Microstructural behavior of expansive soil using calcium chloride and alccofine

Expansive soils are extensively found in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. One of the key problems associated with these expansive soils is their swelling characteristics to an increase in their natural water content. The present study is to elucidate and efficacy of alccofine-1203 and CaCl2 in ameliorating the engineering properties of expansive soils. An experimental program has evaluated the effects of alccofine-1203 (4%, 8%, & 12%) and CaCl2 (0.5% & 1%) contents on the Atterberg limits, compaction, unconfined compressive strength test of an intrinsic soil and artificially mixes soil were examined. Both admixtures were added independently and blended to the expansive soil. It was found that the liquid limit, plasticity index, and swelling behaviour of the expansive soil decreased considerably with the addition of binder, while the unconfined compressive strength improved with adding a Calcium Chloride and alccofine-1203. The improvement of strength is due to the formation of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H), Calcium Aluminate Hydrates (C-A-H), Calcium Aluminate Silicate Hydrate (C-A-S-H), and other cementitious compounds that are observed in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) studies. From this investigation, it is concluded that the addition of 1% Calcium Chloride and 8% alccofine-1203 binders is a potential stabilizer for expansive soil. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.