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Triaxial test behaviour of silty sands treated with agar biopolymer

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DOI: 10.1080/19386362.2019.1679441

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 International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering

ISSN: 1938-6362 (Print) 1939-7879 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yjge20

Triaxial test behaviour of silty sands treated with

agar biopolymer

S. Smitha, K. Rangaswamy & D. S. Keerthi

To cite this article: S. Smitha, K. Rangaswamy & D. S. Keerthi (2019): Triaxial test behaviour of
silty sands treated with agar biopolymer, International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, DOI:
10.1080/19386362.2019.1679441

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
https://doi.org/10.1080/19386362.2019.1679441

Triaxial test behaviour of silty sands treated with agar biopolymer

a
S. Smitha , K. Rangaswamyb and D. S. Keerthic
a
Research Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Calicut, Kerala, India; bAssistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Calicut,
Kerala, India; cDepartment of Civil Engineering, NIT Calicut, Kerala, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

In the current research, the study of undrained behaviour of agar biopolymer treated natural silty sand Received 19 June 2019
obtained from Kalpetta, Kerala was done. An experimental investigation was carried out to study the Accepted 8 October 2019
undrained behaviour of silty sand and biopolymer treated silty sand for examining the efficiency of agar KEYWORDS
biopolymer additive on undrained shear strength improvement. The practical implications of biopolymer Silty sand; biopolymer; static
treatment have also been evaluated. A series of consolidated undrained monotonic triaxial tests were triaxial test; shear strength;
performed at varying confining pressure (50 kPa, 100 kPa and 150 kPa), agar dosages (0.5%, 1% and 2%) and undrained response
curing time periods (5 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days and 28 days) to evaluate the efficiency of treatment. The
treatment method displayed a considerable enhancement in shear strength behaviour (about 106%
increase) mainly due to the significant amount of cohesion developed in the cohesionless soil under study.

1. Introduction capacity in the soil and hence support vegetation growth

(Tran, Chang, and Cho 2019). Biopolymers like xanthan and
Cohesionless silty-sand soils possess sufficient shear strength if it
guar were also used effectively to control dust due to mine
is in dry condition. But their strength reduces drastically if they
tailings (Chen, Lee, and Zhang 2014) and to impart erosion
are subjected to sudden loading when in saturated or submerged
resistance in fly ash (Mahamaya and Das 2017). Biopolymers
state. In undrained condition, they are even prone to failure due
are naturally occurring polymers derived from algae, fungus or
to liquefaction. To enhance the properties of silty sand and to
bacteria sources. They can be derived from microbial systems,
combat soil failure due to liquefaction, several methods can be
extracted from higher organisms such as plants, or synthesized
adopted like surface compaction, vibration methods, grouting
chemically from basic biological building blocks. There are
and injection, chemical stabilization using lime, cement and fly
varieties of biopolymers that display different physical and che-
ash, geosynthetic stabilization etc. The use of cement and other
mical properties depending on the type of functional groups
conventional admixtures used for the stabilization has led to
they possess like hydroxyl, ester or amines. The application of
several adverse environmental effects. When cement is added to
biopolymers in the field of geotechnical engineering has become
soil, it raises the pH of the soil to about 12–13 due to its
an emerging research topic. A lot of studies pertaining to the
hydration (Taylor 1997), which is detrimental to the ecology of
improvement of engineering properties such as shear strength,
soil organisms. About 5% of the annual source of carbon dioxide
compressibility and permeability using biopolymers have
is due to the production of cement (Worrell et al. 2001), which
already been carried out recently and were found to have
also produces other air pollutants like SO2, NO2, VOC’s and
a very positive outcome (Dehghan et al. 2018; Chang et al.
particulate matter during its manufacturing stage (Balogun, Raj,
2015; Ayeldeen, Negm, and El Sawwaf 2016; Wiszniewski et al.
and Moses 2016). As the cement is not easily degradable, it
2017; Fatehi, Sayyed, and Hamid 2018; Chang and Cho 2019;
remains in the soil for a long course of time, causing
Wen et al. 2019). However, the tests simulating practical field
a disturbance in the ecosystem and adverse effects in the natural
conditions are very few. Lee et al. (2019) had explored the
vegetation. Other traditional methods of combating liquefaction
drained triaxial behaviour of xanthan gum treated soil under
also have several drawbacks like inability to apply under existing
various confining pressures and found the shear strength to
structures, high cost and labour involved and environmental
improve substantially. However, the undrained behaviour of
issues like disturbance to the soil ecosystem etc. Considering the
biopolymer treated silty sands under triaxial loading that could
various disadvantages of different ground improvement techni-
indicate liquefaction endurance has not been much studied.
ques, the need for finding eco-friendly materials is essential. One
Agar biopolymer had been chosen for treating the silty sand
of such materials emerged from the expertise of biotechnical
in the present study due to its hydrogel-forming ability and its
engineering is called biopolymer. They are innocuous, eco-
high gel strength. Also, agar gel is insoluble in water at the
friendly and possess high-tensile property. Biopolymers have
normal range of environmental temperatures (Armisen and
a wide range of applications, including oil exploration, textile,
Galatas 1987). Agar has been proved to enhance the cohesion
construction, cosmetics, pharmaceutics, and food processing
in cohesionless soils. Therefore in the current study, the effect of
industries (Saha and Battacharya 2010; Velde and Keikens
confining pressure, the concentration of biopolymer and curing
2002). They have been proved to improve water-holding

CONTACT S. Smitha smithasivadas123@gmail.com NIT Calicut, India

© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 S. SMITHA ET AL.

period on shear strength has been investigated by performing 100

a set of consolidated undrained triaxial tests on the untreated as 90
well as agar treated silty sand. The silty sand had very negligible 80

Percentage finer (%)

cohesion and may be susceptible to failure due to liquefaction if 70
subjected to sudden loading in its saturated condition. Therefore 60
the influence of various parameters on the stress ratio obtained
50
in the undrained state is evaluated. Confining pressures of
40
50kPa, 100kPa and 150kPa had been adopted to simulate shal-
low depth condition where the biopolymer treatment may be 30

applicable in terms of easy mixing as well. Five different curing 20

periods were chosen that varied from 5 hours to 28 days, and 10
agar concentrations of 0.5%, 1% and 2% were chosen. All the 0
tests were performed at a strain rate of 0.6 mm/min and on 0.001 0.010 0.100 1.000 10.000
Grain size (mm)
samples prepared at a loose density that replicate liquefaction
prone soil condition. Figure 1. Grain size distribution curve of Kalpetta silty sand.

Its source as specified by the manufacturer is Gracilaria cornopi-

2. Materials and methods
folia, and its gel strength is 700 g/cm2.
2.1. Materials
2.1.1. Soil
2.2. Sample preparation
The soil was collected from Wayanad district in Kerala, India.
The soil was found to have a light brown creamy appearance CU tests were performed on both treated and untreated sam-
and a fairly smooth texture with some coarser particles. For ples to obtain the shear strength parameters. For untreated
determining the properties of soil, tests were performed as per samples, since the testing was done in silty sand at a loose
Indian Standard codes and the properties thus obtained are density (relative density = 30%), it was not possible for the
listed in Table 1. The grain size distribution curve of the sample to stand by its own because of its non-cohesive nature.
collected soil analysed from the results of sieve and hydro- So, in order to make it possible to form samples for testing it
meter analysis is presented in Figure 1. According to IS soil was necessary to use a former which will maintain the required
classification, the soil was found to be silty sand (SM). specimen shape until effective stress of sufficient magnitude to
make the sample self-supporting can be applied. This was
enabled by the use of a split mould of internal diameter
2.1.2. Biopolymer
50mm. Weight of soil was calculated for loose condition cor-
Agar biopolymer was chosen for the present study due to its ability
responding to 30% of relative density and sample was prepared
to form three dimensional gel networks within the soil mass. Also,
by dry funnel deposition method following previous research
it exhibits a unique property of gelation hysteresis since there is
works (Ishihara 1993; Zlatovic and Ishihara 1995; Lade and
a considerable difference between its gelling and melting tempera-
Yamamuro 1997; Yamamuro and Wood 2004; Bahadori,
ture. Agar forms a solution in water at a temperature of around 90°
Ghalandarzadeh, and Towhata 2008; Sitharam and Dash
C; as the temperature of the solution reduces its viscosity starts
2008; Wood, Yamamuro, and Lade 2008). The sand was
increasing, and when the temperature reaches about 30°C, it
poured symmetrically into the mould through a funnel from
would form a firm hydrogel. Due to this property agar has
a height of about 50mm. A slight tapping was given on the
found use in various applications like pharmaceuticals, food
sides of the split mould to achieve the required density. Mild
industry, microbiology etc. Chemically, agar biopolymer is com-
compaction was done at the top portion to avoid necking and
posed of agarose and agaropectin; agarose is responsible for the
then levelling was done.
gelling nature of agar (Armisen and Galatas 1987). It is commonly
Agar concentrations of 0.5%, 1% and 2% were chosen for
obtained from certain species of red algae like gracillaria, gellidium
treated soils samples. Here, the concentration of agar is defined
etc. Food grade agar that was available in a dry powder form was
as the mass of agar powder (ma) with respect to the mass of dry
used, which was procured from the manufacturer, Urban platter.
soil (ms), which is expressed, as a percentage (ma x100/ms).
Higher concentrations of agar were avoided since it resulted in
Table 1. Physical properties of Silty sand. the production of a highly viscous solution and hence resulted
Soil properties Values in the fabrication of non-homogeneous samples when mixed
Gravel 3% with soil. The agar hydrogel was prepared by following
Sand 72% a similar methodology as specified in Smitha and Sachan
Silt 22%
Clay 3% (2016). To bring agar into an aqueous solution, it needs to be
Specific gravity 2.65 heated to above its gel melting point (typically 85°C or higher).
Maximum void ratio 1.09 Its phase change from liquid to a gel form is gradual as the
Minimum void ratio 0.85
Maximum density 1420 kg/m3 temperature of solution falls. From solution phase they form
Minimum density 1240 kg/m3 sols, which can be cooled to a much lower temperature before
Soil classification SM setting to gels. The viscosity of an agar sol increases at a slow

rate as the sol is cooled (Guiseley 1972; Stephen, Phillips, and
Williams 2006). The time of mixing was so adjusted that the
temperature drop is within the range where viscosity is low
enough to facilitate homogenous mixing with soil. To prepare
agar solution, the desired weight of agar powder was weighed
and transferred to 100mL of water and mixed well to form the
required concentration of agar (Figure 2(a)). 100mL water was
taken corresponding to the volume of saturation water content
that was 40%. The agar-water mix was then heated to about
100°C so that agar completely mixes and forms an aqueous
solution with water (Figure 2(b)). The solution was immedi-
ately added to the weighed oven-dry soil was mixed at a fast
rate so that there is not enough time for the biopolymer
solution to form a viscous hydrogel (Figure 2(c,d)). The time
of mixing was kept constant (1minute from the time of pour-
ing) for all the prepared specimens. The mass of soil was
calculated as that which is required for attaining a loose rela-
tive density of 30% in a mould of 50mm diameter and 100mm
height. The soil paste was then transferred to a split mould and
the top was levelled and kept aside for some time to set
properly (Figure 2(e)). After a few minutes, the soil specimen
was extracted out of the mould (Figure 2(f)). All the
Figure 2. Sample preparation (a) Transferring agar powder into water (b) Heating
the agar-water mix (c) Pouring hot agar solution into the oven dry soil (d) Mixing
of agar solution with soil (e) Placing treated soil in split mould (f) A set of treated
soil samples.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 3
demoulded specimens were cured in an oven set at 30°C to
monitor the curing conditions. This was in order to simulate
a natural curing temperature. They were weighed before test-
ing was done to ensure consistency in curing conditions.
2.3. Test procedure
For investigating the effect of agar biopolymer on loose, satu-
rated silty sands subjected to loading under undrained condition,
a set of monotonic CU triaxial tests were performed on both
treated and untreated soil at similar loading conditions in order
to obtain the undrained strength parameters. Silty sands are
generally prone to liquefaction under saturated undrained con-
dition. To simulate an extreme condition where silty sands are
most vulnerable to failure, it was subjected to undrained loading
after saturation and consolidation. The resistance to liquefaction
is evaluated in terms of stress ratios at steady-state under
undrained loading conditions. Hence in this study, CU triaxial
tests were conducted to examine the influence of biopolymer on
stress ratios obtained in the undrained state. Tests were done
under three confining pressures of 50kPa, 100kPa and 150kPa
and shearing were performed at a deformation rate of 0.6 mm/
min. Tests were conducted with three different dosages of agar
and at five curing periods. Thus, a total of 45 combination tests
were done by varying these three parameters. Tests were grouped
into five series (S1-S5). A gist of the experimental plan is shown
in Table 2. In the table, 0 days curing refers to the testing done on
the same day the sample was prepared; it was carried out after
5 hours of sample preparation. Tests were performed in the
triaxial testing machine as per IS code (IS-2720-12 1991). The
equipment consists of a triaxial cell, system to apply cell pressure
and back pressures, facility to provide vacuum and CO2 at the
time of specimen preparation and a water reservoir to provide
sufficient water flow for water circulation. It was facilitated with
a motorized loading system, a proving ring of 2 kN capacity and
a dial gauge of least count 0.01 mm. Consolidated undrained
testing consists of three phases: saturation, consolidation and
shearing. Initially, a small confining pressure was applied to the
specimen to prevent sample disturbance. Next, to accelerate the
saturation process, CO2 was continuously passed for some time
through the soil sample from bottom to top so that it displaces
the oxygen in the void spaces of soil. CO2 being more soluble in
water than oxygen will speed up the saturation process.
Subsequently, saturation was attained in two stages: water circu-
lation followed by back pressure saturation. Water circulation
was done through the back pressure valve into the specimen
from a water reservoir so that the specimen gets wet completely.
Drainage valve was kept open for the excess water to come out.
A head of water 30cm in the water reservoir was maintained
throughout. After the completion of water circulation back
pressure was applied in such a way that its value was always
Table 2. Experimental programme.
Series Curing time (days) Confining pressure (kPa) Agar concentration
S1 0 50, 100, 150 0.5%, 1%, 2%
S2 1 50, 100, 150 0.5%, 1%, 2%
S3 3 50, 100, 150 0.5%, 1%, 2%
S4 7 50, 100, 150 0.5%, 1%, 2%
S5 28 50, 100, 150 0.5%, 1%, 2%
4 S. SMITHA ET AL.

lesser than cell pressure to avoid sudden bulging and failure of
the specimen. Both back pressure and cell pressures were applied
incrementally, and at each time the Skempton’s pore pressure
parameter (B) was checked. The sample was assumed to be
saturated when the B- value was above 0.91 (Mulilis,
Townsend, and Horz 1978). After completing the first phase,
the specimen was subjected to consolidation. The cell pressure
was increased, such that the difference between backpressure
and cell pressure equals the effective confining pressure.
Consolidation was continued for nearly 1 hour till the volume
change became constant. After consolidation was complete the
soil was subjected to undrained monotonic loading either up to
the failure of the sample or up to the attainment of 20% strain,
whichever was smaller.
For identifying the physiochemical characteristics, FTIR
spectroscopy of dried soil, agar and soil-agar samples were
carried out. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
is a method used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption
or emission of a solid, liquid or gas. In the geotechnical field, it
could help in the study of minerals and organic components of
soil samples. It gives characterization of minerals and mechan-
istic and kinetic aspects of mineral–organic matter interactions
that underlie biogeochemical processes, which could provide
an indication of the stabilization mechanism. In the current
study the attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infra-
red spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) of the samples were analysed
using CARY-630 model. For agar-soil mixture, 2% agar treated
soil after 7 day curing was used.
3. Results and discussions
For any soil, cohesion and angle of internal friction is known to
be the basic engineering properties which provide an idea on the
characterization of that soil. Any variations of these properties
could significantly alter its strength and stability. CU tests were
performed on parent soil under three different confining pres-
sures to get the deviator stress values corresponding to a change
in strain. The triaxial test results of the silty sands calculated at
varying confining pressure, biopolymer content and curing per-
iod is tabulated in Table 3. Here, the shear strength parameters,
cohesion (c) and angle of internal friction (φ) were calculated
from the intercept and slope, respectively of the modified failure
envelope. Then, the shear strength at a confining pressure of
50kPa was calculated using Mohr’s formula; τ = c + σ tanφ,
where τ is the shear stress, and σ is the confining stress. As
reported by Beekman (1987), Oades (1984) and Piccolo and
Mbagwu (1999), the improvement in soil properties due to
organic additives is the combined effect of inter-particle binding
force and enhancement of cohesion. In the present study, agar
biopolymer is an organic compound which enhanced the
undrained shear strength considerably. The mechanism of soil
improvement caused by gel-type biopolymers like agar was
explained by Cho and Chang (2018). Due to very negligible
electric charge on silt or sand particles, the gel type biopolymers
like agar will react among themselves (instead of reacting with
the soil chemically) to form long chains and convert into chain
type biopolymer that could encompass soil particles within its
chain and hence improve the strength.
Evaluation of internal friction angle of treated soils at dif-
ferent agar content and curing time showed that friction angle
reduced to some extent on testing the samples immediately
after the addition of agar (Figure 3(a)). Also, at lower curing
times, the friction angle reduced with increasing agar content.
The angle of friction depends on the amount of interlocking
between the soil grains (Lambe and Witmann 1969), which
depends on various other factors like angularity of particles,
soil gradation, the normal stress etc. But agar hydrogel is
known to produce a coating over the soil grains which would
reduce the angularity and surface roughness. Also, the hydro-
gel occupying the void spaces would reduce the friction. But
for 28 day cured samples the friction angle was higher than
untreated soil due to the increasing stiffness of hydrogel on
drying. The gel would be converted to a firm plastic material
connecting the soil particles that resist the shear stresses.
Reduction in friction angle was compensated by the con-
siderable increase in cohesion as can be seen from Figure 3(b).
The cohesion developed was due to the enhanced binding
between the soil particles and the viscous nature of the hydro-
gel. The untreated soil showed a very less cohesion of 1.6 kPa.
However, the cohesion of 29.1 kPa was obtained with 2% agar
treatment and 7 days of curing. As the curing increased to
28 days, cohesion got reduced, but still showed a value of 14.5

Table 3. Shear strength analysis of silty sand treated with agar biopolymer.
Peak deviator stress under different confining pressure (kPa)
Curing time (days) Agar content (%) 50 kPa 100 kPa 150 kPa c (kPa) φ (degrees) Shear strength (kPa)
28 0.5 132 210 292 15.9 26.4 66
1.0 138 200 303 14.5 27 67
2.0 145 242 308 21.0 26.8 74
7 0.5 109 138 189 23.8 16.8 53
1.0 119 165 216 25.1 19 59
2.0 131 166 223 29.1 18.5 64
3 0.5 85 117 172 14.3 18 42
1.0 117 168 221 21.0 19 55
2.0 126 177 226 26.9 19.5 63
1 0.5 82 115 175 10.7 19.3 40
1.0 99 142 180 21.9 16.8 50
2.0 110 128 185 24.0 16 52
0 0.5 78 99 168 7.9 19 36
1.0 88 110 162 16.8 15.9 42
2.0 78 99 168 19.0 7.9 31
Untreated soil 0 73 141 209 1.6 23.9 36
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 5

30 35
(a) (b)
30
25
Friction angle (degrees)
25
20

Cohesion (kPa)
0% 20 0%
15 0.5%
0.5%
15
1% 1%
10
2% 10 2%

5 5

0 0
5 hrs 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days 5 hrs 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days
Curing time Curing time

50
45 (c)
40
Shear strength (kPa)

35
30 0%
25 0.5%
20 1%
15 2%
10
5
0
5 hrs 1 day 3 days 7 days 28 days
Curing time

Figure 3. Strength parameter of silty sand treated with agar biopolymer at different concentration and curing period (a) Friction angle (b) Cohesion (c) Shear strength.

kPa which was still significant. In Figure 3(c) the shear strength increased up to 150 kPa, variation is almost negligible and all of
for all the tests has been compared and an increasing trend of them coincide which are shown in Figure 4(a-c). This might be
shear strength is evident as the agar concentration increases at due to the fact that as the confinement increases the particles
1 day, 3 day, 7 day and 28 day cured samples. This indicated assumes a denser packing and some agar biopolymer connections
stronger inter-particle binding forces for higher agar content, may get broken. Whereas the dense packing imparts higher
which makes it more resistant to shearing. The soil consistency strength to the untreated soils, and the effect of treatment might
after biopolymer treatment was also altered which depended be insignificant in that case. This implies that agar treatment is
on whether it was wet or dry. When wet, the agar treated soil more effective at shallow depth during static undrained loading.
was slightly sticky and slightly plastic in nature. When com- 0.5% of agar treated soils could give higher stress ratio at lower
pletely dry it was very hard and firm. confining pressure only. Considerable increase in stress ratio is
found in 28 days cured specimens at all the three confining
pressures tested (Figure 5(a-c)). All the curves exhibited a higher
stress ratio for 2% agar dosage, indicating the stronger inter-
3.1. Effect of agar biopolymer concentration on strength
particle binding forces at a higher percentage of agar. Stress ratio
characteristics of silty sand
values for different agar content at 50 kPa and 100 kPa confining
Silty soil was treated with agar biopolymer at different dosages pressures shows a small deviation, whereas when pressure is
(0.5%, 1% and 2% ma/ms) and the shear strength of treated soil increased to 150 kPa irrespective of agar content, all the soil
was determined using triaxial tests. Stress ratio (q/p) v/s axial sample shows nearly same stress ratios and all the curves almost
strain relationship of silty sand at different agar content was coincides similar to 7 day cured samples, but is still higher than the
plotted for three different confining pressures (50 kPa, 100 kPa stress ratio of untreated silty sand.
and 150 kPa) applied in triaxial tests. Higher stress ratio indicates From the stress-strain relationship, modified failure envel-
better resistance to liquefaction failure. At all curing times, the opes (q vs p) were plotted for all specimens cured at different
increase in stress ratio with an increase in agar concentration was time periods. For 5 hours curing, the failure envelopes of
evident. This is clearly due to the higher gel strength of agar different concentrations of agar treated soils almost coincided
hydrogel and greater inter-particle binding forces within the soil and converged to a point at 150 kPa confining pressure
mass as the concentration of agar increases. Stephen, Phillips, and (Figure 6(a)). The distinction between the failure envelopes
Williams (2006) described the strength of agar gel as the compres- was very less for 1% and 2% agar treatment in 1 day cured
sive force required to fracture the gel, and it is influenced by the samples also (Figure 6(b)). But for curing times higher than
concentration of the biopolymer, the time, pH and sugar content. 1 day the upward shift of the failure envelope with the
For 7 day cured specimens, at confining pressures of 50 kPa and increase in agar concentration could be distinctly observed
100 kPa stress ratios are higher than untreated samples for 1% and indicating the increasing resistance (Figure 6(c-e)). For
2% agar treatment whereas, when the confining pressure 28 days curing (Figure 6(e)) failure envelope of untreated
6 S. SMITHA ET AL.

0.6 0.5
(a)50 kPa (b)100kPa
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.3

q/p

q/p
0.3
0.2
0.2
0% 0%
0.1 0.5% 0.1 0.50%
1% 1%
2% 2%
0.0 0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Axial strain (%) Axial strain (%)

0.5
(c)150kPa

0.4

0.3
q/p

0.2

0%
0.1 0.5%
1%
2%
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Axial strain (%)

Figure 4. Stress ratio versus axial strain relationship of treated soil after 7days curing at confining pressure (a) 50 kPa (b) 100 kPa and (c) 150 kPa.

soil lies far below than that of treated soil and with the
increase in agar concentration; it shifts upward indicating
an improvement in the cohesion value and shear resistance.
3.2. Effect of curing time on strength characteristics of
silty sand
From the previous section, it is evident that curing time played
a vital role in developing the strength of the treated sample,
even if it contained a significant amount of agar. Therefore, to
identify the effect of curing time on properties of silty sand CU
testing was done after 5 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days and 28 days
of curing time. Stress ratio versus strain relationship is plotted
for specimens at different curing time. For each agar dosage,
tests were conducted at three different confining pressures and
the effect of curing time is studied in detail.
The variation in stress ratio with respect to strain for 2%
agar content tested at 50 kPa, 100 kPa and 150 kPa respectively
is illustrated in Figure7(a-c). There is an ordered increment in
the values starting from 0 day to 28 days in all graphs where the
28 days specimen showed a higher value, which indicated the
importance of curing time. The same trend could be found in
specimens treated with both 0.5% and 1% agar biopolymer.
Failure envelopes were plotted for all the above-specified cur-
ing periods at varying agar dosages of 0.5%, 1% and 2% which
are shown in Figure 8(a-c) respectively. A greater upward shift
is obtained for 28 days curing time at all agar dosages used in
the study ranging from 0.5% to 2%. The failure envelopes of
0.5% agar treated specimens at various curing times showed
a significant increase for 7 days and 28 days cured samples; all
other curves almost coincide (Figure 8(a)). It depicts the sig-
nificance of providing sufficient time for the treated specimens
to develop stronger inter-particle bonding and the develop-
ment of gel strength. The agar forms gel within the pore spaces
and in between the soil particles as the agar solution cools. This
reduces the pore volume and hence increases the density. Agar
gel increase in strength on ageing (Nussinovitch and Peleg
1990). As the curing time increases the agar gel loses its
water on hydration and becomes firmer and stiffer. This results
in stronger connection bridges between the individual soil
particles and in turn results in strengthening of the treated
soil with curing time. When soil treated with 1% and 2% agar is
tested, all failure envelopes show distinct values in which
a noticeable increase is observed at 28 days (Figure 8(b,c)). In
all these plots, there is a reduction in the cohesion value at
28 days, but when it comes to shear strength, incremental
behaviour is observed.
3.3. Identification of optimum agar dosage required for
improvement of silty sand
Use of biopolymers in soil receives wide attention all over the
world because of the small quantity required to impart desired
changes in the soil. Moreover, it was found to be eco-friendly and
cost-effective when used in small- scale. Bouazza, Gates, and
Ranjith (2009) and Cabalar and Canaki (2011) analysed that
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 7

0.7 0.6
(a)50kPa (b)100kPa
0.6 0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4

q/p
q/p
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2 0% 0%
0.5% 0.1 0.5%
0.1 1% 1%
2% 2%
0.0 0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Axial strain (%) Axial strain (%)

0.6
(c)150kPa
0.5

0.4

0.3
q/p

0.2
0%
0.5%
0.1
1%
2%
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Axial strain (%)

Figure 5. Stress ratio versus axial strain relationship of treated soil after 28 days curing at confining pressure (a) 50 kPa (b) 100 kPa and (c) 150 kPa.

a biopolymer content of above 1% could cause significant strength
improvement in the soil mass. In the present study also, tests were
conducted at different dosages each subjected to various curing
time. Shear stress versus curing time graphs were plotted at con-
fining pressures of 50kPa, 100kPa and 150kPa, which is shown in
Figure 9(a-c) respectively. Shear stress values were calculated for
specimens cured at 5 hours (initial condition), 1 day, 3 days, 7 days
and 28 days. At 50 kPa confining pressure, samples with all agar
content showed higher stress values than the untreated sample at
all the curing times. This implied the outstanding capability of the
proposed treatment for shallow depths. Specimens showed
a constant increase in stress with increasing curing time. From
Figure 9(b) it is observed that stress developed in initial and 1 day
cured specimens are lesser than that of untreated one and it
gradually increases after 3 days. At confining pressure of 150
kPa also (Figure 9(c)) a stress value higher than that of the
untreated sample was obtained after 3 days curing time. i.e., for
7 days and 28 days cured specimens, there is a significant increase
in stress with agar dosage. The kink in the curve observed for 2%
agar treatment at 100 and 150 kPa confining pressure is due to the
increase in q due to the higher cohesion at 3 days at a higher agar
dosage. At 3 days of curing the agar might be still in a gel form that
caused the higher cohesion. The increase in strength at 7 days due
to strengthening of agar gel inside soil pore spaces might be lower
than the increase in strength at 3 days due to the cohesion
imparted by the hydrogel.
The strength improvement in soil depends on both confining
pressure and curing time. At lower confining pressures untreated
sample shows very small stress values whereas at higher pressures,
values are even higher than that of agar treated samples. This may
be due to the inadequacy of time required to develop enough
gelling in agar-soil structure. When samples were subjected for
a longer curing period, it allowed biopolymer to form better
interlocking with soil mass by gelling and thereby imparting
strength irrespective of confining pressure. At all confining pres-
sures, 2% agar dosage shows maximum values of shear stress.
Hence, 2% dosage could be considered as the optimal dosage of
agar biopolymer required to exhibit desired properties in silty
sand under consideration. That means 248 g of silty sand requires
only 4.9 g of agar for a significant improvement which again
emphasis the cost-effective side of biopolymer. Also, from
28 days cured specimen testing an enhancement in parameters
which assured long term strength and stability to the treated loose
sand was observed.
3.4. FTIR analysis
Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy helps in iden-
tification of the major molecular groups present in a sample. The
FTIR of natural silty sand, agar biopolymer and 2% agar treated
silty sand were done and for easier comparison of patterns they
were plotted in a single graph (Figure 10). The spectra were
recorded from 4000 to 400 cm−1 since many molecules have
strong absorbance in this region (Smith 2011) and the intensities
of bands were expressed as transmittance. FTIR spectrum of
agar shows an absorption band at about 3362 cm−1 which is
associated with O-H stretching (Tako et al. 1999; Armisen and
Galatas 1987). The band at around 1635 cm−1 is due to the
8 S. SMITHA ET AL.

120 120
(a)5 hours (b)1 day
100 100

80 80

q (kPa)
q (kPa) 60 60

40 40
2% 2%
1% 1%
20 20
0.5% 0.5%
untreated untreated
0 0
0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300
p (kPa) p (kPa)

120 120
(c)3 day (d)7 day
100 100

80 80

q (kPa)
q (kPa)

60 60

40 40
2%
2%
20 1% 20 1%
0.5% 0.5%
untreated untreated
0 0
0 100 200 300 0 100 200 300
p (kPa) p (kPa)

180
(e)28 day
160
140
120
100
q (kPa)

80
60
2%
40 1%
20 0.50%
untreated
0
0 100 200 300 400
p (kPa)

Figure 6. Failure envelop of treated soil for different concentration of agar biopolymer at varying curing time (a) 5 hours (b) 1 day (c) 3 days (d) 7 days and (e) 28 days.

stretching of the conjugated bond formed by (amide I) (C = O) 779 cm−1.The peak at 1114 cm−1 was absent in agar treated soil.
groups (Cristiaen et al. 1983). The peak at 1367 cm−1 belongs to The difference in spectra observed for treated soil might be due
C-C bending and the bands at 1041 cm−1 correspond with the to the new bonds formed between the small percentage of clay in
C-O stretching (Chirapart et al. 1995). Similarly, the prominent silty sand and the cationic agar particles that produced
bands typical of silty sands in its spectra were observed at a strengthening effect.
1640 cm−1, 779 cm−1 and 462 cm−1 which were identified as
H-O-H stretch, Si-O symmetric stretch and – OH of molecular
water respectively (Anbalagan, Prabakaranb, and Gunasekaranb 4. Practical implications of biopolymer treatment
2010; Cai et al. 2014). 3690 cm−1 and 3619 cm−1 are associated
Though the cost of biopolymers is higher when compared to other
with octahedral stretch vibrations from -OH groups that are
soil additives like cement, their requirement to cause similar
present in treated soil also. Natural silty sand consists of groups
strengthening effect is very less. Chang and Cho (2012) had
like Si-O, Al-OH and – OH. But there is an evident difference in
concluded that merely 0.5% biopolymer mix was enough to
spectra results of agar treated silty sand. There was a backward
achieve strength levels equivalent to that caused by 10% OPC in
shift in peaks of treated silty-sand; from 2113 cm−1 to 2109 cm−1,
soil. Even then, the biopolymer treatment would still be costlier.
1997 cm−1 to 1986 cm−1, 1002 cm−1 to 998 cm−1 and 786 cm−1 to
However, if carbon emission trading is also considered cement
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 9

0.7 0.6
(a)50 kPa (b)100 kPa
0.6 0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4

q/p

q/p
0.3
0.3
untreated 0.2 untreated
0.2 5 hrs
5 hrs
1 day 0.1 1 day
0.1 3 days 3 days
7 days 7 days
0.0 0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Strain (%) Strain (%)

0.6
(c)150 kPa
0.5

0.4
q/p

0.3

0.2 untreated
5 hrs
1 day
0.1
3 days
7 days
0.0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Strain (%)

Figure 7. Stress ratio versus axial strain relationship of 2% agar treated soil after varying curing days at confining pressure (a) 50 kPa (b) 100 kPa and (c) 150 kPa.

160 160
(a)0.5% (b)1%
140 140
120 120
100 100
q (kPa)

q (kPa)

80 80
60 5 hrs 60 5 hrs
1 day 1 day
40 3 days 40 3 days
7 days 7 days
20 28 days 20 28 days
untreated untreated
0 0
0 100 200 300 400 0 100 200 300 400
p (kPa) p (kPa)

180
160 (c)2%

140
120
q (kPa)

100
80
60 5 hrs
1 day
40 3 days
7 days
20 28 days
untreated
0
0 100 200 300 400
p (kPa)

Figure 8. Failure envelop of treated soil at different curing times for different concentration of agar biopolymer (a) 0.5% (b) 1% and (c) 2%.
10 S. SMITHA ET AL.

80 140
(a)50kPa (b)100kPa
70 120
60
100
50

q (kPa)
q (kPa)
80
40
60
30
20 40 0.50%
0.50%
1% 1%
10 20 2%
2%
untreated untreated
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Curing time (days) Curing time (days)

180
(c)150kPa
160
140
120
100
q (kPa)

80
60
40 0.50%
1%
20 2%
0 untreated
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Curing time (days)

Figure 9. Shear stress vs curing time relationship at confining pressure of (a) 50 kPa, (b) 100 kPa and (c) 150 kPa.
Transmittance (%)

agar
sand
sand + agar
3900 3400 2900 2400 1900 1400 900 400
Wave number (/cm)

Figure 10. FTIR patters of agar, sand and agar treated sand.

accounts for a very high CO2 emission than biopolymers, whose
carbon emission is harmful and hence biopolymers are only
slightly more expensive than cement. Considering the liquefaction
mitigation perspective, the test results obtained from the current
study, it is evident that even 0.5% agar could cause a significant
increase in stress ratio in silty sand (about 30% reduction was
achieved at 0.8% axial strain). The cost analysis was done based on
the price of the agar biopolymer used for the present study. It was
found that about 200 USD was required for every ton of soil
treated (using 1% agar content to the weight of soil mass). This
cost could be further reduced if there were mass production and
commercialization of agar, similar to the price reduction due to
the marketing of xanthan (Chang, Im, and Cho 2016).
Furthermore, agar or any other biopolymers used for soil
improvement in the recent studies are mostly bacteriological or
of food-grade quality, which requires high purity and hence very
hygienic production environment. Due to the high quality of
biopolymer produced, the market price of the finished product
would also be high. Therefore, if it were produced exclusively for
stabilization purpose, the price would drastically reduce. It was
reported by Chang, Im, and Cho (2016) that the major drawback
of biopolymers is their sensitivity towards water since their
strength reduces in the presence of water. For liquefaction
remediation purpose the stabilized soil has to sustain
a saturated environment. Agar biopolymer showed some
strength improvement compared to treated soil in a saturated

soil condition also (Smitha and Sachan 2016). But from the
current study, it was demonstrated that agar treated silty sand
showed significantly higher cohesion and stress ratio than satu-
rated untreated silty sand under various confining pressures and
in an undrained condition also.
In the current study, agar biopolymer was introduced in the
soil by making it in a solution form and then mixing it with the
soil mass. But the study could be expanded to different other
methods of mixing like grouting, spraying, high-pressure
injection etc. by which the technique could be applied for
enhancing shear strength in deeper soil strata also.
5. Conclusions
The silty soil was treated by mixing agar solution in different
concentrations (0.5%, 1% and 2%) and exposed to curing in
a controlled environment that replicated the room tempera-
ture at different time periods. 28 days strength was assessed to
analyse long term stability of the agar-soil system. The follow-
ing conclusions could be drawn from the present study:
● Great improvement is achieved for silty sand in terms of
strength and liquefaction resistance when treated with agar
concentrations. Tests were performed by varying two para-
meters: biopolymer dosage and curing time. The maxi-
mum shear strength and stress ratio were obtained for 2%
agar content at 28 days curing time though 7 day cured
samples also showed substantial strength improvement.
Shear strength of untreated soil exhibited a rise in value
from 36 kPa to 74 kPa (106% increase) and cohesion
changed from 1.6 kPa to 21 kPa.
● Regarding the effect of curing time, specimens subjected
for a long period of curing displayed better shear strength,
angle of friction, cohesion and stress ratio. Thus, within the
boundaries of this study 28 days strength could be con-
sidered as optimum and it is an indication of long term
strength and stability of agar treated soil mass.
● Even a small addition of agar could contribute a great deal
in improving the characteristics of silty sand. Here, the
smallest dosage used for the study is only 0.5%, which
could successfully strengthen silty sand at low confining
pressure up to 50kPa.
● Silty sand in its natural loose state is highly prone to
liquefaction when saturated owing to its low shear
strength and stress ratio. When combined with agar to
form a three-dimensional mass, strength and stress ratio
values are increased immensely, which is an indication of
high resistance to liquefaction.
These conclusions have been drawn from the limited num-
ber of tests performed on silty sands. More tests comprising of
pore pressure studies, cyclic loading using a wider range of
confining pressures have to be performed before the imple-
mentation of the proposed treatment technique in the field.
Stress path and steady-state responses could also be examined
in order to analyse liquefaction resistance. A variety of other
biopolymers are also now found to be useful for ground
improvement. Hence, the same study could be extended to
different biopolymers and soils which are prone to liquefaction
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 11
to explore further understanding regarding the stabilization
process.
NOTATIONS
B-Value = Skempton’s pore pressure parameter during
saturation
CU= Consolidated undrained
FTIR= Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
OPC= Ordinary Portland Cement
SM= Silty sand
°
C = Degree celcius
τ= Shear stress
σ= Normal stress
c= Cohesion
Φ= Angle of internal friction
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
S Smitha is currently a Ph.D. scholar working in the area of Geotechnical
Engineering, in the Department of Civil Engineering at National Institute
of Technology, Calicut, Kerala. She has received B.Tech degree in Civil
Engineering from NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad, Kerala in 2012
and M.Tech degree in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Gandhinagar,
Gujarat in 2015.
Dr. K. Rangaswamy is currently working as Assistant Professor in the
Department of Civil Engineering at National Institute of Technology,
Calicut, Kerala. Dr. Rangaswamy has received B.Tech degree in civil
engineering in 1999 from JNTU Anantapur and took M.Tech degree in
Geotechnical Engineering in 2003 from SVU Tirupati. He earned his
doctorate in Geotechnical Engineering from IIT Madras in 2009.
D. S. Keerthi has received B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from
College of Engineering, Trivandrum, Kerala in 2015 and took M.Tech
in the area of Environmental Geotechnology from NIT Calicut, Kerala in
2018. Her M.Tech work includes extensive testing on biopolymer stabi-
lised soils.
ORCID
S. Smitha http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6037-0626
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