Analysis on microstructure and water retention properties of lime-treated soil

Lime treatment can improve theworkability and mechanical behaviour of soil. It has been proved as an effective soil improvement technique and widely applied in geo-engineering fields. In this paper, the effect of lime treatment on compacted soil microstructure and water retention ability was investigated. Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) tests were carried out on both untreated and lime-treated silty soil compacted dry of optimum and cured for different days. Both the untreated and treated samples present typical bimodal pore size distribution characteristics. The addition of lime gave rise to changes in microstructure, which significantly depended on curing time. Water retention curves of lime-treated soil were also determined by WP4 dewpoint PotentiaMeter. The obtained data illustrated that water retention capacity of lime-treated soil increased slightly with increasing curing time. Moreover, a good agreement was observed with the results obtained through the MIP data.