Soft Expansive Soil Improvement by Eco-Friendly Waste and Quick Lime

Expansive soils are being a source of risk to the population since it finally causes heavy economic losses, great damage to buildings and infrastructure. Current study focused on the feasibility of using waste from petrochemical plant (here called waste) as a stabilizer. The waste was provided from the process of water softening in petrochemical units. A complete set of laboratory tests were conducted to investigate on the effect of an eco-friendly waste and quick lime on stabilization of the expansive soil. For each of the introduced additives, treated samples containing 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12% concentration were prepared. The results of compaction, swelling measurement, Atterberg limits, and unconfined compression strength (UCS) tests indicated a reduction in swelling potential. This phenomena was contributed to the marked increase in UCS and shear strength of improved samples by waste and lime. The results unveiled that the new eco-friendly waste showed excellent function when compared to the conventional lime and it could provide desired geotechnical properties in soft expansive soil.