CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROBLEMATIC STATEMENT

The subgrade which is an important part of the road structure usually is
considered to be a weak layer, since road construction is executed on the soil,
different types of soils are met along the stretch of a proposed alignment,
however, black cotton soil also known as expansive soils seem to be the most
challenging type of soil encountered by engineers due to the presence of
montmorrillonite which is a mineral that is highly unstable thus leading to
shrinking and swelling of this type of soil on slight change in moisture content
of back cotton soil. Since it is not only uneconomical to excavate soils with
poor engineering characteristics and replace from borrow sites with soil having
better engineering properties but as well constitute environmental hazards, the
use of material wastes that would have constituted such environmental hazards
to the society through indiscriminate disposal or wrong methods of incineration
are put back into the soil to improve the engineering properties such as
,Unconfined Compressive strength(UCS), plasticity, liquid limit, maximum dry
density (MDD), optimum moisture content(OMC) etc. The improvement of
unstable soil is thus called soil stabilization.
Where a poor soil is encountered, it is evident that a probable solution
be sought for in the options for available alternatives. The options may include
leaving the poor soil for a new site, excavation to deep foundation level,
removal of the poor soil and subsequent replacement with a more suitable one,
redesigning the structure for the poor conditioner treating the poor soil to
improve its properties, otherwise known as stabilization.

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1.2 SOIL STABILIIZATION
Stabilization of soil to obtain the desired properties would be the most
probable solution in situations where land disputes are likely to occur over
relocation and cost of borrow material is high. The soil was not suitable in the
present form for any type of construction due to the following reasons:
 Poor workability for compaction. The construction schedule was
critical and it was necessary to carry out the work during
monsoon when optimum moisture content cannot be achieved.
 High compressibility.
 Inadequate shear strength for required slope stability.
The Areca nut husk ash has high silica and potassium oxide content
which enhances the high water holding capacity of soil. Potassium oxide reacts
with water to produce potassium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide is a
deliquescent that has a strong affinity for moisture.

Previous research worked on the use of Areca nut Husk Ash and Water
Hyacinth Stem Ash on Plasticity behavior of Lateritic Soil. To this date, no
study has been reported on the usage of Areca nut Husk Ash and Cement as
admixture for soil stabilization. So this study tends to investigate the effect of
ANA and Cement mixed with soil to improving the engineering properties.

1.3 OBJECTIVES

To increase the stability of fine grained soil using Areca Nut husk Ash and
cement to create a strong sub-base and base courses for road construction. The
objectives of this study are:-

 To determine the effect of Compaction characteristics of soil with an

addition of Cement and ANA.
 To study the improvement in strength characteristics of soil treated with
Cement and ANA.
 To obtain the effect of swelling characteristics soil treated with Cement
and ANA.