MDD decreases and OMC increases

The variation of optimum moisture content and maximum dry density of RHA treated and untreated
soil is shown in figure 2. This figure represents the maximum dry density of soil decreases gradually with
an increase of RHA content. This is due to comparatively low specific gravity value (2.25) of RHA
than that of replaced soil (2.65) and the initial simultaneous flocculation and agglomeration of
clay particles caused by cation exchange may be the another cause. On the other hand, the
optimum moisture content of soil increases with an increase RHA, because RHA are finer than the
soil. The more fines the more surface area, so more water is required to provide well
lubrication. The RHA content also decrease the quantity of free silt and clay fraction, forming
coarser materials, which occupy larger spaces for retaining water. The increase of water content
was also attributed by the pozzalanic reaction of RHA with the soil
(15) (PDF) Interpretation of rice husk ash on geotechnical properties of cohesive soil. Available from:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304823913_Interpretation_of_rice_husk_ash_on_geotechni
cal_properties_of_cohesive_soil [accessed Feb 04 2020].

Compaction Characteristics: Fig. 1 shows the variation of MDD with RHA treatment. Peak MDD values
were obtained at 2% RHA content for 2, 4 and 6% oil contents and this could be attributed to the
breakdown of hard molecular soil particles, which led to a more dense material as a result of soil-oil
particle interlocking with fine RHA particles filling the voids created by the coating of oil and subsequent
molecular rearrangement. The decrease in MDD between 4 - 6% RHA could be due to flocculation and
agglomeration of clay particles as a result of cation exchange reaction, which caused a decrease in the
dry density [10]. Fig. 2 shows the variation of OMC of oil contaminated soil treated with RHA. The OMC’s
decreased at 2% RHA treatment where lowest OMC values were recorded. Beyond 2% RHA treatment,
the OMC’s increased. The increase in OMC of the soil-oil-RHA mixture beyond 2% RHA could be due to
the presence of substantial amount of the ash which needed more water for the hydration reaction to
form cementations compounds and new minerals

Effect of Rice Husk Ash Treatment on the Strength Properties of Oil Contaminated Soils

It may also be attributed to coating of the soil by the RHA which result to large particles with larger voids
and hence less density (Osula 1991). The decrease in the MDD may also be explained by considering the
RHA as filler (with lower specific gravity) in the soil voids.

There was increase in OMC with increase RHA contents. The trend is in line with Ola (1975), Gidigasu
(1976) and Osinubi (1999). The increase was due to the addition of RHA, which decreased the quantity
of free silt and clay fraction and coarser materials with larger surface areas were formed (these
processes need water to take place). This implies also that more water was needed in order to compact
the soil-RHA mixtures (Osinubi 1999)

Potentials of Rice Husk Ash for Soil Stabilization

The small drop in MDD could be a result of the flocculation and agglomeration of fine particles, caused
by cation exchange, occupying larger spaces leading to coresponding decrease in dry density. Also, the
drop in density with higher stabilizer content maybe because the bagasse ash has less specific gravity
than the soil. The bagasse ash may also act as a filler in the voids.

The variation of OMC with bagasse ash content shows a small increase from the unstabilized soil with
higher bagasse ash content. This may be due to the high affinity of the bagasse ash to water

Flocculation and Agglomeration

Cation exchange results in change in the electrical charge around the clay particles, therefore, result
in an increase in the interparticle attraction causing flocculation and agglomeration. This leads to the
reduction of clay-sized particles, thus the soil surface area.

Stabilization of Lateritic Soil with Sugarcane Bagasse Ash

it can be observed from Fig. 2, that OMC is increasing with the increase in the amount of RHA in the mix.
Since RHA has higher OMC than clay, so with increase in the amount of RHA in the mix, the OMC of
overall mix increases. It can be further noted that the OMC increases with the addition of cement. This can
be attributed to absorption of water development of heat of hydration. Fig. 2 shows that MDD decreases
with the increase in the percentage of RHA. The decrease in the MDD can be attributed to
the replacement of soil by the PA and RHA having low specific gravity as compared to soil (Ali et al., 1992;
Jha and Gill, 2006; Alhassan, 2008). With the addition of cement MDD decreases (Fig. 2), it is due to the
reason that cement reacts quickly with the soil and brings changes in base exchange aggregation and
flocculation, resulting in increased void ratio of the mix leading to a decrease in the density of the mix

Kumar &Gupta Behavior of cement-stabilized fiber-reinforced pond ash, rice husk

ashesoil mixtures

The figure depicts that adding cement and RHA increased the OMC and diminish amount of the MDD correspond to
increasing of cement and RHA percentage. The increase in OMC is probably a consequence of two rea-sons: (1) the
additional water held with the flocculant soil structure resulting from cement interaction, and (2) exceeding water
absorption by RHA as a result of its porous properties, as reported in Zhang et al.[13]. Principally, increase in dry
density is an indicator of improvement. But, unfortunately, both cement and RHA, instead, reduce the dry density.
Rahman [14] revealsan opinion that the change-down in dry density occurs because of both the particles size and
specific gravity of the soil and stabilizer. Decreasing dry density indicates that it need low compactive energy (CE)
to attain its MDD. As a result, the cost of compaction becomes economical [15]

Stabilization of residual soil with rice husk ash and cement - E.A. Basha