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Expansive Soil Stabilization Using Lime-Bagasse

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Expansive Soil Stabilization Using
Lime-Bagasse Ash
1 2 3
Hayder Hasan , Hadi Khabbaz and Behzad Fatahi
1
PhD Student, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, Australia.
2
Associate Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, Australia.
3
Senior Lecturer, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Sydney, Australia

ABSTRACT
A comprehensive study has been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of bagasse ash on improving engineering
properties of expansive soil. Bagasse ash is derived from ignition of sugarcane waste at electrical power stations and
commonly is considered as a discarded material. This paper presents the results of an array of tests using hydrated lime
and bagasse ash to stabilize highly expansive soils, which is part of this experimental program. Different ratios of lime to
bagasse ash were applied to optimise the amount of bagasse ash for treatment of expansive soil. Significant
improvement was observed in the California bearing ratio (CBR) test results when 18.75% bagasse ash was added to
soil when the ratio of lime to bagasse ash was 1:3 at 28 days of curing time under both unsoaked and soaked conditions.
Moreover, the effect of the bagasse ash content on soil was evaluated based on the linear shrinkage and free swell ratio
tests. It was found that when bagasse ash (18.75%) was added to lime (6.25%) treated soil, the linear shrinkage and free
swell ratio were significantly reduced to about 35% and 65%, respectively, in comparison with those of the original
expansive soil specimens. Considering the findings of this work may provide an eco-friendly opportunity to use bagasse
ash in the road subgrade stabilisation application.

RÉSUMÉ
Une étude approfondie a été réalisée afin d'évaluer l'efficacité des cendres de bagasse utilisées dans le but d'améliorer
les propriétés techniques des sols expansifs. Les cendres de bagasse proviennent de l'incinération des déchets de
canne à sucre dans les centrales électriques et sont communément considérées comme un matériau de rebut. Cet
article présente les résultats d'un ensemble de tests mis en œuvre en utilisant de la chaux hydratée et des cendres de
bagasse afin de stabiliser les sols très expansifs, ce qui fait partie de ce programme expérimental. Différentes
proportions de chaux et de cendres de bagasse ont été testées afin d'optimiser la quantité de cendres de bagasse
utilisée pour le traitement des sols expansifs. Une nette amélioration a été observée concernant les résultats des tests
de la valeur relative de support lorsque 18,75% de cendres de bagasse ont été ajoutées dans le sol, avec un rapport
entre les quantités de chaux et de cendres de bagasse de 1: 3, à 28 jours de temps de durcissement dans les deux cas
de sol insaturé et saturé. De plus, la teneur en cendres de bagasse dans le sol a été évaluée sur la base du
rétrécissement linéaire et sur des tests du taux de gonflement libre. Il a été constaté que, lorsque les cendres de
bagasse (18,75%) ont été ajoutées à un sol traité par la chaux (6,25%), le rétrécissement linéaire et le taux de
gonflement libre ont été significativement réduits d’environ 35% et 65%, respectivement, par rapport à ceux de
l'expansion initiale des échantillons de sol. Compte tenu des résultats de ce rapport, l’utilisation des cendres de bagasse
pour une application telle que la stabilisation de la plate-forme de la route peut être une solution alternative, plus
respectueuse de l’environnement.

1 INTRODUCTION Therefore, this type of soil is classified as a problematic

Geotechnical properties of soil are often managed by clay
minerals that constitute the soil particles and, hence, very
small quantity of clay minerals may cause a large
influence on the soil geotechnical properties. There are
different types of clay, depending on the installation of
sheets structure. For example, expansive clay minerals,
such as montmorillonite, exhibit a considerable amount of
attracted water into the space between the layers in wet
seasons and vice versa in dry seasons, whereas non-
expansive clay minerals, like kaolinite, have a relatively
low potential to attract water (Das and Sobhan, 2013;
Holtz et al., 2011). Expansive soil undergoes considerable
changes in volume when the moisture content fluctuates.
soil. The annual cost to maintain the buildings constructed
over expansive soil has been estimated around £150
million in the UK, $1000 million in the USA and many
billions of dollars worldwide (Phani Kumar and Sharma,
2004).
Many researchers (e.g. Cordeiro et al., 2008; Sales
and Lima, 2010; Alavéz-Ramírez et al., 2012) have
reported that bagasse ash (BA) presents appropriate
chemical composition for application as a pozzolan,
mainly in regard to its high silica content and presence of
amorphous silica. However, BA can be used in place of
sand in concrete as inert material (Sales and Lima, 2010).
According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-
ray diffraction (XRD) analyses conducted by Alavéz-
Ramírez et al. (2012), the soil blocks manufactured with
10% of lime in combination with 10% of BA exhibited
better performance than those samples containing only
lime as an stabilizer. Alavez-Ramirez (2012) explained
that considerable improvement in strength is due to the
formation of strong chemical compounds, such as
calcium-silicate-hydrates (CSH) and calcium aluminate
hydrates (CAH), resulting from the reaction between lime
and sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA), as well as between
lime and soil particles.
The key soil engineering properties are determined by
the Atterberg limits, linear shrinkage, free swell, and other
soil properties obtained from the laboratory or field tests.
Linear shrinkage (LS) is an important parameter in which
soils tend to shrink when they lose moisture. When the
gap between swelling and shrinkage is a significant value
in the soil consistency, the roadways and structures are
severely damaged. Besides, LS is a quick and useful
method to determine the effect of additives on different
types of expansive soil. Several case studies reported the
effect of additives such as lime, cement and fly ash, on
reduction of the value of LS. (Buhler and Cerato, 2007)
found that the addition of lime reduced the linear
shrinkage to a greater degree than the same percentage
of Class C fly ash. Puppala et al. (2004) determined LS of
cement-treated sulfate soils at 14 and 90 days of curing.
Cement decreased linear shrinkage strains for control
soils from 12%-10% control soils to levels close to 3%-
5%. Puppala et al. (2004) explained the drop in linear
shrinkage could be attributed to a rise in the tensile
resistance of soils due to the development of cohesion
intercept from cement soil reactions. The influence of
addition lime and cement in variable contents on the soil
shrinkage properties has been noted by Gharib et al.
(2012). Bell (1996) conducted an experimental
investigation using the linear shrinkage test results of
expansive clay (montmorillonite) and different contents of
lime. The study showed that the shrinkage decreased
randomly with lime addition increase. Sand was used as a
retarder of linear shrinkage and cracked while lime or
cement have improved the bounds between particles to
manufacture clay block according to (Sarkar and Saha,
2012). Several investigators have studied different
methods to estimate the swelling characteristics of
expansive soils based on swell property of soils (Holtz
and Gibbs, 1956; IS:2720, 1977; Sridharan and Prakash,
2000). The Indian standard had developed a method to
avoid errors resulting from the use of Holtz and Gibbs
1956. Sridharan and Parakash (2000) mentioned that
following the Indian standard method may result in
negative free swell values with kaolinite-rich soils. In
addition, Sridharan and Prakash determined the free swell
ratio (FSR) method. In 2004, Prakash and Sridharan
confirmed that the data from FSR to classify clay mineral
type almost approached to the results obtained from X-ray
tests.
Lime stabilised soils are often used for the
construction of pavement layers and also for
embankments.The methods of soil stabilization using lime
has been well established and published in the literature.
Different soil materials experienced an increase in
California bearing ratio (CBR), with an addition of lime
(Danistan and Vipulanandan, 2009). The methods of soil
stabilization using lime are well established and the
associated findings have been published by many
researches. Different soil materials experienced an
increase in California bearing ratio, on addition of lime
(Attoh-Okine, 1990; Bell, 1996). Yong and Ouhadi (2007)
explained the reason for the higher values for soaked
conditions in comparison to the unsoaked conditions. That
can be attributed to the pozzolanic strength gain due to
the complete chemical process of hydration and cation
exchange, leading to the formation of calcium silicate
hydrates. It has been reported (Dang et al., 2016; Osinubi
et al., 2009) that bagasse ash alone is not suitable for
modifying CBR soil properties; however, useful results
can be obtained when it is used in combination with lime.
Although resource renovation and use of bagasse ash
is being promoted in Australia, only few studies have
employed bagasse ash as a soil stabilizer to improve the
strength of expansive soil. In this study, the combination
of lime plus sieved BA and lime are used to stabilize
compacted expansive soil. The samples were tested for
linear shrinkage, free swell ratio and CBR. Finally, the
study can potentially provide further beneficial uses of the
bagasse ash to improve the geotechnical properties of
expansive soils.
2 MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Kaolinite and bentonite clays have been chosen to
prepare the expansive soil samples. After preliminary
studies, a soil sample of 80% Kaolinite and 20% bentonite
by dry weight has been selected because the consistency
limits have been close to natural expansive soil in coastal
regions. The geotechnical properties of the soil samples
used in this experimental program are given in Table 1.
Bagasse ash (BA) is collected from the ISIS Central
Sugar Mill Company Limited Queensland, Australia. The
residual ash on sieve 425 µm was rejected to remove
unburned bagasse particles. The particle size distribution
curve of bagasse ash is shown in Figure 1. Bagasse ash
has been classified as asymptotic to the fine sand. The
lime, used in this investigation, is a commercial hydrated
lime, manufactured by Adelaide Brighton Cement Limited.
Samples were prepared by mixing 4.5% lime to 9%,
and 13.5% BA as well as 6.25% lime to 12.5% and
18.75% BA. Samples of soil-lime-BA were mixed with
water. Initial mixing was carried out in a laboratory mixer
for at least 10 min and the mix was subsequently put into
plastic bags and stored in the room for 20-24 hrs. Before
using the material was remixed again. It was observed
that the mix with this method contained no appreciable
number of lumps larger than 5 mm.
Several tests, including compaction, linear shrinkage,
free swell ratio (FSR) and Californian bearing ratio (CBR)
were carried out on the untreated and treated soil
samples. The tests were generally performed in
accordance with the procedures outlined in Australian
Standard (AS) 1289-2014 except FSR test conducted
based on the Prakash and Sridharan (2004) method.
Table 1. Characteristics of expansive soil than of those samples under three days of curing.
However, the LS amounts for all soil samples treated with
Property Quantity lime and bagasse ash at 28 days were the lowest. This
Liquid limit (%) 95
may be due to the pozzolanic reaction, which takes place
Plastic limit (%) 30 over an extended period of time. During this process, the
Plasticity index (%) 65 highly alkaline environment, produced by the addition of
Linear shrinkage (%) 17 lime induces the dissolution of the silica and the alumina
Free swell ratio (%) 2.65 of the clay minerals. This combination with calcium
Compaction properties: produces new cementitious compounds including calcium
Maximum dry weight (g/cm3) 1.31 silicate hydrates (CSH), calcium aluminate hydrates
Optimum water content (%) 30 (CAH), and calcium alumino-silicate hydrates (CASH).
CBR (unsoaked) (%) 12
CBR (soaked) (%) 0.7
Besides, the presence of calcium oxide and silica in the
chemical composition of bagasse ash is reflected to
increase the reaction between lime and soil. Overall, lime
100 was used for providing adhesive strength and BA was
Percent finer (%)

80 used to reduce the linear shrinkage of expansive soil.

60 18
Soil
4.5% L
40 17 4.5% L+13.5% BA

Linear shrinkage (%)

6.25% L
20 16 6.25% L-12.5% BA
6.25% L+18.75% BA
15
0
0.01 0.1 1 14
Particles size (mm)
13
Figure 1. Particle size distribution curves for bagasse ash
(wet method) 12
11
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
10
3.1 Linear Shrinkage Test 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Curing time (day)
The results of the linear shrinkage tests on the soil
Figure 2. Influence of lime-BA content on the linear
samples in the untreated state and when mixed with
shrinkage of expansive soil with different curing time
various percentages of L-BA are shown in Figure 2. From
the results, it can be inferred that although there is a
decrease in LS with increasing L-BA content from 16.5 %
3.2 Free Swell Ratio (FSR)
(untreated soil) to 11% (treated soil with 6.25% L-18.75%
BA at 28 days curing), the effect of L-BA treatment on the
Fine-grained soils could be classified into non expansive
reduction of linear shrinkage of soil was limited. This due
and expansive soils depending on charge deficiencies
to the amount of water used in treated stage was at the
and thus different tendencies to attract the exchangeable
same level of liquid limit in untreated clay 95%. In the
cations. The variation of free swell ratio with the amount of
practical test, the liquid limit for additive 6.25%L-18.75%
additives and the expansive soil categories are shown in
BA would be around 63%. It can be noted that a the
Figure 3. Soil can be classified from high to negligible
constant amount of water content was used for all
expansive soil. As can be seen there is a significant
samples.. As expected, the decrease in LS occurred in
decrease in FSR with increasing lime content. The free
two steps. The first step of reducing in LS happened
swell ratio of untreated soil was 2.5. This ratio reduced to
immediately after adding admixture to the soil. This is
1.59% and 1.38% for treated soil with 4.5% and 6.25%
obvious from decrease in LS value from 17% for an
lime, respectively. It is known that the negative charge in
untreated soil to 16.3% when the lime was added to the
dry clay is balanced by exchangeable cation calcium ions
soil. This reduction could be due to a decline in cation
from lime, because calcium has a greater replacing power
exchange, flocculation-agglomeration of clay particles and
than sodium that is found in clay. When water is added to
pozzolanic processes, which are the main
clay, these cations float around the clay particles to
physicochemical mechanisms effective for development
reduce the diffused double layer thickness. The thinner
the properties of expansive soils when treated with lime.
the double layer thickness, the less active and plastic is
In addition, the LS value from adding BA to soil treated
the clay (Holtz et al., 2011). Figure 3 indicates that when
with 6.25% lime was reduced to 14.3%. The physical
bagasse ash was added to soil, the percentage of FSR
properties of BA are mostly similar to sand in the form of
was decreased from 1.38% for soil-6.25% L to 1.05% for
granular and inactive particles to water. The second
soil-6.25%L-12.5%BA. Moreover, the larger BA content
stage, the effect of curing time was significantly reduced
resulted in a lower FSR. This finding clearly reveals that
the value of LS. For example, the LS values for all soil
replacing part of expansive soil with non-expansive
samples with additives at seven days of curing were lower
bagasse ash particles, can reduce swell-shrinkage
properties of expansive soil.
3 bagasse ash (pozzolanic) reactions is summarized below:
High Expansive soil
2 Ca +2OH +SiO2 (Silica) → CSH
FSR (%)
Moderate Expansive soil
Low Expansive soil
1
Negligible
Expansive Soil
0 temperature.
Figure 3. Influence of admixture content on FSR for
untreated and treated soil
3.3 California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
The common design of road pavement is depended on
the results of CBR tests. A series of tests were conducted
on untreated expansive clay soil as a control samples and
on treated soil samples using various admixtures contents
by dry weight of soil. The specimens were left to be cured
for 7, and 28 days at room temperature for soaking and
unsoaking condition. As anticipated, the results in Figure
4 illustrate that increasing lime content resulted in higher
CBR values. The results also revealed that CBR
increased significantly when bagasse ash was added to
the mixture of soil and lime. In other words, the CBR
values of samples treated with lime and bagasse ash
were higher than those treated with lime only. For
example, as can be seen in Figure 4, the average
unsaked CBR of samples treated with 6.25% lime content
was 35%, while the average unsaked CBR of samples
treated with 6.25% L plus18.75% BA% was 42%. It can
be inferred that the positive effect of bagasse ash on CBR
is associated with the hydraulic and pozzolanic reactions.
Increasing the curing time increased the CBR of both
unsoaked and soaked soils tested as illustrated in Figure
5. Addition of bagasse ash had a significant role in
increasing the CBR values, particularly beyond 28 days of
curing and in samples containing 6.25% lime for both
unsoaked and soaked samples. The results show that
unsoaked CBR of untreated soil increased by 3.6 times
for samples treated with6.25% L-18.75% BA at 28 days of
curing. Moreover, the soaked treated soil with 6.25% L-
18.75% BA exhibited an increase in CBR value by about
75 times from (CBR = 0.7%) at the control soil to (CBR =
52.8 %) at 6.25% L-12.5% BA after 28 days of curing. The
CBR increase refers to soil strength increase due to the
lime-bagasse ash reaction. The increase in the bond force
with curing time increase is the result of the cementation
force generated due to binding of clay particles together
by admixture.
A simplified qualitative representation of typical soil lime-
-
Ca (OH) 2 → Ca + 2OH
2+ [1]
2+ - [2]
-
2+ [3]
Ca +2OH +Al2O3 (Alumina) → CAH
where: C = CaO, S = SiO2, A=Al2O3, and H=H2O.
A wide variety of hydrate forms can be obtained,
depending on reaction conditions, e.g., quantity and type
of lime, bagasse ash, soil properties, curing time and
I was observed that the CBR value of soaked sample
with 6.25% L-18.75% BA was 2.6% less than unsoaked
sample. Furthermore the soaked CBR of the sample
treated with 6.25% L-18.75% BA was higher (6.1%) than
the soaked CBR of the sample stabilized with 6.25% L.
CONCLUSIONS
This paper portrayed the beneficial effects of employing
bagasse ash to stabilize expansive soil in conjunction with
lime to enhance the geotechnical properties of soil. In
addition, using bagasse ash to improve expansive soil can
reduce the environmental and financial damages resulting
from disposing of bagasse ash in landfill sites. The testing
results revealed that the physical characterises of
expansive soils can be improved when soil treated with
combination of bagasse ash and hydrated lime. It was
observed that the linear shrinkage and the free swell ratio
reduced and the CBR values increased significantly in
both soaked and unsoaked conditions, particularly for the
higher curing days. Although addition of 6.25% lime to
expansive soil reduced the linear shrinkage, employing
bagasse ash in the mixture was more effective to reduce
the linear shrinkage. The best results for soaked CBR
values were obtained when the bagasse ash and lime
ratio was 3 and the samples were cured for 28 days.
50
Unsoaked Soaked
40
CBR (%)
30
20
10
0
Figure 4. Influence of admixture content on CBR for
untreated and treated soil after 7 days curing
 60 Das, B., & Sobhan, K. 2013. Principles of geotechnical
engineering, 8th ed., Cengage Learning, Stanmford,
Unsaked Soaked USA
55
Gharib, M., Saba, H., & Barazesh, A. 2012. The effect of
additives on clay soil properties using cement and
50 lime. International Journal of Basic Sciences & Applied
CBR (%)

Research, 1(3), 66-78.

45 Holtz, & Gibbs. 1956. Engineering properties of expansive
clays. Transactions of the American Society of Civil
40 Engineers, 121(1), 641-663.
Holtz, Kovacs, W., & Sheahan, T. 2011. An introduction to
35 geotechnical engineering, 2nd ed., Pearson
Education, USA.
IS:2720. 1977. Indian Standard Methods of Test for Soils-
30 Part 40 Determination of Free Swell Index of Soils.
New Delhi.
Osinubi, K., Bafyau, V., & Eberemu, A. 2009. Bagasse
ash stabilization of lateritic soil. Appropriate
Technologies for Environmental Protection in the
Developing World, Springer, 271-280.
Phani Kumar, B., & Sharma, R. S. 2004. Effect of fly ash
Figure 5. Influence of admixture content on CBR for
on engineering properties of expansive soils. Journal
untreated and treated soil after 28 days curing
of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,
130(7), 764-767.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Prakash, K., & Sridharan, A. 2004. Free swell ratio and
clay mineralogy of fine-grained soils. Geotechnical
The results presented in this paper are part of an ongoing
Testing Journal, 27(2), 220-225.
research at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Puppala, A. J., Griffin, J. A., Hoyos, L. R., & Chomtid, S.
supported by Arup Pty Ltd, Queensland Department of
2004. Studies on sulfate-resistant cement stabilization
Transport and Main Roads (TMR), ARRB Group Ltd and
methods to address sulfate-induced soil heave.
Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC). The authors
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
gratefully acknowledge their supports.
Engineering, 130(4), 391-402.
Sales, A., & Lima, S. A. 2010. Use of Brazilian sugarcane
bagasse ash in concrete as sand replacement. Waste
Management, 30(6), 1114-1122.
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