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Swelling behaviour of expansive soil treated with fly ash–GGBS based binder

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Swelling behaviour of expansive soil treated with

fly ash–GGBS based binder

Anil Kumar Sharma & P. V. Sivapullaiah

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expansive soil treated with fly ash–GGBS based binder, Geomechanics and Geoengineering,
DOI: 10.1080/17486025.2016.1215548

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 GEOMECHANICS AND GEOENGINEERING: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2016.1215548

Swelling behaviour of expansive soil treated with fly ash–GGBS based binder
Anil Kumar Sharma and P. V. Sivapullaiah
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

In this article, the potential of a binder developed by admixing fly ash and ground granulated Received 22 January 2015
blast furnace slag (GGBS) to stabilise expansive soils is evaluated. Laboratory tests included Accepted 15 July 2016
determination of free swell index, swell potential and swelling pressure tests of the soil/binder KEYWORDS
mixtures at different mixing ratio. The test results showed decrease in the swelling behaviour of Expansive soil; swelling; soil
the soil with increase in binder content. The percent swell–time relationship was observed to fit stabilisation; fly ash; GGBS;
the hyperbolic curves enabling us to predict the ultimate percent swell from few initial test compressibility
results. Addition of 1% of lime to the binder showed further improvement in reducing swelling. A
good linear relationship is established between percent oedometer swell and modified free swell
index (MFSI) for soil/binder mixtures without lime but the same has not been observed in the
presence of lime. The compressibility characteristics of the soil/binder mixtures reduced nomin-
ally with increase in binder content but in the presence of lime, the compressibility reduced
Downloaded by [Anil Sharma] at 20:48 03 August 2016

significantly. Binder used in this study has been found to be effective and economic to stabilise
expansive soils with lesser amount of chemical additives such as lime.

Introduction
Expansive soils pose a great threat to infrastructures
built on them due to their volume change behaviour.
Their volume increases when they come in contact
with water while they shrink with reduction in the
moisture content. Shrink–swell characteristics of
expansive soils are due to the presence of clay mineral
‘montmorillonite’, being the most notorious in the
smectite family and having the capacity to absorb
large amount of water molecules between its crystalline
sheets (Olphen 1977). The phenomenon mainly occurs
due to seasonal changes and causes distress problems
resulting in billions of dollars in repairs (Nelson and
Miller 1992). Expansive soils are present worldwide in
the arid and semi-arid regions (Mishra et al. 2008). In
India, almost 20% of the total land area is covered with
expansive soils popularly known as Black cotton soils
(Shelke and Murty 2010).
There are several methods available for stabilising
expansive soils viz. mechanical stabilisation, stabilisation
with chemical additives, compaction control, moisture
control, surcharge loading etc. Among all these meth-
ods, stabilisation with chemical additives is the oldest
and most widespread method of ground improvement.
Lime and cement are the most common chemical addi-
tives for the stabilisation of expansive soils
(Madhyannapu 2007). However, these additives are not
effective in treating expansive soils that contain large
amounts of soluble sulphates (Hunter 1988, Puppala
et al. 2001). Potential alternatives to lime and cement
to stabilise expansive soils have come from a range of
sources that include industrial wastes such as fly ash,
ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) etc. These
materials are becoming competitive since they are eco-
nomical and their usage can help reduce disposal space.
Fly ash and GGBS are pozzolanic material and their
pozzolanic activity depends mainly on the amount of
Ca, Si and Al oxides present, the ratio among them and
their reactivity (Pacheco-Torgal et al. 2008, Ravikumar
et al. 2010, Billong et al. 2011). Fly ash has been success-
fully employed in geotechnical applications for the sta-
bilisation of expansive soils. Cokca (2001) carried out
investigations using Soma fly ash and Tuncbilek fly ash
mixed with expansive soil between 0% and 25%.
Experimental findings confirmed that the plasticity
index and swelling potential of the samples decreased
with increasing percentage stabiliser and curing time.
Both laboratory trials and field tests have been carried
out by Bhuvaneshwari et al. (2005) on the effect of fly
ash on engineering properties of expansive soil and
obtained promising results for application of stabilised
expansive soil for construction of embankment, ash
dykes, filling low-lying areas, etc. The California bearing
ratio (CBR) characteristics of the fly ash–black cotton

CONTACT Anil Kumar Sharma sharma.kr.anil@gmail.com

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 2 A. K. SHARMA AND P. V. SIVAPULLAIAH
(BC) soil mixes were studied by Pandian and Krishna
(2003). The addition of fly ash to BC soil was found to
increase the CBR of the mix. Phani Kumar and Sharma
(2004) studied the effect of fly ash on engineering prop-
erties of expansive soil using parameters such as free
swell index (FSI), swell potential, swelling pressure, plas-
ticity, compaction, strength, and hydraulic conductivity.
The test results showed reduction in the plasticity char-
acteristics along with decrease in the swelling character-
istics. Nalbantoğlu (2004) performed laboratory tests to
show that fly ash can be used as a binder to stabilise
expansive soil minimising its plasticity and swelling
capacity. Similarly, GGBS has also been used as stabilis-
ing agent for expansive soils. Wild et al. (1998) investi-
gated the strength properties of a soil containing
sulphate by substituting lime with GGBS and found to
have beneficial effect in the strength. Cokca et al. (2009)
have successfully shown through their laboratory tests
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that granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and GBFS–
cement (GBFSC) can successfully decrease the total
amount of swell. Higgins et al. (1998) have done exten-
sive laboratory tests and a full-scale trial to evaluate the
potential of GGBS in combination with lime for stabilis-
ing soils.
For pozzolanic reactions to take place, significant
amount of reactive CaO, Al2O3 and SiO2 should be pre-
sent, which after reaction produces cementitious com-
pounds such as calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) and
calcium aluminate hydrates (C-A-H). However, when
these oxides are not available in sufficient amount, addi-
tives such as lime or cement are required. Use of fly ashes
containing both reactive silica and sufficient lime (Class-
C) are well utilised whereas low lime fly ashes (Class-F)
are underutilised due to their slow reaction. Class-F fly
ashes need activation to enhance the pozzolanic proper-
ties by chemical additives such as lime and cement.
Addition of lime or cement in excess amount may not
be appropriate considering the environmental and eco-
nomic factors. On the other hand, GGBS being latent
hydraulic cement but needs small amount of chemical
additives for activation (Bijen 1996). Also, GGBS and
cement have the same chemical composition (rich in
CaO) but in different proportions (Siddique 2008).
Generally, fly ash is rich in silica (SiO2) content whereas
GGBS has sufficient lime (CaO) content. Mixing both
materials can be advantageous as compared to using
them alone since each can provide required constituents
(lime or silica) for pozzolanic reactions to progress.
Most of the research has tended to focus on utilisa-
tion of fly ash and GGBS in combination with lime or
cement rather than developing effective binder consist-
ing of industrial waste materials that requires minimal
amounts of additives. Fly ash admixed with GGBS can
be employed to enhance the pozzolanic properties that
can be well utilised as stabilising agent. The focus of
this research concentrated on developing and maximis-
ing cementitious reactions of fly ash by mixing it with
other by-product materials (GGBS), to create a cemen-
titious binder in stabilisation of expansive soil. The
present article deals with the stabilisation of artificially
mixed expansive soil using binder developed by admix-
ing fly ash with GGBS. In this research, it is attempted
to study the effects of varying amount of the binder on
the swelling behaviour of the soil. The consolidation
behaviour of stabilised soil has also been presented.
Experimental investigations
Test materials
Expansive soil
This investigation was conducted on an artificially
mixed soil containing 80% BC soil and 20% commer-
cial bentonite on dry weight basis. The main purpose of
adding bentonite was to represent a high-swelling soil.
BC soil was obtained from Belgaum district of
Karnataka state in India. The commercial bentonite
was procured from Kolar district of Karnataka state
in India. The physical property of the artificially
mixed expansive soil is summarised in Table 1. The
soil is classified as CH according to USCS classification
system. The modified free swell index (MFSI) is 7.25.
According to MFSI classification the soil is classified as
moderate swelling (Sivapullaiah et al. 1987).
Binder
The binder mainly consisted of mixture of fly ash and
GGBS. Fly ash was obtained from Raichur thermal
power plant situated in Raichur district of Karnataka
state in India. GGBS was procured from L & T ready
mix concrete plant situated in Bangalore, the capital
city of Karnataka state. The initial strength tests done
on fly ash/GGBS mixtures at different proportions
showed good strength at only GGBS content of 30%
Table 1. Index and physical properties of the expansive soil.
Property Expansive soil
Specific gravity 2.66
Liquid limit (%) 78
Plastic limit (%) 45
Plasticity index (%) 33
Shrinkage limit (%) 15
Sand (%) (4.75–0.075 mm) 1
Silt (%) (0.075–0.002 mm) 29
Clay (%)(<0.002 mm) 70
Modified free swell index (MFSI) 7.25
Swelling potentiala Moderate
USCS classification CH
a
Based on modified free swell index.
 GEOMECHANICS AND GEOENGINEERING: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 3

Table 2. Chemical composition of fly ash and GGBS. transferred to a graduated cylinder with stoppers con-
Oxide Fly ash GGBS taining distilled water. The soil–water suspension is
SiO2 (%) 54.4 29.2 thoroughly mixed and kept for settling without any
Al2O3 (%) 28.6 13.8
CaO (%) 1.6 44.9 disturbance. After 24 hours, the sediment volume is
MgO (%) 1.4 6.2 measured against the graduations of the jar. In this
Fe2O3 (%) 3.2 5.5
Na2O (%) 0.3 0.3 study, modified free swell index proposed by
K2O (%) 1.7 1 Sivapullaiah et al. (1987) has been considered.
TiO2 (%) 1.8 2.1
LOI 5 –
The modified free swell index is given by
CaO/SiO2 0.03 1.54
V  Vs
modified free swell index ¼ (1)
Vs
or higher. With an objective to utilise maximum where V is soil volume after swelling and Vs is volume
amount of fly ash (keeping in mind its maximum of soil solids = Ws =Gs γw , where Ws is weight of dry soil
production) whilst creating an effective binder, it was (in grams, g), Gs is specific gravity of solids, and γw is
decided to use fly ash/GGBS mixtures in the ratio of 7:3 unit weight of water (in grams per cubic centimetre,
on dry weight basis. The chemical composition of fly g/cc).
ash and GGBS is shown in Table 2. Examination of
chemical composition of fly ash suggests that it is low
lime (CaO) fly ash and can be classified as Class-F as Oedometer swell tests
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per ASTM 3168. GGBS is having high amount of CaO
content, which can aid in enhancing the pozzolanic
reaction of fly ash.
Experimental programme
Swell tests have been carried out on the expansive soil
with addition of varying percentages of binder (10–
40%) to assess the changes in swelling potential. The
experimental programme in this present study was
performed according to IS: 2720 (2006)
(Compendium of Soil Testing). IS 2720 method is
similar to the methods recommended by ASTM 4546
with slight difference in the testing procedure. In the
ASTM Standard, three alternative laboratory consolid-
ometer methods for the determination of swell magni-
tude are suggested whereas IS 2720 recommends the
determination of swelling pressure using consolid-
ometer and constant load method. To increase the
pH of the binder, the effect of addition of a small
amount of lime (i.e. 1%) is also considered since the
industrial waste materials like fly ash and GGBS
require initial activation.
Free swell tests
Free swell tests are most commonly used to identify
expansive soils and predict their swelling potential
(IS:2720(Part-40) 1977, ASTM:D5890 2011). Free
Swell Index is the increase in volume of a soil on
submergence in water without any external constraints.
The method involves thorough mixing of soil with
distilled water in a measuring cylinder and allowing it
to settle. In this test, 10 g of oven dried soil is
Swell potential and swelling pressure tests were con-
ducted using one-dimensional oedometer tests
according to IS: 2720 (Part 41) (1977) (ASTM:
D4546 2014) to examine the changes in the swelling
behaviour of the soil/binder mixtures. The oedometer
swell tests were conducted on samples compacted to
their respective maximum dry density (MDD) and
optimum water content obtained from mini compac-
tion tests developed by Sridharan and Sivapullaiah
(2005). Oven dried soil was mixed with a predeter-
mined amount of binder and distilled water was
added to the blend. After thorough mixing, the mix-
ture was allowed to equilibrate in a sealed plastic bag
for 24 h in a desiccator. The sample was then stati-
cally compacted in three layers in a consolidation
ring of 20 mm thickness and 60 mm diameter. The
thickness of the sample was then measured using a
dial gauge. On each face of the sample, a filter paper
and a porous stone were placed. After assembling the
oedometer, it was mounted on the loading frame
such that the load is applied to the specimen through
the loading cap. Dial gauge reading was set to zero
and an initial nominal surcharge of 6.25 kPa was
applied. The changes in dial gauge readings were
taken at different intervals of time till equilibrium
(i.e. no further change in the dial gauge reading)
was reached. Then consolidation test was continued
with load increment ratio of one. The oedometer test
apparatus that was used to determine swelling pres-
sure is shown in Figure 1.
Swell potential under any surcharge is taken as the
ratio of the increase in thickness of the soil specimen to
the original thickness of the sample and is expressed as
percentage (Seed et al. 1963), i.e.
 4 A. K. SHARMA AND P. V. SIVAPULLAIAH

Figure 2. Time–swell variation at different percentages of bin-

der (no lime).
Figure 1. Oedometer test apparatus for the determination of
swelling pressure.
Downloaded by [Anil Sharma] at 20:48 03 August 2016


ΔH
Sð%Þ ¼  100 (2)
H

where S is swell potential expressed in percentage, ΔH

is increase in thickness of the specimen after swelling
under token surcharge load, H is original thickness of
the sample.
The swell under nominal surcharge of 6.25 kPa is
taken as oedometer free swell. Swelling pressure is
defined as the pressure that is required to keep a fully
swollen expansive soil sample to its initial void ratio or Figure 3. Time–swell variation at different percentages of bin-
volume (Jennings 1963). der (1% lime).

Results and discussions

Effect of binder on time–swell behaviour
The time–swell behaviour is important as it gives the
rate of swell occurring in the expansive soils. Figure 2
presents the percentage swell response at surcharge of
6.25 kPa with respect to time for soil stabilised at
different percentages of binder. The results show
decrease in the rate of swell with increase in the binder
content. If the time taken to reach the equilibrium is
larger, the plasticity index of the soil will also be higher
(Sridharan and Gurtug 2004). In this case the time
taken to reach equilibrium reduces with increase in
binder content, which means the plasticity index of
the soil/binder mixtures is also decreasing.
Figure 3 shows the time–swell curves of the soil/
binder mixtures with 1% lime. The curves show a
drastic reduction in percent swell with increase in
binder content while there is no swelling found at
30% and 40% of binder content. Lime helps in enhan-
cing the cation exchange reactions resulting in
flocculation and agglomeration of the soil particles
thereby reducing the plasticity of the soil and hence
the swelling.
Prediction of maximum swelling
The swell with time is helpful to predict the maximum
swell based on initial swell trend with time if the nature
of the time–swell curve is hyperbolic. A method has
been proposed by Dakshanamurthy (1978) to predict
the maximum magnitude of swell from observed swell–
time behaviour based on hyperbolic relationship. For
the prediction of coefficient of consolidation, time
compression data in 1D oedometer test has been effec-
tively represented through hyperbolic relationship
(Sridharan and Prakash 1985). This relationship is
valid for expansive soils for water and other pore fluids.
To establish this relationship, plot of t/s vs. t (where
t is the time and s is the amount of swell) is drawn. The
transformed plots are found to be straight lines, which
 GEOMECHANICS AND GEOENGINEERING: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
Figure 4. Time/swelling vs. time relationship for different soil/
binder mixtures (no lime).
Downloaded by [Anil Sharma] at 20:48 03 August 2016
Figure 5. Time/swelling vs. time relationship for different soil/
binder mixtures (1% lime).
is the characteristic feature of rectangular hyperbola
and therefore the maximum swelling can be predicted
as (1/m) where m is the slope of the transformed plot.
Figures 4 and 5 show the t/s vs. t plots of expansive
soil stabilised with different percentages of binder with-
out lime and with 1% lime, respectively. The straight
line relationship can be noticed clearly in both cases;
however, there is no swelling found in case of soil
stabilised with 30% and 40% of binder in the presence
of lime. A perfect linear relationship exists for all the
cases, which confirms that the shapes of the time–
percent swell curves are hyperbolic.
Effect of binder on swelling characteristics
Free swell behaviour
Figure 6 shows the variation of MFSI of the expan-
sive soil treated with different percentages of binder
with and without lime. MFSI decreases with increase
in binder content for both cases. However, the
reduction in MFSI is noticeable in the presence of
5
1% of lime. Swell in expansive soils is mainly due to
the clay particles. Replacement of clay particles by
non-expansive silt-size particles of the binder can
reduce swell–shrink properties (Zha et al. 2008).
The binder (consisting of fly ash and GGBS) has
the potential to provide multivalent cations (Ca2+,
Al3+, Fe3+, etc.) and flocculation of clay particles
takes place due to cation exchange (Mitchell 1993).
Cation exchange is encouraged in the presence of
lime and further reduction is seen in the free swell
behaviour. Free swell tests that were conducted in
the laboratory on the expansive soil sample at differ-
ent binder contents are shown in the figures – with-
out any lime is shown in Figure 7 and with 1% lime
is shown in Figure 8.
Swell potential and swelling pressure
The swell potential and swelling pressure results for the
expansive soil treated with binder are presented in
Figures 9 and 10, respectively. Both swell potential
and swelling pressure decrease with the increase in
the binder content. With the addition of a small
amount of lime (i.e. 1% lime) both properties reduce
significantly and almost come to halt at higher binder
content. The intention of adding small amount of lime
is to enhance the rate of pozzolanic reaction by provid-
ing a higher pH environment. The results are found to
be consistent with previous investigations (Rao and
Rajasekaran 1996, Nalbantoglu and Gucbilmez 2002).
The main mechanisms that govern the reduction in
swelling of expansive soils are: cation exchange; suction
and pozzolanic reaction.
Calcium ions are considered to be the flocculating
agent in soils (Tuncer et al. 1989). When additives rich
in calcium such as fly ash, GGBS is added to the soil,
cation exchange takes places in which exchangeable
sodium, magnesium or other cations previously
attached to the clay are replaced by calcium cations
(Abduljauwad 1993). This cation exchange promotes
flocculation of clay particles and as a result soil with a
more flocculated fabric is formed (Cokca 2001). The
surface area and water affinity property of the samples
decrease due to the formation of a flocculated fabric
and swelling is reduced.
The reduction in swelling of expansive clays treated
with additives such as fly ash can also be described on
the basis of reduction in the amount of suction.
Determination of suction was not done in this study
but from theoretical considerations it is understood
that the suction of the chemically treated expansive
soils will be lower than that of expansive soils alone.
A relationship between suction (S) and particle size has
been proposed by Sharma (1998), which is as follows:
 6 A. K. SHARMA AND P. V. SIVAPULLAIAH
Downloaded by [Anil Sharma] at 20:48 03 August 2016

Figure 6. Variation of modified free swell index (MFSI) with binder content.

Figure 7. Free swell test for expansive soil at different binder contents without lime.

"  #
T 2  3 Rr
S¼  r 2
R
R initial amount of suction would be reduced before the
where R is radius of the particle; r is radius of the
meniscus at the interparticle contact and this radius is
measured from the particle contact; and T is surface
tension for air–water interface.
From the above equation, it is clear that larger the
particle size, lower will be the suction. Binder particles
are bigger than the clay particles of the expansive soil.
(3) With the addition of large-sized binder particles, the
inundation of the sample when compared to the
expansive soil alone. Moreover, flocculation also leads
to the increase in the number of the large-sized parti-
cles. As a result of this the swell is reduced.
Pozzolanic reaction is a long-term process that aids
in cementing the soil particles due to the formation of
cementitious compounds such as C-S-H and C-A-H in
 GEOMECHANICS AND GEOENGINEERING: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 7
Downloaded by [Anil Sharma] at 20:48 03 August 2016

Figure 8. Free swell test for expansive soil at different binder contents with 1% lime.

Figure 9. Variation of swell potential with binder content.

Figure 10. Variation of swelling pressure with binder content.

the presence of fly ash and GGBS. Addition of lime

enhances pozzolanic reaction and hence lime–binder
treated samples show notable reduction in the swelling
characteristics.
Correlation between percentage swell (oedometer)
and MFSI
To understand the relationship between laboratory
oedometer tests and free swell behaviour of the soil/
binder mixtures, correlation between percent swell
from oedometer tests and MFSI was developed. It is
found that MFSI of the soil stabilised with binder bear
a good linear relationship with percent swell
(Figure 11). Sivapullaiah et al. (1987) also observed a
linear relationship between MFSI and percent swell for
many soils and clays. The equation showing the rela-
tion between percent swell and MFSI can be shown in
linear form as
Percent swell ¼ 2:0962  MFSI  8:5987 (4)
However, it should be noted that this equation can
be useful in predicting the oedometer swell of this soil
from MFSI only when MFSI is 4.1 or more. On the
contrary, the soil stabilised with binder and in the
presence of lime does not show any good correlation
(Figure 12). In this case, percent swell (oedometer) is
 8 A. K. SHARMA AND P. V. SIVAPULLAIAH
Figure 11. Relationship between the MFSI and percent swell
(oedometer) (no lime).
Downloaded by [Anil Sharma] at 20:48 03 August 2016
Figure 12. Relationship between the MFSI and percent swell
(oedometer) (1% lime).
significantly reduced due to pronounced effect of the
pozzolanic reaction in addition to flocculation and
cation exchange. Pozzolanic reaction leads to the for-
mation of cementitious compounds that bind the par-
ticles together. However, it is interesting to note that a
good correlation is found if it is fit in a polynomial
function (Figure 12).
Effect of binder compressibility behaviour
Figure 13 shows the one-dimensional compression
curves (i.e. vertical stress–strain relationships) of the
soil stabilised with different percentage of binder. With
the increase in binder content, very little change in the
compressibility behaviour of the soil was found as
decrease in the compressibility was nominal. Further,
Figure 13. One-dimensional compression curves at different
percentages of binder (no lime).
Figure 14. One-dimensional compression curves at different
percentages of binder (1% lime).
it is noticed that the effect of binder content is not very
high. With the addition of small amount of lime, a
remarkable decrease in the compressibility behaviour
is seen (Figure 14). This may be attributed to the fact
that the addition of lime enhanced the pozzolanic
reaction, which binds the particles and restricts the
change in volume of the samples. In the construction
of various geotechnical structures such as embank-
ment, less compressible soils are more preferred.
Conclusions
Effect of the addition of different percentages of binder
consisting of fly ash and GGBS on the volume change
behaviour of an artificially mixed expansive soil has
been studied.
The major conclusions that can be drawn from this
study are summarised below:
 GEOMECHANICS AND GEOENGINEERING: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
(1) The time vs. percent swell curves follow hyper-
bolic relationships and therefore there is a good
linear relationship found between the time/per-
cent swell vs. time.
(2) The treatment of soil with binder has resulted in
considerable reduction in the free swell index,
swell potential and swelling pressure with the
increase in binder content. Further, addition of
1% of lime had significant effect on the swelling
characteristics.
(3) A good linear relationship is found between
percent oedometer swell and MFSI for soil/bin-
der mixtures without lime but a similar relation-
ship has not been observed in the presence of
lime.
(4) The compressibility behaviour of the soil/binder
mixtures decreased nominally with the binder
content. However, in the presence of lime, the
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compressibility of the soil/binder mixtures
reduced significantly.
(5) The test results tend to promote the use of fly
ash admixed with GGBS as potential binder for
expansive soils. The results can allow using mix-
tures of low lime fly ashes (Class-F) and GGBS
to be utilised as stabilising material with very
little amount of chemical additives such as lime
usually required for chemical activation. This
will help in promoting the bulk usage of indus-
trial waste materials and thereby conserving our
natural resources.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
Anil Kumar Sharma http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9809-
4700
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