 5%
gypsum, demonstrating the largest unconfined compressive strength; small reduction in
strength; as shown in figure (1). Another significant result is that, a soaking period of 7
days leads to a significant reduction in unconfined compressive strength of soil samples.
In general, the results also showed that the soaking period longer than 7 days does not
result in further reduction in unconfined compressive strength. It is worth mentioning

IACGE 2013
 174 IACGE 2013

that, all the soil samples became unstable and failed during the soaking at 180 days. In
other words, the soil samples did not survive for the unconfined compressive strength at
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

this soaking period. The reason for this failure could be the ineffectiveness of the lime
percent and/or due should be gypsum dissolution over a long period of time. The
reduction in unconfined compressive strength of soil samples appear to be due the
increasing in moisture content, increasing in volume and gypsum dissolution. As known
soil is porous media and have ability to absorb and retain water during soaking process.
In this stage all available pore space is filled with water and causing reduction in suction
forces resulting in the decrease the cohesion between soil particle and unconfined
compressive strength.
The amount of water available in soil samples were measured during soaking process,
as shown in figure (2), and it was observed that the moisture content increased with
increasing soaking period and gypsum content. As the results of the moisture content
increasing the volume of the soil samples also increased as presented in figure (3). The
increasing in volume is attributed to the expansion of clay particles and presence of
ettringite mineral. At the 28 days of curing, ettringite mineral formed, and as well-
known ettringite mineral is hydrous mineral and exhibit expansive behavior upon
wetting. Moreover, ettringite dehydration was possible contributor to the observed
increase volume of gypseous soil samples. Thus, water absorption during soaking led to
increase the volume of soil samples by more than (15%) especially for the soil samples
having 25% gypsum content.
35 20
Water Content (%)

VolumeChange (%)

30
15
25

20 0% G
10
5% G
15 15% G 0% G
25% G 5 5% G
10 15% G
25% G
5 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Soaking Period (day) Soaking Period (day)

FIG. 2. Water content variation with FIG. 3. Volume change variation with
soaking periods soaking periods
The increasing in volume resulted in cracks formation and led to soil samples failed as
mentioned previously. Finally, when gypsum adsorbed the water, the cementation
property between soil and gypsum particles are destroyed, and the soil structure system
change due to particles rearrangement. Also, voids could be formed among soil particles
due to gypsum dissolution.

IACGE 2013
 IACGE 2013 175

Evolution of Wave Velocity

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

The variation of wave velocity values of soil samples under soaking are presented in
figure (4). It is observed that, there was significant reduction in the wave velocity values
of soil samples during soaking, even at 7 days of soaking which represented the most
affected period on the wave velocity. The soil samples without gypsum have lowest
wave velocity as compared with other soil samples having gypsum content. The effect of
soaking as indicated by the reduction in wave velocities increases with increase in
gypsum content. This is because more moisture content and cracks formation. Other
reason, in a three phase system such as compacted soil, wave transmission occurs
through all the phases. Generally, wave velocities in solid are higher than velocities in
liquids, which are higher than velocities in gases (McIntire, 1991). Therefore, highest
solid and lowest voids in soil samples having 5% gypsum content gave higher wave
velocity values as compared with other samples.

1800
Wave Velocity (m/sec)

0% G
5% G
1400 15% G
25% G

1000

600

200
0 20 40 60 80 100
Soaking Period (day)
FIG. 4. Wave velocity variation during soaking periods

Evolution of Permeability during Leaching

The measurements of the permeability before and after lime stabilization during
leaching process were investigated. Figure (5) present the variation of the permeability
values of unstabilized soil samples. It is observed that, gypsum addition marginally
reduces the permeability of soil samples. The initial permeability value of soil samples
without gypsum decreased from 2.8x10-4 cm/sec to 1.3x10-4, 6.7x10-5 and 1.65x10-5
cm/sec for soil samples having 5, 15 and 25% gypsum content respectively. The change
in permeability can be attributed to the variations in grain size distribution of soil
samples due to the addition of gypsum.
During leaching process, the permeability values of soil samples increased with
increasing leaching time. The permeability of soil samples having 0 and 5% gypsum
content increased from 2.8x10-4 and 1.3x10-4 cm/sec to 9.6x10-4 and 1.46x10-3 cm/sec
respectively, up to 6 days of leaching. After that, the permeability increased rapidly until

IACGE 2013
 176 IACGE 2013

reach to 7.3x10-3 and 7.54x10-3 cm/sec at 10 days of leaching then stabilized. With
further increase of gypsum content to 15% and 25% the permeability increased to
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

7.83x10-3 cm/sec up to 5 days of leaching, then will be stabilized. In general, at the early
time of leaching (i.e. 2 days), the permeability value of soil samples having 25% gypsum
content show an increase in the permeability up to four orders of the permeability of soil
samples without gypsum. The leaching of soil samples gives rise to the development of a
variety of structural defects such as cavities and microscope voids which lead to
increasing permeability. With time these voids become larger and larger, till to be
impossible to control the flow of water through the soil samples.
Addition of lime changes the permeability of the soil samples, and during leaching the
pattern of change influenced by gypsum added. Figure (6) show the variation of
permeability values of soil samples with respect to leaching time. The permeability of
soil samples increased with increasing gypsum content. The initial values of stabilized
samples were 1.17x10-5, 2.22x10-5, 4.56x10-5 and 5.36x10-5 cm/sec for 0, 5, 15 and 25%
gypsum content respectively. The increasing in permeability with gypsum content is
attributed to the changes in micro pores of soil samples during the initial curing time (i.e.
28 days).

0.008 0.0014
Permeability (cm/sec)

0% G 0% G
Permeability (cm/sec)

5% G 0.0012 5% G
0.006 15% G 15% G
0.001
25% G 25% G
0.0008
0.004
0.0006

0.002 0.0004
0.0002
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (day) Time (day)
FIG. 5. Permeability variation of FIG. 6. Permeability variation of stabilized
unstabilized soil samples during leaching soil samples during leaching
Leaching process increases the permeability of the soil sample having gypsum content,
but there is little perceptible change in the permeability of soil samples without gypsum.
The permeability value of soil samples without gypsum content increased from 1.17x10-
5
cm/sec to 4.1x10-5 cm/sec after 30 days of leaching. The increasing in permeability can
be due to the change in soil structure during curing time and leaching. The continuous
leaching which extended to 30 days did not significantly change the permeability of soil
samples without gypsum as compared with those having gypsum, and the soil structure
remained stable. This is due to more cementing materials could be formed during
leaching process.

IACGE 2013
 IACGE 2013 177

CONCLUSIONS
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Universiti Teknologi Mara on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

The following conclusions can be drawn from this study:

1. Natural soil samples (unstabilized) with and without gypsum content did not
sustain the effect of soaking and leaching.
2. The strength and stability properties are considerably enhanced with lime
addition.
3. Water soaking led to a significant reduction in the unconfined compressive
strength, mainly after 90 days of soaking.
4. Soaking have a detrimental effect on the stability behavior of the soil samples
due to more volume change, water content, gypsum dissolution and cavities
formation.
5. Leaching is a time-dependent process with a detrimental effect on the stability of
soil samples with gypsum. Gypsum content is responsible for the permeability
behavior, and as gypsum content leaching time increases the permeability
increase.

REFERENCES
Abduljauwad, S.N. and Al-Amoudi, O.S.B. (1995). "Geotechnical behaviour of saline sabkha
soils." Geotechnique, Vol. 45 (3): 425–445.
Ahmad, A.A. (1985). "Lime stabilization of soils containing high soluble salts contents." M.Sc.
Thesis, College of Engineering, University of Mosul.
Aldaood, A. Bouasker M. and Al-Mukhtar M. (2013). "Effect of freezing-thawing cycles on the
mechanical properties of lime stabilized gypseous soil." 3rd International Conference on
Geotechnical Engineering: 271-279, Tunisia.
Al-Zubaydi, A.H. (2011). "Strength and erosion of lime stabilized gypseous soil under
different flow conditions." Al-Rafidain Engrg. J., Vol. 19, (2): 12-28.
Cooper, A.H. (2008). "The classification, recording, data basing and use of information about
building damage caused by subsidence and landslides." Qua. J. of Engrg. Geol. and Hydro.,
Vol. 41 (3): 409-424.
Eades, J.L. and Grim, R.E. (1966). "A quick test to determine lime requirements for soil
stabilization." Highway Research Record, No. 139: 61–72.
Little, D.N. (1995). "Handbook for stabilization of pavement sub- grade and base courses with
lime." National Lime Association, Iowa, USA.
McIntire, P. (1991). "Nondestructive testing handbook." American Society for Nondestructive
Testing, Vol. 7 Ultrasonic Testing, Columbus.
Razouki, S.S. and El-Janabi, O.A. (1999) "Decreasing in the CBR of a gypsiferous soil due to
long-term soaking." Qua. J. of Engrg. Geol. and Hydro., Vol. 31,(1): 87-89.
Razouki, S.S. Kuttah, D.K. Al-Damluji, O.A. and Nashat, I.H. (2006). "Strength erosion of a
fine-grained gypsiferous soil during soaking." The Arabian Journal for Science and
Engineering, Vol. 32, (1B): 147-152.

IACGE 2013