This research was carried out with a view to studying the effect of forage ash on the geotechnical properties of lime stabilized lateritic soil in order to discover a conventional and cheaper stabilizer for road works. Preliminary tests were performed on three soil samples collected from Ile-Ife, Nigeria designated as sample A, B and C. Atterberg’s limits and some strength tests (compaction, California bearing ratio, and triaxial) were also performed on the samples at their unstabilized state, after which the samples were stabilized with lime in 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% by weight of sample to determine the optimum lime percentage. The soil samples were further stabilized with lime-forage ash mixture using the optimum lime of each sample and varying forage ash additive in 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12%. Atterberg’s limit and other strength tests were repeated on the samples to observe the effects of the lime-forage ash combination on the soil geotechnical properties. The results showed that the lime-forage ash combination increased the plasticity of all soil samples; this is not a good improvement parameter. However, CBR values (both soaked and unsoaked) were significantly increased for samples A, B and C even though none of the samples met the requirements for road construction. The shear strengths of the samples were also increased but there was a reduction in the maximum dry density of the soil samples. In conclusion, forage ash was found effective in lime stabilized soils and will significantly improve their shear strengths and CBR values. However the combination of lime-forage ash will be ineffective in stabilizing soils for road works where a higher maximum dry density is needed.
展开▼
