Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Rock Mechanics and

Geotechnical Engineering
journal homepage: www.jrmge.cn

Full Length Article

An investigation into the effects of lime on compressive and shear

strength characteristics of fiber-reinforced clays
Mahmood Reza Abdi a, *, Abbas Ghalandarzadeh b, Leila Shafiei Chafi a
a
Faculty of Civil Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
b
School of Engineering, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: To meet the ever-increasing construction demands around the world during recent years, reinforcement
Received 16 July 2020 and stabilization methods have been widely used by geotechnical engineers to improve the perfor-
Received in revised form mances and behavior of fine-grained soils. Although lime stabilization increases the compressive
7 September 2020
strength of soils, it reduces the soil ductility at the same time. Recent research shows that random fiber
Accepted 11 November 2020
Available online 23 January 2021
inclusion modifies the brittleness of soils. In the current research, the effects of lime and polypropylene
(PP) fiber additions on such characteristics as compressive and shear strengths, failure strain, secant
modulus of elasticity (E50) and shear strength parameters of mixtures were investigated. Kaolinite was
Keywords:
Kaolinite
treated with 1%, 3% and 5% lime by dry weight of soil and reinforced with 0.1% monovalent PP fibers with
Lime the length of 6 mm. Samples were prepared at optimum conditions and cured at 35
C for 1 d, 7 d and
Polypropylene (PP) 28 d at 90% relative humidity and subsequently subjected to uniaxial and triaxial compression tests (UCT
Fiber-reinforced clay and TCT) under cell pressures of 25 kPa, 50 kPa and 100 kPa. Results showed that inclusion of random PP
Triaxial compression test (TCT) fibers to clayelime mixtures increases both compressive and shear strengths as well as the ductility.
Uniaxial compression test (UCT) Lime content and curing period were found to be the most influential factors. Scanning electron mi-
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) croscopy (SEM) analysis showed that lime addition and the formation of cementitious compounds bind
soil particles and increase soil/fiber interactions at interface, leading to enhanced shear strength. The
more ductile the stabilized and reinforced composition, the less the cracks in roads and waste landfill
covers.
Ó 2021 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by
Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction et al., 2009). Although lime treatment improves soil strength, it

Soil improvement using the most effective technique to achieve
desired geotechnical characteristics is one of the challenging issues
in geotechnical engineering. Chemical stabilization using cement or
lime and reinforcement by means of randomly distributed fibers
are amongst the techniques that are used in the construction of
embankments, pavements and landfills (Shukla, 2017). Types of
chemicals used for stabilization depend on the type of soil requiring
improvement with lime being a more effective material than
cement for treatment of clays. Lime stabilization is used to improve
strength as well as swell/shrinkage characteristics of clays (Santoni
et al., 2005; Osinubi and Nwaiwu, 2006; Kumar et al., 2007; Sakr
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: abdi@kntu.ac.ir (M.R. Abdi).
Peer review under responsibility of Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chi-
nese Academy of Sciences.
also increases the brittleness of soilelime mixture, leading to
greater cracking potential in pavement layers, landfill covers, etc
(Cai et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2013). The brittleness increases with
increases in the lime content and curing time (Jia et al., 2019).
Tensile cracking occurs when the induced tensile stress reaches
the soil tensile strength or the tensile strain reaches the soil tensile
failure strain. Tensile stress and strain can be induced by shrinkage
due to soil moisture evaporation, and bending of soil layers due to
differential settlements or external loads. Presence of cracks can
significantly modify the mechanical as well as hydraulic properties,
thereby weakening the performance of soils particularly in
geotechnical and environmental engineering fields
(Lakshmikantha, 2009; Tang et al., 2010). To alleviate or reduce the
adverse effects of lime addition and promote ductility, many re-
searchers investigated the concurrent influence of random fiber
inclusions and stabilization to effectively improve the soil tensile
strength and cracking resistance. In comparison with planar re-
inforcements such as geogrids and geotextile, random inclusion of

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2020.11.008
1674-7755 Ó 2021 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-
NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
886 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898

fibers results in a more uniform mixture and limits potential planes Table 1
of weakness that can develop parallel to oriented reinforcements. Summary of kaolinite characteristics.

Fibers are simply added and mixed with the soil in much the same Characteristic Value ASTM standard
manner as other stabilizers. Particle size (< 0.075 mm) 100 ASTM D422-63
Mechanical properties of lime-treated/fiber-reinforced mixtures distribution (2007)
have been investigated by many researchers through laboratory (% by mass)
tests such as triaxial compression (Ranjan et al., 1996; Consoli et al., Specific gravity 2.75 ASTM D854-00
(2000)
1998; Wei et al., 2018), direct shear (Prabakar and Sridhar, 2002;
Consistency Plastic limit (%) 26 ASTM D4318-00
Casagrande et al., 2006; Consoli et al., 2007a and b) and unconfined Limits (2000)
compression tests (Cai et al., 2006; Moghal et al., 2017; Boz et al., Liquid limit (%) 51 ASTM D4318-00
2018; Wei et al., 2018; Hussain and Dhar, 2019). They have (2000)
Plasticity index 25 ASTM D4318-00
concluded that lime percentage and curing time are two of the
(%) (2000)
most influential factors that significantly affect soil strength. Compaction characteristics MDD (kg/m ) 3
1550 ASTM D698-12e2
Muntohar et al. (2013), Moghal et al. (2018a), and Dhar and Hussain (2012)
(2019) assessed the effects of lime/random fiber inclusion on OMC (%) 23.5 ASTM D698-12e2
bearing capacity of soils using California bearing ratio (CBR) test. (2012)
Results showed that the concurrent addition of lime and fibers to Note: MDD is the maximum dry density, and OMC is the optimum moisture content.
the clays significantly improves the CBR value of mixture. The ef-
fects of lime/random fiber inclusion on swelling and shrinkage
behaviors of clay were also investigated by Abdi et al. (2008), various fiber reinforcement indices (Chi et al., 2014, 2017; Xu et al.,
Consoli et al. (2012) and Moghal et al. (2018b). Results showed that 2018).
swelling potential of fiber-reinforced samples reduces substantially Considering the above-mentioned reserach, it is observed that
and the shrinkage limit increases by increasing the content and although various aspects of lime/fiber reinforcement through
length of fiber, which was interpreted as mixtures experiencing conducting different laboratory tests have been assessed, the re-
much less volumetric change and reduced crack formation. Kumar sults are mostly simply interpreted and the mechanisms of stabi-
et al. (2007) investigated the effects of lime/fiber reinforcement on lized soilefiber interactions are still not well understood. Thus, in
tensile strength of clays by conducting splitting tensile test and order to help to broaden the understanding of soilefiber in-
observed that the splitting tensile strength of soil increases with teractions, in current study, uniaxial and triaxial compression tests
increase in fiber content. Li et al. (2014) performed some direct (UCT and TCT) are adopted to appraise the effects of simultaneous
tensile tests on fiber-reinforced soil and concluded that its tensile additions of lime and random fiber inclusions on compressive and
strength significantly depends on the initial compaction conditions. shear strengths as well as the stressestrain and stiffness charac-
Abdi et al. (2008) and Moghal et al. (2016) investigated the effects teristics of clays. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis is
of fiber addition on hydraulic conductivity of clays and concluded correspondingly conducted to help interpretation of the results and
that fiber percentage and fiber length are very effective in appraisal of the interaction mechanism on a micro-scale. A rela-
increasing the hydraulic conductivity. Saygili and Dayan (2019) tionship between triaxial and unconfined compressive strengths is
studied the effect of freeze/thaw on the mechanical behavior of also proposed.
lime-treated/fiber-reinforced mixtures and showed that simulta-
neous stabilization and reinforcement substantially improves the 2. Materials
resistance to freeze/thaw. Much research has also focused on the
theoretical modeling of fiber-reinfroced composites and showed 2.1. Kaolinite
that the constitutive models can realistically capture the stresse
strain responses as well as the volumetric deformations of hybrid In the current study, a soil commercially marketed as kaolinite
steelepolypropylene (PP) fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC) having and used in pottery industry was selected as the clay. Hydrometer
analysis (ASTM D422-63(2007)e2, 2007) and Atterberg limits tests
(ASTM D4318-00, 2000) were conducted to characterize the
kaolinite with the particle size distribution and the summary of the
soil physical properties presented in Fig. 1 and Table 1, respectively.
According to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) (ASTM
D2487-17e1, 2017), kaolinite is classified as CH (i.e. high plasticity
clay) with its chemical composition determined by conducting X-
ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, as presented in Table 2. Hereafter in
the article, for brevity, kaolinite will be denoted by the letter K, and
lime by the letter L.

2.2. Lime

Slaked lime produced by Semnan Lime Factory at Semnan, Iran,

Fig. 1. Kaolinite particle size distribution.
was used as the additive. It was passed through No. 200 sieve and
kept in sealed plastic bags to avoid over-exposure to the atmo-
sphere and therefore carbonation. The chemical composition of
lime determined by XRF analysis is presented in Table 2. In this
study, pH tests (ASTM D6276-19, 2019) conducted on various
mixtures showed that 5% lime addition resulted in a pH value of
12.4 which was taken as the optimum lime content and thus
samples were treated with 1%, 3% and 5% lime by dry weight of the
 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898 887

Table 2 immediate formation of cementitious reaction products at particle

Chemical composition (%) of kaolinite and lime. contact points, which increases the porosity and thus reduces the
Oxide Kaolinite Lime Oxide Kaolinite Lime MDD of the mixture. By adding water to the soilelime mixture, part
K2O 0.44 0.02 LOI 2.46 30.76
of the water is used to fill these pores, thus increasing the OMC.
CaO 1.89 66.3 Na2O 0.07 0.1 Also, because of the immediate reactions, CaO is hydrated, which
TiO2 0.03 <0.03 MgO 0.4 0.32 consumes a certain amount of water, further increasing the mois-
V2O5 > 0.1 <0.01 Al2O3 26.33 0.63 ture requirement (Rajasekaran, 2005; Eren and Filiz, 2009;
Cr2O3 <0.1 < 0.03 SiO2 67.51 0.39
Harichane et al., 2011). Numerous researchers have reported that
MnO 0.01 0.01 P2O5 0.09 0.02
Fe2O3 0.49 0.1 SO3 0.09 0.16 fiber inclusion due to its low density and the inability to absorb
water does not significantly influence the MDD and OMC of soils
Note: LOI is the loss on ignition.
and soilelime mixtures (Abdi et al., 2008; Moghal et al., 2017,
2018a; Boz et al., 2018). Thus, in the current research, the MDD and
soil. Cai et al. (2006) and Al-Mukhtar et al. (2010) reported that the OMC values determined for soilelime mixtures were also adopted
maximum strength can be achieved by adding 5% lime to the clays, for the equivalent soilelimeefiber mixtures.
and Dash and Hussain (2012) stated that disproportionate lime
addition reduces the strength due to excessive cementitious gel 3.3. Uniaxial and triaxial compression tests
formation.
Monovalent PP fiber is the most commonly used synthetic Cured untreated, lime-treated, fiber-reinforced and lime-
material for random inclusion in soils mainly because of its low cost treated/fiber-reinforced samples were subjected to UCT and TCT
and the ease with which it mixes with soils. It is also hydrophobic, in accordance to ASTM D2166/D2166M-16 (2016) and ASTM
chemically inert and does not absorb or react with moisture or D2850-15 (2015). Shear load was applied at a rate of 0.5 mm/min
leachate, or decay with time. Fibers used in the current research are for UCT and 0.8 mm/min for TCT until failure. Considering that
produced by Negin Rose Sepahan Co. with the characteristics pre- concurrent stabilization and random fiber reinforcement have the
sented in Table 3. Fibers employed were 6 mm in length and added potential to be employed in construction of roads, landfill covers
by 0.1% of the soil dry weight. Fig. 2 shows a picture of the PP fibers. and embankments that are usually subjected to low confining
pressures, normal pressures of 25 kPa, 50 kPa and 100 kPa were
adopted in triaxial tests. As the samples were prepared at optimum
3. Experimental program
conditions and cured, the water added in the preparation of the
samples was consumed in the completion of the chemical re-
3.1. Sample preparation
actions. Thus, the samples did not contain any free water at the
time of testing and triaxial tests were conducted without volume
Cylindrical samples, 38 mm in diameter and 80 mm in height,
change and pore pressure measurements. As such, the shear
were prepared at their respective MDD and OMC values (i.e. see
strength parameters determined are effective stress parameters.
Table 4). For the preparation of untreated, treated, reinforced and
treated/reinforced samples, initially the prerequisite amounts of
3.4. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
the constituents were dry mixed and subsequently the necessary
moisture (i.e. OMC) was gradually added using a sprinkler and
SEM analysis was carried out on samples collected after
mixing continued until a uniform mixture was achieved. Great care
completion of UCT and TCT. This method was mainly used to
was exercised to prepare samples as homogenously as possible.
visually observe the changes caused by the interactions between
Moist mixtures were then placed in a cylindrical mold in three
clay particles, lime and fibers to help in the discussion and inter-
approximately equal layers with each layer being separately com-
pretation of experimental results. SEM tests were conducted using
pacted to achieve the necessary MDD. After leveling both ends of
a VEGA\\TESCAN-LMU scanning electron microscope at Razi
the samples, they were extruded by a plunger, and then weighed,
Metallurgical Research Center (RMRC) with resolution of 3 nm at
labeled and wrapped in several layers of cling film to prevent
30 kV and accelerating voltage of 200 V to 30 kV with tungsten
moisture loss during curing. Samples were subsequently trans-
heated cathode electron gun. A thin layer of gold was deposited on
ferred to a controlled chamber set at 35
C and 95% relative hu-
representative samples using sputter-coater before testing and
midity and cured for 1 d, 7 d and 28 d. After appropriate curing
surface imaging.
periods, samples were taken out of the curing chamber, cooled and
weighed before testing. Weighing at the beginning and after curing
4. Results and discussion
process was carried out to ensure that moisture loss had not
occurred. Weight loss due to moisture variations in most cases was
4.1. Triaxial compression tests (TCTs)
less than 2% which was considered acceptable. For each particular
mixture and curing period, three samples were prepared, two of
4.1.1. Untreated/unreinforced samples
which were tested. If the difference between the results of the two
Variations of deviatoric stresseaxial strain curves of untreated/
samples was greater than 5%, the third sample was also tested. Thus
unreinforced kaolinite samples subjected to cell pressures of
the results presented are mostly the average of two tests.
25 kPa, 50 kPa and 100 kPa are shown in Fig. 4. It is observed from
Fig. 4a that shear stresses increase sharply with axial strains at the
3.2. Compaction test early stages of testing displaying hardening behavior. The rate of
increase in shear strengths reduces before failure (i.e. maximum
Standard Proctor compaction tests were conducted on clay-lime values) and subsequently decreases, signifying softening behavior.
mixtures to determine their MDD and OMC necessary for sample Samples subjected to cell pressures of 25 kPa, 50 kPa and 100 kPa
preparations. Results of compaction tests are depicted in Fig. 3 with fail respectively at deviatoric stresses of 229 kPa, 304 kPa and
the summary presented in Table 4. It is seen that lime addition has 390 kPa corresponding to failure strains of 3.9%, 7.3% and 8.1%. At
resulted in the reduction of MDD and the increase in OMC of the higher cell pressures of 50 kPa and 100 kPa, the greater confine-
mixtures investigated. The decrease in MDD is attributed to the ment restricts particle displacements and greater intergranular
888 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898

Table 3
Characteristics of polypropylene fibers (Negin Rose Sepahan Co.).

Fiber Density (g/ Average diameter Tensile strength Melting Burning point Acid and alkali Dispersibility Thermal Electrical
type cm3) (mm) (MPa) temperature (
C) (
C) resistance conductivity conductivity

Single 0.91 37 400 160e165 590 Very good Excellent Low Low
fiber

interactions which lead to higher strengths. The low and gradual
increase in the shear stresses, as well as the relatively high strains at
failure, signifies ductile behavior which is typical of clayey soils.
Fig. 4b depicts the MohreCoulomb failure envelope for the clay. As
the samples were prepared and tested at optimum conditions, the
cohesion and the internal friction angle determined are effective
shear strength parameters. These results are used as a basis for
assessment and comparison of the effects of lime stabilization and
random fiber inclusions either singularly or in combinations on the
shear strength and strain characteristics.
Fig. 2. Monovalent polypropylene fibers.
Table 4
MDD and OMC of soilelime and soilelimeefiber mixtures.
Mixtures MDD (kg/m3)
K, Kþ0.1%F 1550
Kþ1%L, Kþ1%Lþ0.1%F 1440
Kþ3%L, Kþ3%Lþ0.1%F 1430
Kþ5%L, Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F 1390
Fig. 3. Standard Proctor compaction curves of clay with various lime contents.
4.1.2. Treated and treated/reinforced samples
Variations of deviatoric stresseaxial strain curves of samples
treated with 1%, 3% and 5% lime and those treated as well as rein-
forced with 0.1% PP fibers are shown in Figs. 5e7. These samples
were prepared under optimum conditions and cured at 35
C for
1 d, 7 d and 28 d before being tested under triaxial conditions.
Fig. 5aec shows the results obtained for Kþ1%L and Kþ1%Lþ0.1%F
samples. Both sets of treated and treated/reinforced samples
display gradual increase in deviatoric stresses with axial strain
displaying initially hardening and subsequently softening behavior
after failure. It is observed that the degree of softening in the
treated/fiber-reinforced samples is significantly less than that in
the lime-only-treated samples and that failure has occurred at
higher axial strains manifesting more deformable characteristics.
At the low lime content of 1%, fiber reinforcement has slightly
improved the shear strengths and increased the axial strains at
failure. Results show that the deviatoric stresses of the treated
samples increase with cell pressure, whereas the effects of this
factor on treated/fiber-reinforced samples particularly at longer
curing period of 28 d is less influential. Another important feature is
that almost all samples appear to have reached their maximum
shear strengths within the first 7 d of curing and prolonging the
curing period to 28 d has not resulted in noteworthy enhance-
ments. This clearly indicates that the chemical reactions have taken
place relatively quickly and resulted in very limited chemical
compound formations. The inclusion of randomly distributed fibers
has slightly increased the failure strains in comparison to the lime-
treated samples.
Increasing the amount of additive to 3% has resulted in signifi-
cant improvements in deviatoric stresses and the reduction of the
axial strains at failure particularly after 28 d of curing (see Fig. 6ae
c). Clearly, 3% lime addition at prolonged curing period of 28 d has
resulted in substantial enhancement in shear strengths compared
OMC (%) to samples treated with 1% lime. It is observed that 3% lime addition
23 singularly or simultaneously with randomly distributed PP fibers
27 has induced the samples to display brittle behavior. These samples
28
similar to those treated with 1% lime show that random fiber in-
29
clusion has improved their shear strengths but not the deformation
characteristics (i.e. failure strains). Considering Fig. 6c, it is
observed that for the Kþ3%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 28 d,
increasing cell pressure from 25 kPa to 100 kPa has been an influ-
ential factor. Chemical reactions in Kþ3%L samples have resulted in
the formation of more compounds cementing soil particles and
thus led to higher shear strengths. The formation of the chemical
compounds is believed to have improved interactions at clay
particleefiber interfaces, helping to partially mobilize fibers tensile
strength. The inclusion of randomly distributed fibers also creates a
three-dimensional skeleton distributing the shear stresses more
uniformly as well as providing some degree of particle
confinement.
Fig. 7aec shows the deviatoric stresseaxial strain curves for the
Kþ5%L and Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for various periods. Both
sets of treated and treated/reinforced samples cured for 1 d and 7 d
show approximately the same deviatoric stresses, with the lime-
only-treated samples displaying greater softening behavior.
Increasing the curing period to 28 d results in very rapid and
 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Fig. 4. (a) Variations of deviatoric stresseaxial strain curve; and (b) Failure envelope for untreated/unreinforced clay samples. s3 is the cell pressure.
substantial improvements in shear strengths and the reduction of
axial strains associated with the maximum deviatoric stresses. All
samples display significant hardening before failure and softening
after failure. It is interesting to note that the treated/fiber-
reinforced samples demonstrate greater hardening behavior, and
the maximum deviatoric stresses of the lime-only-treated samples
are not influenced by the cell pressure. Shear strengths achieved by
the Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples are significantly higher than those of the
Kþ5%L samples reached at approximately the same axial failure
strains. Random fiber inclusions also result in higher residual shear
strengths in comparison with equivalent lime-treated samples.
Considering Figs. 4 and 7c, for K, Kþ5%L and Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F
samples subjected to the cell pressure of 100 kPa, the maximum
deviatoric stresses achieved after 28 d of curing are 390 kPa,
998 kPa and 1620 kPa, respectively, corresponding to axial strains
of approximately 9%, 2% and 2%. This indicates that lime addition
singularly or in combination with fibers has enhanced the shear
strengths correspondingly by 256% and 415% and reduced the axial
strains by 78%.
4.2. Shear strength parameters
Shear strength parameters of soils including cohesion (c) and
internal friction angle (4) are usually determined according to
MohreCoulomb failure criteria using direct shear or triaxial tests. It
should be noted that when investigating lime stabilization of soils,
as the behavioral changes are induced by the chemical reactions
and cementation of the mixture, speaking in terms of shear
strength parameters would not be technically correct. Despite that
conducting triaxial tests on treated and treated/fiber-reinforced
samples would give a very good indication of the effectiveness of
the stabilization process, the results could be compared with the
untreated and fiber-reinforced samples. Thus, shear strength pa-
rameters can be used to discuss the results qualitatively rather than
quantitatively. Maher and Ho (1993), Yilmaz (2015), Wei et al.
(2018) and Jia et al. (2019) also examined the effect of stabilizers
or reinforcements on shear strength parameters of treated or
reinforced soils.
Fig. 8 shows shear strength envelopes for K, Kþ5%L and
Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 28 d under controlled tempera-
ture and humidity conditions. Shear strength envelope for un-
treated K samples is for comparative purposes. It is seen that 5%
lime addition has increased the cohesion of the untreated
kaolinite sample from 70 kPa to 260 kPa and its internal friction
angle from 27
to 28
. Inclusion of randomly distributed PP fibers
to the 5% lime-treated K samples has further improved the
cohesion from 260 kPa to 650 kPa and reduced the internal
889
friction angle from 28
to 13
. The results represent 150%
improvement in the cohesion and 55% reduction in the internal
friction angle. Despite the decrease in the internal friction angles,
the overall effects of stabilization and fiber reinforcement have
enhanced the shear strengths. It is important to realize that the
cementation represented by the cohesion is caused by the
chemical compounds formed as a result of silica and alumina
dissolution within the pore alkaline environment created by the
lime.
The variations of the internal friction angle and cohesion as a
function of lime content for the treated and treated/fiber-reinforced
samples cured for 28 d are depicted in Fig. 9. The shear strength
parameters of untreated K samples are unaltered at 70 kPa and 27

due to the random inclusion of 0.1% PP fibers. Lime additions from
1% to 5% after 28 d of curing increase the internal friction angle of
the treated samples from 27
to 28
and the corresponding cohe-
sion from 70 kPa to 260 kPa. Simultaneous lime and fiber addition
induces significant changes in the shear strength parameters of the
mixtures. The internal friction angles are substantially reduced
from 27
to 13
whereas the cohesions are considerably increased
from 75 kPa to 650 kPa. The results clearly indicate that for the
lime-only-treated samples, shear strengths are mainly due to
cementitious compound formations; while for the lime-treated/
fiber-reinforced samples, the combined effect of cementation and
the physical interaction at soilefiber interfaces dominates.
To substantiate the internal friction angles determined from
triaxial tests, angles of failure plane determined using the
measured 4-values and those actually observed are presented in
Table 5. There is a good conformity between the calculated and
measured angles of failure plane, confirming that the tests and
therefore the shear strength parameters determined are reliable.
This verification method was also adopted by Wei et al. (2018) and
Jia et al. (2019) to compare calculated the internal friction angle
values.
4.3. Improvement and enhancement factors
To highlight the enhancement effects of lime and simultaneous
lime/random PP fiber inclusion on the shear strength and axial
strain characteristics of K samples prepared at MDD and OMC,
improvement and enhancement factors are introduced. Improve-
ment factor (If) is defined as the ratio of the maximum shear
strength of lime-treated or fiber-reinforced K samples to that of
untreated K samples, whereas the enhancement factor (Ef) is
expressed as the ratio of the shear strength of lime-treated/fiber-
reinforced samples to that of lime-treated samples. Variations of
890 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898

Fig. 5. Deviatoric stresseaxial strain curves of the Kþ1%L and Kþ1%Lþ0.1%F samples
cured for (a) 1 d, (b) 7 d, and (c) 28 d
these factors as functions of lime content and cell pressure for 28 d
cured samples are presented in Fig. 10.
Considering Fig. 10a, for the untreated and unreinforced sam-
ples (i.e. L ¼ 0%, where L is the lime content), If ¼ 1, which is taken as
the basis to assess the effects of lime and fiber inclusions on shear
strengths. Effects of simultaneous addition of lime and PP fibers on
strength characteristics of samples investigated are depicted as Ef
versus lime content as presented in Fig. 10b. It can be seen that the
addition of 1% lime to fiber-reinforced samples does not effectively
enhance the strengths (i.e. Ef z 1). Increasing the lime contents to
Fig. 6. Deviatoric stresseaxial strains curves of the Kþ3%L and Kþ3%Lþ0.1%F samples
cured for (a) 1 d, (b) 7 d, and (c) 28 d.
3% and particularly 5% significantly improves the Ef values with the
maximum average of approximately 1.8 achieved for Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F
samples, which signifies the improvement in shear strengths by
nearly 80%. Thus, it is concluded that the concurrent effects and the
interactions within a treated/fiber-reinforced soil are greatly
influenced by the amount of cementitious compounds formed.
4.4. Curing period
One of the most influential factors affecting the behavior of
lime-stabilized soils is the curing period. The chemical reactions
taking place between the lime and the clay particles are time-
 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Fig. 7. Deviatoric stresseaxial strain curves of the Kþ5%L and Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples
cured for (a) 1 d, (b) 7 d, and (c) 28 d.
dependent and greatly depend on the percentage of lime as well as
the amount of clay minerals present in the soil. Normally, the
higher the clay mineral content, the greater the lime percentage
required and subsequently the longer the chemical reactions would
take to complete. To observe the effect of curing period, Fig. 11
depicts the deviatoric stresseaxial strain variations of Kþ5%L and
Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 1 d, 7 d and 28 d subjected to cell
pressure of 100 kPa together with the behavior of the K samples for
comparative purposes. It is observed that by the addition of lime
and the increase in the curing period, the deviatoric stresses at
failure are augmented and the corresponding axial strains are
substantially reduced. Bearing in mind that the mixtures, curing
environment and the cell pressure are constant, the only factor that
891
Fig. 8. Failure envelopes for K, Kþ5%L and Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples after 28 d of curing.
has altered is the curing period. Thus, it is concluded that the claye
lime chemical reactions contributing to shear strengths and
rendering the sample brittleness are greatly time-dependent. Due
to the absence of reactive materials, curing period has no effect on
the strength of K samples.
It is observed from Fig. 11a that the deviatoric stresses deter-
mined for the K and Kþ5%L samples cured for 1 d, 7 d and 28 d are
390 kPa, 480 kPa, 658 kPa and 998 kPa corresponding to failure
strains of 8.11%, 7.4%, 3.93% and 1.91%, respectively. For the
Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 1 d and 7 d, presence of PP fibers
does not contribute significantly to the deviatoric stresses but
makes the samples display more deformation characteristics
(Fig. 11b). In comparison with the lime-treated samples without
fiber, they do not show substantial softening after failure. The Kþ5%
Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 28 d show considerable improvement in
the shear strength and softening behavior after failure. The inade-
quate improvement in deformation characteristics of the samples is
attributed to the inadequate length of fibers not providing suitable
anchorage length to resist tensile stresses.
The maximum deviatoric stresses as function of lime content
and curing time for the treated and treated/fiber-reinforced sam-
ples subjected to the cell pressure of 100 kPa are shown in Fig. 12.
The rate of gain in the maximum deviatoric stresses of both sets of
samples treated by 1% lime is not very substantial, with curing
period not being an influential factor. The rate of shear strength
improvement increases at a faster rate by increasing the lime
content to 3% at all curing periods investigated, and by further
increasing the lime content to 5%, the maximum shear strengths
increase slightly with the exception of the Kþ5%Lþ0.1F samples
cured for 28 d. Samples treated with 3% and 5% lime and admixed
with 0.1% PP fibers consistently show higher shear strengths than
the equivalent lime-only-treated samples. The enhancing effects of
simultaneous use of lime and randomly distributed fibers on shear
strength are very well depicted particularly at higher lime contents.
4.5. Unconfined compression tests (UCTs)
To supplement TCT results, unconfined compression tests were
also conducted on cured untreated, lime-treated and lime-treated/
fiber-reinforced samples. Variations of unconfined compressive
strength (UCS) versus axial strain for untreated, 1%, 3% and 5% lime-
treated and lime-treated/fiber-reinforced samples cured for various
periods are shown in Fig. 13. Kþ1%L and Kþ1%Lþ0.1F samples show
892 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Fig. 9. Variations of (a) internal friction angle and (b) cohesion of unreinforced and fiber-reinforced samples cured for 28 d as function of lime content.
Table 5
Verifying internal friction angles obtained from MohreCoulomb failure envelopes
by angles of failure plane for unreinforced clay cured for 28 d.
Lime content (%) 4 (
) 45
þ4/2 (
) Angle of failure plane (
)
1 26.1 58.1 62.6
3 28.4 59.2 59.4
5 28.1 59.1 60.6
relatively the same UCS at varying curing time, and the only dif-
ference observed is that the lime-treated/fiber-reinforced samples
reach the maximum values at slightly greater axial strains (Fig. 13a
and b). From Fig. 13a, it is observed that with increase in curing
period, the axial strains associated with the maximum UCS reduces
showing slight increase in brittle behavior. The addition of 3% lime
(Fig. 13c and d) substantially improves the UCS of both lime-treated
and lime-treated/fiber-reinforced samples. Both sets of samples
display approximately the same magnitudes of UCS, with curing
period being more influential for these samples as compared with
the samples treated with 1% lime. The UCSs of Kþ3%L and Kþ3%
Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 28 d are almost doubled in comparison
with those of Kþ1%L and Kþ1%Lþ0.1%F samples.
Fig. 13e and f shows the variations of UCSeaxial strain curves for
the Kþ5%L and Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples producing the greatest im-
provements in UCS. Considering Fig. 13e, it is observed that for the
lime-treated samples without fiber inclusions, as the curing period
is increased from 1 d to 28 d, UCS values increase and the associated
axial strains at failure decrease. The rate of increase in UCS of longer
cured samples shows substantial enhancement with axial strains
signifying brittle behavior. Random inclusion of 0.1% fiber simul-
taneously with 5% lime addition increases the UCS values after 28 d
of curing and slightly increases the axial strains associated with
failure states, as depicted in Fig. 13f. The interesting point to note is
that after failure, the compressive strengths gradually reduce, dis-
playing softening behavior without abrupt reduction in UCS (brittle
behavior) associated with lime-stabilized mixtures. For all the
mixtures investigated, it is difficult to decisively conclude that the
inclusion of 0.1% fibers with the length of 6 mm substantially im-
proves the deformation characteristics. This is mainly attributed to
the inadequate anchorage length of fibers during shearing to resist
deformations.
4.6. Failure strain
To assess the effect of confining pressure on failure strains, its
variations as function of lime content for untreated, treated, fiber-
reinforced and treated/fiber-reinforced samples cured for 28 d
and subjected to UCT and TCT are shown in Fig. 14a and b,
respectively. It can be clearly seen that in all cases investigated,
samples subjected to UCT experience smaller failure strains than
corresponding samples tested under triaxial conditions. The high-
est failure strains of 2.8% and 3.9% are achieved by the untreated
(Fig. 14a) and the fiber-reinforced (Fig. 14b) samples, respectively,
with the failure strains gradually decreasing with increase in lime
content. After treatment with 3% and 5% lime and curing for 28 d,
these samples fail at axial strains of approximately 1% in UCT.
Under triaxial loading conditions, the maximum failure strains
of 8% and 8.5% are reached by the untreated and the fiber-
reinforced samples subjected to cell pressure of 100 kPa. Lime
addition significantly reduces the failure strains particularly for
samples treated with 3% and 5% lime, which show relatively the
same failure strains at all confining pressures. Samples subjected to
the higher cell pressure of 100 kPa consistently show higher failure
strains than similar samples exposed to 25 kPa and 50 kPa cell
pressures. Addition of 1% lime to these samples substantially re-
duces the failure strains which are further reduced and become
converged by increasing the lime contents to 3% and 5%. At higher
lime contents of 3% and 5%, both the UCT and TCT results have
converged, meaning that the effects of test conditions and the cell
pressures on failure strains have diminished.
4.7. Secant modulus of elasticity, E50
One of the main practices of lime stabilization is in the field of
highway engineering for improving the bearing capacity and the
deformation characteristics, both of which depend on the stiffness
(i.e. Young’s modulus). The results of triaxial tests conducted on
untreated, treated and treated/reinforced mixtures cured for 1 d,
7 d and 28 d and subjected to the cell pressure (s3) of 100 kPa were
used for determining the secant modulus of elasticity, E50, as pre-
sented in Fig. 15.
Results show that random fiber inclusion slightly reduces E50 of
the untreated samples. Addition of 1% lime results in approximately
the same E50 values for the treated and treated/reinforced samples
with curing period having little effect. The only exception is that the
sample treated with 1% lime and admixed with 0.1% PP fibers
produces the lowest E50 value, or in other words, the least stiffness.
Increasing lime contents to 3% and 5% after 1 d and 7 d of curing has
resulted in approximately the same E50 values for both the treated
and the treated/reinforced samples. Extending the curing period
from 7 d to 28 d substantially improves the stiffness of Kþ5%L and
Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples with the latter giving smaller stiffness
values. At higher lime contents and prolonged curing periods,
greater volumes of cementitious compounds form, improving the
adherence between the compounds and the PP fibers, putting the
fibers in some tension during shearing and thus inducing lower
 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898 893

Fig. 10. Variations of (a) improvement factor (If) and (b) enhancement factor (Ef) with lime content.

Fig. 11. Deviatoric stresseaxial strain of K, Kþ5%L and Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 1 d, 7 d and 28 d (s3 ¼ 100 kPa).

stiffness. Overall, the results of this research designate the inef-
fectiveness of short (i.e. 6 mm) random fiber inclusion in improving
the deformation characteristics of lime-treated samples.
Using the results of UCT conducted on untreated, reinforced,
treated and treated/reinforced samples, secant moduli of elasticity
were determined and are presented in Fig. 16 as function of UCS. A
linear relationship is displayed showing significant increase in E50
values with lime content and curing period. Based on 60 uniaxial
tests conducted, the following relationship is derived:
E50 ¼ 0.0617UCS e 3.0634 (1)
Eq. (1) has a relatively good correlation coefficient (R2 ¼ 0.78),
and may be used for preliminary estimates.

4.8. Failure patterns

Failure patterns of untreated, treated and reinforced kaolinite

Fig. 12. Maximum deviatoric stresselime content of treated and treated/fiber-
reinforced samples (s3 ¼ 100 kPa).
samples subjected to triaxial tests are displayed in Fig. 17aee.
Fig. 17a shows the failure pattern of untreated/unreinforced sample
cured for 1 d. The sample shows considerable lateral deformation
indicating the inadequacy of its shear strength. Fig. 17bee shows
the cracking patterns formed after failure of the samples treated
with 1%, 3% and 5% lime after 28 d of curing, clearly indicating
brittle behavior without lateral deformations. A failure wedge is
formed at the bottom of these samples at angles varying between
59.9
and 62.6
. Concurrent addition of 5% lime and 0.1% fiber to
kaolinite reduces the brittle behavior and increases the deform-
ability, as illustrated in Fig. 17e. There are no extensive or deep crack
formations observed and the sample has simply been squashed.
The failure patterns observed are consistent with the results re-
ported by Cai et al. (2006).
894 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898

Fig. 13. UCSeaxial strain curves of (a) Kþ1%L, (b) Kþ1%Lþ0.1%F, (c) Kþ3%L, (d) Kþ3%Lþ0.1F, (e) Kþ5%L, and (f) Kþ5%Lþ0.1F samples cured for 1 d, 7 d and 28 d.

Fig. 14. Variations of failure strains versus lime content for (a) untreated and lime-treated and (b) fiber-reinforced and lime-treated/fiber-reinforced samples cured for 28 d
subjected to UCT and TCT.
 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Fig. 15. Variation of secant modulus of elasticity (E50) with lime content for untreated,
reinforced, treated and treated/reinforced samples cured for 1 d, 7 d and 28 d
(s3 ¼ 100 kPa).
Fig. 16. Correlation between E50 and UCS of untreated, reinforced, treated and treated/
reinforced samples.
4.9. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
To complement the experimental results and help the inter-
pretation of the behaviors observed, SEM tests are conducted on
untreated, reinforced, treated and treated/fiber-reinforced samples.
The micrograph presented in Fig. 18a shows the untreated K sam-
ples comprising of flakey particles with broken or jagged edges.
Clay particles are staked on each other with relatively large voids in
Fig. 17. Failure patterns of (a) K sample cured for 1 d; and (b) Kþ1%L, (c) Kþ3%L, (d) Kþ5%L, and (e) Kþ5%Lþ0.1%F samples cured for 28 d.
895
between the particles. Addition of 5% lime to the kaolinite after 28 d
of curing brings about significant changes in the shape and struc-
ture of the mixture, as presented in Fig. 18b. Particles no longer look
flakey, the pores are reduced significantly and the particles are
bonded together, forming a relatively coherent and dense structure.
This is attributed to the dissolution of clay particles in the alkaline
pore solution and the formation of calcium silicate hydrate (CeSe
H) and calcium aluminate hydrate (C-A-H) compounds. The
cementitious compounds occupy the pores and bind the particles,
leading to overall increase in the strength of soilelime mixture and
reduction in its deformability characteristics (Wild et al., 1993; Bell,
1996; Jha and Sivapullaiah, 2015; Vitale et al., 2017).
Fig. 18c shows the micrograph of untreated/fiber-reinforced K
sample. Due to the inadequate interaction at clayefiber interface,
the PP fiber is simply pulled out of the matrix with few clay par-
ticles stuck on its surface, as seen in Fig. 18c. As the interaction
between the fiber and the clay matrix is mainly physical, due to the
smooth surface of the fibers and their low frictional characteristics,
soilefiber interaction is very poor. Thus, random fiber inclusion
cannot effectively contribute to improving shear strength of clays.
Treatment of clays with lime and the formation of cementitious
compounds bind not only the soil particles but also the clay and
fibers, as clearly shown in Fig. 18d. The enhanced interaction at
clayefiber interfaces puts fibers in tension and eventually increases
the shear strength of the mixture. SEM micrograph depicted in
Fig. 19 clearly demonstrates the impressions made on the fiber
surfaces as indentations which are believed to be a direct conse-
quence of the improved interactions at soilefiber interfaces.
5. Discussion
The complex physico-chemical interactions occurring in a claye
lime system involve short-term cation exchange reactions and
flocculation mechanism as well as long-term pozzolanic reactions.
The adsorption of free lime significantly alters the physico-
chemical and surface charge properties of clay minerals, which
affect the immediate and long-term reactions occurring in the
clayelime system. These physico-chemical processes proceed at
different rates due to the influence of various governing parameters
such as clay mineralogy and reactive nature of soil, as well as the
pore fluid chemistry.
Calcium hydroxide itself is not a binder, but by chemical reaction
with predominant silicate and aluminate in clay particles, it pro-
duces cementitious materials such as calcium silicate hydrate (Ce
SeH) or calcium aluminate hydrate (C-A-H) which increase in value
over time. When hydrated-lime (Ca(OH2)) is mixed with clayey
soils in the presence of adequate moisture content, the divalent
calcium (Ca2þ) ions and monovalent hydroxyl (OH) ions will
dissociate into pore solution increasing its pH value. This is helpful
for the exchange of Ca2þ cations from lime with the monovalent
896 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Fig. 18. SEM micrographs of (a) untreated, (b) treated, (c) reinforced, and (d) treated/reinforced clays.
cations such as Naþ and Kþ present in the diffused double layer of
negatively charged soil minerals. The increased Ca2þ cation con-
centration in pore solution also causes reduction of diffused double
layer thickness and flocculation-agglomeration of clay particles. As
a result, the plasticity index drops instantaneously with improved
workability and immediate strength enhancement. This whole
process is referred to as short-term modification. Simultaneously,
the pH value of the soilelime mixture is increased to 12.4 (i.e.
saturated lime solution) by the dissolution of OH ions from lime.
The highly alkaline pH condition induces dissolution of reactive
silica (Si4þ) and alumina (Al3þ) ions present in the soil minerals.
Subsequently, pozzolanic reactions occur between free Ca2þ ions
from lime and dissolved Si4þ and Al3þ ions from clay particles,
forming calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), calcium aluminate hy-
drate (C-A-H) and calciumealuminateesilicateehydrate (C-A-S-H)
in the presence of adequate moisture.
The pozzolanic reactions take longer to complete depending on
the nature and availability of reactive clay minerals in the clay soil,
and eventually lead to progressive development of strength, stiff-
ness (i.e. increased secant modulus of elasticity) and durability of
the treated soil (Wild et al., 1993; Vitale et al., 2017; Abdi and
Mirzaeifar, 2016). This phenomenon is termed as long-term stabi-
lization, and is affected by the clay mineralogy, compaction state of
soilelime mixture, as well as curing conditions. The amount of lime
required for modification and stabilization of soils called “optimum
lime content” depends mainly on degree of the improvement
desired, clay type and content, type of lime, prevailing environ-
mental conditions, etc. If only a small percentage of lime (i.e. 1%) is
added to the clay soil, the alkaline environment created will not be
very extensive, and therefore, silicates and aluminate dissolution of
clay particles takes place to a limited extent resulting in low
pozzolanic reactions. Increasing lime content and prolonging the
curing period result in substantially improved strength of stabilized
clays due to the increase in formation of cementitious compounds
causing cementation of the constituents and therefore increases in
compressive and shear strengths and subsequently the stiffness.
The coherent structure produced by lime addition at prolonged
curing periods can be seen in Fig. 20.
6. Conclusions
In the current study, the effects of lime addition on the behavior
of unreinforced and fiber-reinforced kaolinite samples prepared at
optimum conditions (i.e. MDD and OMC) using uniaxial and triaxial
compression tests were investigated, and the most important
conclusions attained are as follows:
 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Fig. 19. Indentations formed due to interactions at soilefiber interface.
Fig. 20. SEM micrograph showing the complete pozzolanic reactions.
(1) Inclusion of randomly distributed fibers to kaolinite samples
prepared at optimum conditions does not lead to noteworthy
improvement in shear strength and the stiffness character-
istics due to poor interaction at clay particleefiber interfaces.
(2) Lime treatment leads to increases in peak axial and shear
strengths and stiffness characteristics of samples and the
reduction of ductility. Treated samples experience lower
axial strains at peak strengths followed by sudden failure
representing brittle behavior. Inclusion of fibers slightly
modifies the brittle behavior and enhances the compressive
and shear strength characteristics of stabilized samples.
(3) Treated/fiber-reinforced samples display higher failure
strains and lower loss in post-peak strength due to bonds
between fibers and chemical reaction products compared to
physical interaction of fibers and soil grains in untreated
samples.
(4) Chemical compounds are due to the dissolution of silicate
and the aluminate out of clay minerals which form strong
bonds with the fibers and help to mobilize their tensile
strength and thus improve overall strength.
897
(5) Curing time is an important factor contributing considerably
to strength of samples. The longer the curing period, the
higher the peak strengths and samples with greater lime
content are more sensitive to curing period.
(6) At lower lime content, due to inadequate chemical reactions,
the improvements in strengths are insignificant and samples
display strengths in the order of untreated/fiber-reinforced
samples.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
References
Abdi, M., Parsapajouh, A., Arjomand, M., 2008. Effects of random Fiber inclusion on
consolidation, hydraulic conductivity, swelling, shrinkage limit and desiccation
cracking of clays. Int. J. Civ. Eng. 6 (4), 284e292.
Abdi, M., Mirzaeifar, H., 2016. Effects of discrete short polypropylene fibers on
behavior of artificially cemented kaolinite. Int. J. Civ. Eng. 14 (4), 253e262.
Al-Mukhtar, M., Lasledj, A., Alcover, J.F., 2010. Behaviour and mineralogy changes in
lime-treated expansive soil at 20
C. Appl. Clay Sci. 50 (2), 191e198.
ASTM D422-63, 2007. e2. Standard test method for particle-size analysis of soils.
ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA, 2007.
ASTM D4318-00, 2000. Standard test methods for liquid limit, plastic limit, and
plasticity index of soils. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA.
ASTM D854-00, 2000. Standard test methods for specific gravity of soil solids by
water pycnometer. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA.
ASTM D2487-17e1, 2017. Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering
purposes (unified soil classification system). ASTM International, West Con-
shohocken, USA.
ASTM D6276-19, 2019. Standard test method for using pH to estimate the soil-lime
proportion requirement for soil stabilization. ASTM International, West Con-
shohocken, USA.
ASTM D2850-15, 2015. Standard test method for unconsolidated-undrained triaxial
compression test on cohesive soils. ASTM International, West Conshohocken,
USA.
ASTM D2166/D2166M-16, 2016. Standard test method for unconfined compressive
strength of cohesive soil. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, USA.
ASTM D698-12e2, 2012. Standard test methods for laboratory compaction charac-
teristics of soil using standard effort (12 400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3. ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, USA.
Bell, F.G., 1996. Lime stabilization of clay minerals and soils. Eng. Geol. 42 (4), 223e
237.
Boz, A., Sezer, A., Özdemir, T., Hızal, G.E., Dolmacı, Ö.A., 2018. Mechanical properties
of lime-treated clay reinforced with different types of randomly distributed
fibers. Arab. J. Geosci. 11, 122.
898 M.R. Abdi et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 13 (2021) 885e898
Cai, Y., Shi, B., Ng, C.W.W., Tang, C.S., 2006. Effect of polypropylene fibre and lime
admixture on engineering properties of clayey soil. Eng. Geol. 87 (3e4), 230e
240.
Casagrande, M.D.T., Coop, M.R., Consoli, N.C., 2006. Behavior of a fiber-reinforced
bentonite at large shear displacements. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 132 (11),
1505e1508.
Chi, Y., Xu, L., Yu, H.S., 2014. Constitutive modeling of steel-polypropylene hybrid
fiber reinforced concrete using a non-associated plasticity and its numerical
implementation. Compos. Struct. 111, 497e509.
Chi, Y., Yu, M., Huang, L., Xu, L., 2017. Finite element modeling of steel-
polypropylene hybrid fiber reinforced concrete using modified concrete
damaged plasticity. Eng. Struct. 148, 23e35.
Consoli, N.C., Prietto, P.D.M., Ulbrich, L.A., 1998. Influence of fiber and cement
addition on behavior of sandy soil. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 124 (12), 1211e
1214.
Consoli, N.C., Casagrande, M.D.T., Coop, M.R., 2007a. Performance of fibre-reinforced
sand at large shear strains. Géotechnique 57 (9), 751e756.
Consoli, N.C., Heineck, K.S., Casagrande, M.D.T., Coop, M.R., 2007b. Shear strength
behavior of fiber-reinforced sand considering triaxial tests under distinct stress
paths. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 133 (11), 1466e1469.
Consoli, N.C., Bellaver Corte, M., Festugato, L., 2012. Key parameter for tensile and
compressive strength of fibre-reinforced soilelime mixtures. Geosynth. Int. 19
(5), 409e414.
Dash, S.K., Hussain, M., 2012. Lime stabilization of soils: Reappraisal. J. Mater. Civ.
Eng. 24 (6), 707e714.
Dhar, S., Hussain, M., 2019. The strength behaviour of lime-stabilised plastic fibre-
reinforced clayey soil. Road Mater. Pavement Des. 20 (8), 1757e1778.
Eren, S., Filiz, M., 2009. Comparing the conventional soil stabilization methods to
the consoled system used as an alternative admixture matter in Isparta Dari-
dere material. Constr. Build. Mater. 23 (7), 2473e2480.
Harichane, K., Ghrici, M., Missoum, H., 2011. Influence of natural pozzolana and lime
additives on the temporal variation of soil compaction and shear strength.
Front. Earth Sci. 5 (2), 162e169.
Hussain, M., Dhar, S., 2019. Influence of lime and fiber on strength and consolidation
characteristics of expansive soil. In: Sundaram, R., Shahu, J.T., Havanagi, V.
(Eds.), Geotechnics for transportation infrastructure e Recent developments,
upcoming technologies and new concepts, vol. 2. Springer, pp. 505e515.
Jha, A.K., Sivapullaiah, P.V., 2015. Mechanism of improvement in the strength and
volume change behavior of lime stabilized soil. Eng. Geol. 198, 53e64.
Jia, L., Guo, J., Jiang, Y., Fu, Y., Zhou, Z., Lim, S.M., Zhao, X., 2019. Experimental
investigation on shear strength parameters of lime stabilized loess. Sustain-
ability 11 (19), 5397.
Kumar, A., Walia, B.S., Bajaj, A., 2007. Influence of fly ash, lime, and polyester fibers
on compaction and strength properties of expansive soil. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 19
(3), 242.
Lakshmikantha, M.R., 2009. Experimental and theoretical analysis of cracking in
drying soils. PhD Thesis. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Li, J., Tang, C., Wang, D., Pei, X., Shi, B., 2014. Effect of discrete fibre reinforcement on
soil tensile strength. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 6 (2), 133e137.
Maher, M.H., Ho, Y.C., 1993. Behavior of fiber-reinforced cemented sand under static
and cyclic loads. Geotech. Test. J. 16 (3), 330e338.
Moghal, A.A.B., Basha, B.M., Chittoori, B.C.S., Al-Shamrani, M.A., 2016. Effect of fiber
reinforcement on the hydraulic conductivity behavior of lime-treated expansive
soil e reliability-based optimization perspective. In: Cheng, W.C., Wu, J.Y. (Eds.),
Geo-China 2016: innovative and sustainable use of geomaterials and geo-
systems. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), pp. 25e34.
Moghal, A.A.B., Chittoori, B.C.S., Basha, B.M., 2018a. Effect of fibre reinforcement on
CBR behaviour of lime-blended expansive soils: reliability approach. Road
Mater. Pavement Des. 19 (3), 690e709.
Moghal, A.A.B., Chittoori, B.C.S., Basha, B.M., Al-Mahbashi, A.M., 2018b. Effect of
polypropylene fibre reinforcement on the consolidation, swell and shrinkage
behaviour of lime-blended expansive soil. Int. J. Geotech. Eng. 12 (5), 462e471.
Moghal, A.A.B., Chittoori, B.C.S., Basha, B.M., Al-Shamrani, M.A., 2017. Target reli-
ability approach to study the effect of fiber reinforcement on UCS behavior of
lime treated semiarid soil. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 29 (6). https://doi.org/10.1061/
(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001835.
Muntohar, A.S., Widianti, A., Hartono, E., Diana, W., 2013. Engineering properties of
silty soil stabilized with lime and rice husk ash and reinforced with waste
plastic fiber. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 25 (9). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-
5533.0000659.
Osinubi, K.J., Nwaiwu, C.M., 2006. Compaction delay effects on properties of lime-
treated soil. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 18 (2), 250e258.
Prabakar, J., Sridhar, R.S., 2002. Effect of random inclusion of sisal fibre on strength
behavior of soil. Constr. Build. Mater. 16 (2), 123e131.
Rajasekaran, G., 2005. Sulphate attack and ettringite formation in the lime and
cement stabilized marine clays. Ocean Eng. 32 (8e9), 1133e1159.
Ranjan, G., Vasan, R.M., Charan, H.D., 1996. Probabilistic analysis of randomly
distributed fiber-reinforced soil. J. Geotech. Eng. 122 (6), 419e426.
Sakr, M.A., Shahin, M.A., Metwally, Y.M., 2009. Utilization of lime for stabilizing soft
clay soil of high organic content. Geotech. Geol. Eng. 27, 105.
Santoni, R.L., Tingle, J.S., Nieves, M., 2005. Accelerated strength improvement of
silty sand with non-traditional additives. Transp. Res. Record 1936 (1), 34e42.
Saygili, A., Dayan, M., 2019. Freeze-thaw behavior of lime stabilized clay reinforced
with silica fume and synthetic fibers. Cold Reg. Sci. Tech. 161, 107e114.
Shukla, S.K., 2017. Fundamentals of fibre-reinforced soil engineering. Springer,
Singapore.
Tang, C.S., Shi, B., Zhao, L.Z., 2010. Interfacial shear strength of fiber reinforced soil.
Geotext. Geomembr. 28 (1), 54e62.
Vitale, E., Deneele, D., Paris, M., Russo, G., 2017. Multi-scale analysis and time
evolution of pozzolanic activity of lime treated clays. Appl. Clay Sci. 141, 36e45.
Wang, D., Abriak, N.E., Zentar, R., Chen, W., 2013. Effect of lime treatment on
geotechnical properties of Dunkirk sediments in France. Road Mater. Pavement
Des. 14 (3), 485e503.
Wei, L., Chai, S.X., Zhang, H.Y., Shi, Q., 2018. Mechanical properties of soil reinforced
with both lime and four kinds of fiber. Constr. Build. Mater. 172, 300e308.
Wild, S., Abdi, M.R., Leng-Ward, G., 1993. Sulphate expansion of lime stabilized
kaolinite: II. Reaction products and expansion. Clay Min. 28 (4), 569e584.
Xu, L., Li, B., Ding, X., Chi, Y., Li, C., Huang, B., Shi, Y., 2018. Experimental investigation
on damage behavior of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete under
compression. Int. J. Concr. Struct. Mater 12, 68.
Yilmaz, Y., 2015. Compaction and strength characteristics of fly ash and fiber
amended clayey soil. Eng. Geol. 188, 168e177.
Dr. Mahmood Reza Abdi is currently an Associate Pro-
fessor at Faculty of Civil Engineering, K.N. Toosi University
of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He obtained his MSc and PhD
degrees from Bradford University and the University of
South Glamorgan, UK, respectively. He specializes in the
field of soil improvement particularly soil reinforcement
and soil stabilization. He has acted as a geotechnical en-
gineering consultant on many projects such as cement
factories, harbors, housing states, high rise buildings,
shopping centers, etc., for over 28 years. Dr. Abdi has
published many research articles on soil improvement in
international and national journals and supervised more
than 70 MSc and 5 PhD students.