Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348

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Journal of Rock Mechanics and

Geotechnical Engineering
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Full Length Article

Strength and compressibility behaviors of expansive soil treated with

coffee husk ash
M.K. Atahu*, F. Saathoff, A. Gebissa
Geotechnical Engineering and Coastal Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany

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

Article history: Various factors can affect the durability of roads, such as the strength of sub-grade, the quality of the sub-
Received 12 April 2018 base and base course, the environments and properties of the soil used. Particularly, roads built on
Received in revised form expansive soil are susceptible to early damage due to the swelling and shrinkage characteristics of this
31 October 2018
kind of soil under changing moisture conditions. The most common technique used to improve the
Accepted 1 November 2018
Available online 29 December 2018
properties of problematic soil is stabilization with additives. Using waste materials to improve the
properties of expansive soil is a recent trend in soil stabilization. This study deals with the treatment of
expansive soil with coffee husk ash (CHA). Coffee husk is a by-product of coffee production, and CHA is
Keywords:
Black cotton (BC) soil
the resulting ash after burning it. In this study, the bearing capacity and compressibility characteristics of
Coffee husk expansive soil (specifically black cotton (BC) soil) stabilized with varying percentages of CHA (5%, 10%,
Stabilization 15%, and 20%) are investigated. Then, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray
California bearing ratio (CBR) (EDX) were used to analyze the influence of CHA on surface morphology and chemical composition of the
Consolidation studied soil. The results showed that the soil treated with CHA is generally improved in terms of strength.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Addition of 20% CHA increases the bearing capacity of the soil by three-fold. In addition, the morpho-
logical studies of the soil samples treated with 10% and 15% CHA indicated the formation of hydrated
particles and cementitious compounds as a result of the reaction between the soil and CHA. This in-
dicates the potential usage of CHA as a stabilization agent and subsequently, it can address the disposal
and environmental concerns related to coffee husk.
Ó 2019 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
Expansive soil is one of the widespread typical problematic soils
in the world (Chen, 1975; Puppala et al., 2006; Khosrowshahi et al.,
2014). The expansion behavior of the soil of this type is significant
in arid and semi-arid areas, and it may mainly pose much difficulty on
pavement structures. Pavements with clayey soil sub-grades are
mainly subjected to a significant pavement distress because of low
sub-grade support values and moisture-induced volume changes
(Prusinski and Bhattacharja, 1999). Expansive soils are hard and
strong when they dry out, swell and soften as the moisture content
increases (Jones and Holtz,1973). The problems of ground movement
are predominantly related to the presence of montmorillnite clay
mineral which has a capacity to absorb water in monsoon season, and
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: meskiyakoo@gmail.com (M.K. Atahu).
Peer review under responsibility of Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics,
Chinese Academy of Sciences.
shrink by leaving cracks in drier seasons (Mitchell and Soga, 2005;
Mehta and Sachan, 2017). The unpredicted movement due to high
swell-shrink behavior of these soils causes severe damage to over-
lying structures or cracks on the pavements resting on them (Nelson
and Miller,1992). The extent of cracking and damage of the pavement
leads to high rehabilitation and repair cost. The cost of the damage to
civil engineering structures caused by expansive soils around the
world has been estimated in billions of dollars (Jones and Holtz,1973;
Puppala and Cerato, 2009), which exceeds the damage cost of natural
disasters (e.g. earthquakes, floods, tornados, and hurricanes) (Chen,
1975; Calik and Sadoglu, 2014).
The continuous variation of expansive soil volume makes the
material unsuitable for construction; however, rapid population
growth and increase in urban development have made it difficult to
avoid areas covered by these soils (Williams, 2003). Different
techniques have been developed to tackle the problems arising
from the nature of expansive soils. Removing the problematic soil
and replacing it by a good-quality material or treating it using
chemical or mechanical stabilization are the common solutions. In

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2018.11.004
1674-7755 Ó 2019 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/).
338 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348
practice, chemical stabilizers, i.e. lime and cement, are widely used.
In recent years, there is a tendency to replace traditional stabilizers
with industrial and agricultural by-products due to the limited
resources. Several researchers investigated the application of
various waste materials (e.g. rice husk ash, bagasse ash, locust bean
pod ash, marble dust, and coir waste) as a stabilizing agent to
enhance the properties of these soils and to reduce the construction
cost (Adama and Jimoh, 2012; Gandhi, 2013; Eberemu and Sada,
2013; Jadhav and Kulkarni, 2014; Hasan et al., 2016; Peter et al.,
2016). The partial or full replacement of cementitious material,
lime and cement by pozzolanic materials is effective in enhancing
the properties of the soil, reducing cost and environmental con-
servation (Miller and Azad, 2000; Jha and Gill, 2006; Obuzor et al.,
2011; Rezaeimalek et al., 2017; Rahmat and Ismail, 2018).
Coffee husk is a waste material obtained from coffee processing.
Coffee is one of the top commodities produced and commercialized
worldwide (Oliveira and Franca, 2015). Ethiopia produces coffee
abundantly, 3.93  108 kg coffee from an area of 5.32  109 m2 in
2017e2018 (FAS, 2017). Coffee processing generates significant
amounts of agricultural waste, ranging from 30% to 50% the weight
of the total coffee produced (Oliveira and Franca, 2015). Inappli-
cability of this solid residue can result in disposal and environ-
mental problems. The proper usage of this waste material has both
economic and environmental benefits. Atahu et al. (2017) studied
the effect of coffee husk ash (CHA) on some geotechnical properties
of expansive soil and revealed that it improves the plasticity,
swelling and shrinkage behaviors of the expansive soil.
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of CHA on the
bearing capacity, compressibility and microstructure of black cot-
ton (BC) soil, and consequently to support the results presented in
Atahu et al. (2017). California bearing ratio (CBR) and one-
Fig. 1. (a) Typical cracks in BC soil during dry season, (b) typical crack scene on roads around Ambo, and (c) a serious damage on a house constructed on BC soil in Ambo, Ethiopia.
dimensional (1D) consolidation tests were conducted on un-
treated and CHA-treated samples. The soil-CHA mixture was pre-
pared for different percentages of CHA (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) by the
dry weight of the soil. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-
ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were also performed.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Black cotton soil
Expansive soil covers around 40% of the total surface area of
Ethiopia (Yitagesu et al., 2009). BC soil is known as an expansive soil
due to its high swelling and shrinkage potential (wet or dry) when
it is encountered in construction (Osinubi et al., 2015). BC soil
samples used in this study were collected from Ambo Area, where
the soil coverage is predominated by BC. Ambo is located in the
West Shewa Zone of the Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The
shrinkage behavior of this soil leads to development of cracks.
These cracks create weakness zones in a soil mass, which increase
the compressibility and reduce the strength (Tang et al., 2008). This
could result in an early serious damage or even a complete collapse
of civil engineering structures, a serious problem in Ambo Town
and its surrounding infrastructural development due to the prop-
erties of this soil. Fig. 1a shows the typical BC soil cracks during dry
season, around 25 cm wide and 90 cm deep. Fig. 1b shows typical
road damage in and around Ambo Town. In this city and its sur-
rounding, it is common that cracks are observed on floors and
walls, even resulting in a complete damage of the house (Fig. 1c).
BC soil used for this investigation is a fine-grained soil with a
high plasticity and swell-shrink capacity. According to AASHTO M
145 (1991) and the unified soil classification system (USCS), the
 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348 339

Table 1
Properties of BC soil.

Atterberg limits Soil classification California bearing ratio (%) One-dimensional consolidation

Liquid limit (%) Plastic Plasticity AASHTO M USCS Color Unsoaked Soaked Swell Compression Recompression Swell Coefficient of Coefficient of volume
limit (%) index 145 (1991) index index index compressibility, compressibility,
2
av (m /MN) mv (m2/MN)

93.4 40.46 52.94 A-7-5 CH Black 8.3 1.02 10.08 0.41 0.08 0.06 1.21 0.55

Table 2
Chemical compositions (%) of BC soil.

Silica Alumina Iron oxide Calcium Magnesium Sodium oxide Potassium Manganese Titanium Phosphorpentoxid Loss on
(SiO2) (Al2O3) (Fe2O3) oxide (CaO) oxide (MgO) (Na2O) oxide (K2O) oxide (MnO) dioxide (TiO2) (P2O5) ignition (LOI)

49.18 13.3 7.8 6.32 2.28 0.12 1.28 0.24 0.44 0.08 10.9

Table 3
Chemical compositions (%) of CHA.

Silica Alumina Iron oxide Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium Manganese Titanium Phosphorpentoxid Sulphur Loss on
(SiO2) (Al2O3) (Fe2O3) oxide (CaO) oxide (MgO) oxide (Na2O) oxide (K2O) oxide (MnO) dioxide (TiO2) (P2O5) oxide (SO3) ignition (LOI)

1.24 0.58 0.56 17.7 4.51 0.14 46.46 0.06 0.08 3.85 3.75 21.07

soil is classified as A-7-5 and high plasticity clay (CH), respectively.
Some geotechnical properties of the same soil used in this study
were reported in Atahu et al. (2017). The soil classification,
compressibility characteristics, and CBR in soaked and unsoaked
conditions are listed in Table 1. Table 2 presents the chemical
compositions of the BC soil.
2.2. Coffee husk ash
Ethiopia is the origin of coffee Arabica and listed among top
coffee producing countries in the world (FAO, 2015). The country
produces an enormous amount of coffee; however, utilization of
coffee husk generated during coffee production is poor. A proper
usage of this waste material can obviously reduce storage areas and
environmental concern arising from the disposal. According to
Acchara et al. (2013), the main mineral compositions of the CHA are
calcium carbonate, calcium silicate, calcium phosphate and potas-
sium sulphate. They also determined the chemical composition of
CHA using X-ray fluorescence, as presented in Table 3.
The coffee husk used for this study was collected from farm-
lands and factories, and kept in a furnace at 550  C for 5 h to obtain
the resulting ash. The sample of the CHA used for this study is
shown in Fig. 2, and its properties are presented in Table 4.
Fig. 2. CHA used in this study.
2.3. Sample preparation
The BC soil was stabilized with CHA by a dry weight basis; the
CHA added is defined by a percentage as the ratio of the weight of
CHA to the dry weight of the soil. A series of experiments was
performed on stabilized samples with different concentrations of
CHA (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%).
For CBR tests, BC soil-CHA mixtures were blended with an op-
timum amount of water and then compacted in the CBR mold. For
consolidation tests, samples were compacted in a compaction mold
with the dry density equal to the maximum dry density and water
content equal to the optimum moisture content, obtained from the
standard Proctor test results. Compacted samples were trimmed
into the consolidation ring in order to prepare for the 1D odometer
test.
Samples were cured at a room temperature (25  C) for consec-
utive 7 d for micro-structural and mineralogical analyses. At the
end of the curing process, samples were oven-dried at 105  C for
24 h, and then were powdered with a mortar and pestle until the
material could pass through 63 mm sieve.
2.4. Methodologies and tests
2.4.1. California bearing ratio
The CBR value is used as a criterion to evaluate the strength of
the pavement sub-grade, sub-base and base course materials for
road construction. In addition, it is used to estimate the potential
use of additives for soil stabilization. The CBR test was performed in
accordance with ASTM D1883 16 (2016) and the standard CBR test
method for laboratory-compacted soils. The mold used for CBR
tests has an internal volume of 2105 cm3 and a height of 17.7 cm,
and the samples were compacted into this mold according to the
standard compaction procedure. A surcharge mass of 4.5 kg was
applied for both soaked and unsoaked states. For soaked CBR test,
samples were completely immersed into freshwater for 4 d. For
unsoaked CBR test, samples were cured for 4 d at room

Table 4
Properties of CHA.

Color Silt and clay (<75 mm) (%) Fine sand (75e425 mm) (%) Medium sand (425 mme2 mm) (%) Coarse sand (2e4.75 mm) (%) Plasticity Specific gravity

Light gray 42.9 46.26 10.17 0.67 Non- plastic 2.03

340 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348

3 temperature. The treated and untreated samples were prepared for

tests, and then a penetration piston with a diameter of 4.9 cm was
pushed into the samples at a loading rate of 1.27 mm/min. The CBR
2.5 value was obtained by dividing the test load by a standard load at
the same depth of penetration. Swelling data were also determined
from the CBR tests. A swell dial gage was mounted on the CBR mold.
2 Then, the initial height of samples was recorded before immersing
the samples into the water and the final height was taken after the
samples had been soaked for 4 d.
Load (kN)

1.5
Untreated

5%CHA 2.4.2. Consolidation

1 The consolidation test was performed in accordance with ASTM
10%CHA
D2435/D2435M-11 (2011), the standard test method for 1D
15%CHA consolidation properties of soils using an incremental loading. This
0.5
test is performed to determine the magnitude and rate of volume
20%CHA
decrement that a laterally confined soil sample undergoes when

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 10 Untreated
Penetra on (mm) 9 5%CHA
(a) 10%CHA
8
CBR Swell (%)
0.7
15%CHA
7
20%CHA
6
0.6
5
4
0.5
3
2
0.4
Load (kN)

0.3 Fig. 5. CBR swell versus CHA percentage.

Untreated
0.2
5%CHA

10%CHA
0.1
15%CHA

20%CHA
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Penetra on (mm)
(b)

Fig. 3. Load versus penetration curves for (a) unsoaked and (b) soaked conditions.

Fig. 6. Specific gravity of the soil and soil-CHA mixture.

11

10 Soaked
3
9 Unsoaked Untreated
8 5%CHA
2.5
10%CHA
7
15%CHA
2
CBR (%)

6
Se lement (mm)

20%CHA
5
1.5
4

3 1

2
0.5
1

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
CHA (%) Pressure (kPa)

Fig. 4. CBR value versus CHA percentage for soaked and unsoaked conditions. Fig. 7. Settlement versus pressure for varying percentage of CHA.
 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348 341

subjected to different vertical pressures (Reddy, 2002). The samples 0.5

were prepared from the Proctor test data at the maximum dry Compression index
0.4
density and optimum moisture content. A consolidation ring with Recompression index

Index value
the diameter of 7.14 cm and thickness of 2 cm was used. The 0.3 Swell index
samples were subjected to compression and recompression, and 0.2
loading and unloading were conducted by doubling and halving,
0.1
respectively. The time duration for all load increments and decre-
ments was 24 h. 0
0 5 10 15 20
The specific gravity test was performed in accordance with CHA (%)
ASTM D854-14 (2014) and the standard test method for the specific
gravity of the soil solids by water pycnometer. In this study, the Fig. 9. Index value versus percentage of CHA.

specific gravity value was used to calculate the void ratio of un-
2
treated and treated samples. 0%CHA

Coefficient of compressibility (m²/MN)

1.8
5%CHA
1.6
2.4.3. Microanalysis (SEM and EDX) 1.4
10%CHA
Samples were analyzed by a field emission scanning electron 1.2
15%CHA
microscope (SEM, MERLINÒ VP Compact, Co. Zeiss, Oberkochen) 20%CHA
1
equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) detector (XFlash
0.8
6130, Co. Bruker, Berlin). Representative areas of the samples were
0.6
analyzed and mapped for elemental distribution on a basis of the
0.4
EDX-spectra data by QUANTAX ESPRIT microanalysis software
(version 2.0). During SEM examination, a large number of electrons 0.2

strike the surface, which may damage the sample by heating 0

0 100 200 300 400 500
(Norman, 2008). For this reason, samples were mounted on Pressure (kPa)
SEM-carrier with adhesive conductive carbon tape and coated
with carbon under vacuum. Conditions of SEM-images like Fig. 10. Coefficient of compressibility versus pressure.

Untreated soil 5% CHA 10% CHA

1.2 1.1 1.1

1.1 1 1
Void raƟo, e

Void raƟo, e

1 0.9 0.9
Void raƟo, e

0.9 0.8 0.8

0.8 0.7 0.7

0.7 0.6 0.6

10 100 1000 10 100 1000 10 100 1000
Log pressure (kPa) Log pressure (kPa) Log pressure (kPa)
(a) (b) (c)

15% CHA 20% CHA

1.02 0.92

0.92
0.82
Void raƟo, e
Void raƟo, e

0.82

0.72
0.72

0.62 0.62
10 100 1000 10 100 1000
Log pressure (kPa) Log pressure (kPa)
(d) (e)

Fig. 8. Void ratio versus log pressure graphs for different percentages of CHA.
342 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348

0.85 to identify the most common soil minerals. Match! (Crystal

0%CHA Impact) software was used to analyze the data obtained from
Coefficient of volume compressibility

0.75
5%CHA diffractometer.
0.65 10%CHA

15%CHA 3. Results and discussion

(m²/MN)

0.55
20%CHA
0.45 3.1. California bearing ratio

0.35
0.25
0.15
0 100
Fig. 11. Coefficient of volume change versus pressure.
magnification, accelerating voltage, and working distance are given
in the corresponding images.
2.4.4. X-ray diffraction
The XRD was performed on untreated and CHA-treated BC
soils. The analysis was carried out to identify the changes in
mineralogical phases presented in the samples using Bruker CCD
diffractometer. The XRD was carried out using CuKa radiation.
The samples were scanned at an angle of 2q, and its ranges from
5 to 70 were chosen to provide enough X-ray diffraction peaks
The results of the CBR tests for varying percentage of CHA are
represented by load versus penetration graphs and are plotted in
Fig. 3a and b for unsoaked and soaked conditions, respectively.
During the construction of roads, the strength of soils to be used
200 300 400 500 is usually evaluated by their CBR values. The soaked CBR of the BC
Pressure (kPa) soil used in this study is 1%. Sub-grade materials having a CBR value
of less than 2% needs a special treatment (ERA, 2013). According to
AASHTO M 145 (1991), the BC soil used in this study is classified as
A-7-5, in silt-clay groups. These groups range from fair to poor in
quality to be used as a sub-grade material. After stabilization, it can
be concluded that the CBR value increases as the percentage of CHA
increases, as presented in Fig. 4. The CBR value of untreated soil is
1% and 8.3% for soaked and unsoaked, respectively. The reason
behind the higher CBR value of unsoaked over soaked is an addi-
tional resistance to the penetration offered by surface tensile forces,
which are destroyed at soaked condition (Pandian and Krishna,
2003). The CBR values of soils treated with 20% CHA are found to
be 3.1% and 10.6% in cases of soaked and unsoaked conditions,
respectively. From the test results, it is observed that the stabili-
zation of BC soil with CHA improves the CBR value, which is an

Fig. 12. SEM images showing Si and Al distribution maps of BC soil.

Fig. 13. SEM images showing K and Ca distribution maps of CHA.

 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348
Fig. 14. SEM images of the BC soil with (a) 5000 and (b) 20,000 times of magnification, and (c) EDX spectrum of BC soil.
indicator for the load carrying capacity improvement. The addition
of CHA showed a significant improvement in both soaked and
unsoaked conditions. For the soaked condition, the CBR value
increased by around 205% and for the unsoaked condition by
around 28%, with the CHA concentration of 20%. From these results,
it suggests that CHA is more effective for the soaked condition. The
improvement can be attributed to the reaction between the soil and
CHA, forming a cementitious material. The formation of this
cementitious material bounds the particles together, by covering
the soil grain and filling the inter-aggregate pores (Etim et al.,
2017). Based on these results, it can be concluded that the BC soil
treated with CHA performs better as a sub-grade material, which
requires lower thickness of the base course compared to the un-
treated BC soil.
The CBR swell test was also performed for varying combination
of soil-CHA mixtures. The CBR swell of untreated soil is found to be
10%, as mentioned in Fig. 5, which shows high swelling capacity.
The amount of swelling and the magnitude of swelling pressure
depend on the soil structure and fabric, the clay minerals presented
in the soil, and the physio-chemical aspects of the soil such as
cementation, cation valence, presence of organic matter and salt
concentration (Holtz and Kovacs, 1981). When the bottom layer of
pavements is found to be a BC soil, it has a high risk of swelling and
deformation, which will result in cracks on the surface of roads.
Low-quality soils like BC soil with high swelling potential for sub-
343
grade construction can be improved through stabilization. The
addition of CHA decreases the CBR swell with an increase in CHA
dosage. The swell potential decreases approximately by two-fold
with the addition of 20% CHA. The usage of CHA as a stabilizing
agent has also shown a significant change in CBR swell in addition
to the CBR value. The formation of aggregations could account for
the reduction of swell in expansive soils (Al-Rawas, 2002).
Furthermore, the reduction in the swelling capacity of CHA-treated
soil may also be related to the non-swelling property of CHA.
3.2. Consolidation characteristics
The specific gravity of a soil is used to calculate the phase re-
lationships of soils, such as void ratio (ASTM D854-14, 2014). The
specific gravities of the soil and the soil-CHA mixture are shown in
Fig. 6. The specific gravity of the investigated expansive soil is 2.68;
after stabilization, the value decreases as the percentage of CHA
content increases, which indicates that CHA particles are lighter
than expansive soil particles.
The application or removal of loads on a soil layer will result in
deformation or swelling, and the deformation induced by an in-
crease in applied stress with time is known as the consolidation
process (Holtz and Kovacs, 1981). The consolidation test is used to
describe the compressibility characteristics of fine-grained soils.
The properties of expansive soils can be affected by different factors
344 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348
Fig. 15. SEM images of the CHA with (a) 5000 and (b) 20,000 times of magnification, and (c) EDX spectrum of CHA.
including the moisture variation and loading conditions. Under the
application of loads in excess of the bearing capacity of the soil,
downward movement of supporting soil occurs. Heave and settle-
ment behaviors of an expansive soil cause a vertical movement on
pavements, which usually results in serious road damage and high
maintenance cost. In this study, 1D consolidation tests were per-
formed to determine the consolidation parameters for the un-
treated soil and soil mixed with different percentages of CHA. In
Fig. 7, the decrement in settlement value as the CHA percentage
increases is observed. On the other hand, the settlement value in-
creases as the pressure increases.
Consolidation curves (void ratio (e) versus log pressure (log10s))
for the untreated BC soil and soil-CHA mixture with different per-
centages of CHA are presented in Fig. 8. It can be seen that the initial
void ratio of samples decreases as the CHA concentration increases
for the same loading and saturation conditions. Further, as the load
increases, continuous reduction in void ratio is observed for all
samples. The reduced void ratio of CHA-treated samples could be
attributed to the closure of voids by CHA constituents and joined
particles by the formation of cementitious compounds.
Odometer test is performed to examine the effect of CHA on
the compression, recompression and swelling characteristics of
expansive soil as applied pressure (p) changes. The compression
index (Cc), recompression index (Cr) and swell index (Cs) of the BC
soil and BC soil-CHA mixture were determined from consolidation
(e-log10p) curves. The index magnitudes (Cc, Cs and Cr) are the
slopes of compression, swell and recompression curves, respec-
tively. The addition of CHA leads to a significant change in these
curves for similar loading conditions. The corresponding results are
shown in Fig. 9, and the values of Cc, Cr and Cs decrease as the added
percentage of CHA increases. The reason for the decrement in
consolidation parameters (Cc, Cr and Cs) may be due to the addition
of CHA, filling the inter-aggregate pores and resulting in reduced
compressibility characteristics. The decrement in Cc values of
treated samples shows the tendency to resist the external load
(Sasanian and Newson, 2014; Osinubi et al., 2015).
The coefficients of compressibility and volume change are
illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11, respectively. The coefficient of
compressibility (av) is represented by the slope of void ratio versus
applied pressure curves, an important indicator of the magnitude of
soil compressibility. The coefficient of volume change (mv) is
defined as the volume change per unit increase in effective stress
for unit volume of soil (Craig, 2004). For untreated soil, the value of
mv decreases from 0.82 m2/MN to 0.37 m2/MN as the applied
pressure increases from 50 kPa to 400 kPa, which shows that mv
decreases as the pressure increases. Both the coefficients of
 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348
compressibility and volume change of CHA-treated samples are
decreased as the effective stress and concentration of CHA increase.
This might be attributed to the reduction in volume of voids due to
the rearrangement of soil particles and decrease in plasticity
behavior as CHA increases, thus making the soil particles more
compact and less compressible.
3.3. Microstructure and elemental composition analysis
In the study of soils, SEM has been employed as a convenient
and effective tool to analyze the mechanical and physical charac-
teristics of soils (Liu et al., 2005). These characteristics depend
particularly on their fabric (arrangement of particles, particle group
and pore spaces in a soil) (Mirzababaei and Yasrobi, 2007). In this
study, SEM images have been captured to observe the morphology
features of untreated and CHA-treated samples. Furthermore, EDX
was used to examine the chemical composition of samples. Ac-
cording to EDX analysis incorporated with SEM, major elements
present in BC soil are silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al) (Fig. 12),
whereas CHA mainly constitutes potassium (K) and calcium (Ca),
as shown in Fig. 13. The chemical composition of stabilizing
agents provides a good indication about their effectiveness in soil
Fig. 16. SEM images of the BC soil treated with 10% CHA with (a) 5000 and (b) 20,000 times of magnification, and (c) EDX spectrum of BC soil treated with 10% CHA after 7 d of
curing.
345
stabilization, and the silica and alumina present in the soil could
react with calcium hydroxide to produce cementitious products
(Sharma and Sivapullaiah, 2016).
To get an overall observation about the micrograph of the
samples, the SEM images were firstly magnified at low ranges (less
than 200). Afterwards, representative region was selected for
higher magnifications. Micrographs of the BC soil, CHA and CHA-
treated samples were taken from the selected region at magnifi-
cations of 5000 and 20,000.
Fig. 14 shows the micrograph of BC soil at magnification
of 5000, and many small particles in different shapes are
observed. For higher magnification (20,000), a number of large
and small pores in various shapes can be seen. In terms of particle
shape and surface features, CHA is different from BC soil (Fig. 15).
The surface morphology of CHA-treated samples after 7 d curing
shows changes in micro-structural particle orientation. The mi-
crographs of BC soil treated with 10% and 15% CHA are presented in
Figs. 16 and 17, respectively, showing few pores and continuous clay
matrices. The pore space represents a very important factor of soil
fabric and it is an important element in describing the mechanical
behavior of soils (Prikryl et al., 2003). The observed large pores
among BC soil particles diminish for both samples treated with 10%
346 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348
and 15% CHA. This might be attributed to the replacement of clay
particles by CHA particles (BC soil has finer particles compared to
CHA) as porosity is inversely proportional to grain size.
Furthermore, the micrograph of CHA-treated samples shows
compact clay matrices and the micro-structure becomes less open
and more continuous, due to the aggregation of particles. The
development of aggregates could contribute significantly to the
reduction of swell pressure and swelling capacity of the soil
(Yazdandoust and Yasrobi, 2010). The reason behind observing a
more stable micro-structure in CHA-treated samples compared to
untreated samples could be attributed to the formation of cemen-
titious products resulting from the reaction between BC soil and
CHA particles.
EDX analysis of CHA-treated samples presented in Figs. 16c and
17c shows increments in Ca and K contents and decrements in Si
and Al contents. The decrements in Si and Al contents could be due
to the pozzolanic reaction, in which the Ca from the CHA reacts with
Al and Si from the soil in the presence of water to form cementitious
compounds, thus enhancing the long-term strength and improving
the properties of the soil (Sharma et al., 2012; Sharma and
Sivapullaiah, 2016). In general, SEM images of CHA-treated sam-
ples reveal a better interface condition compared to BC soil.
Fig. 17. SEM images of the BC soil treated with 15% CHA with (a) 5000 and (b) 20,000 times of magnification, and (c) EDX spectrum of BC soil treated with 15% CHA after 7 d curing.
3.4. XRD analysis
XRD analysis has been carried out to identify the minerals
present in BC soil, and investigate the effect of CHA on mineralogy
of the soil. The XRD patterns of BC soil and soil treated with 10% and
15% CHA are presented in Fig. 18. The result indicates the presence
of clay minerals, namely quartz and kaolinite. The BC soil also
contains some amount of montmorillonite mineral, which is
responsible for the expansion character. The result of XRD is in
agreement with EDX analysis, which shows the presence of ele-
ments such as Si, Al, Fe, Na and Mg in the BC soil.
The XRD pattern of CHA-treated soil shows the formation of
calcite. In addition, reductions in the intensity of some minerals for
CHA-treated samples are also observed. For instance, a decrement
in the intensity of quartz is observed for both samples treated with
10% and 15% CHA. Comparatively, XRD patterns indicated higher
peaks of calcite for samples treated with 15% CHA than that treated
with 10% CHA. Apart from the reduction in peak intensity of quartz
and the appearance of calcite, the disappearance of kaolinite is also
observed in the samples treated with 15% CHA. These changes in
XRD pattern and peak height could be attributed to the reactions
between clay mineral and additive (Al-Rawas, 2002).
 M.K. Atahu et al. / Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering 11 (2019) 337e348
Fig. 18. Mineralogical analysis by XRD of BC soil and samples treated with 10% and
15% CHA.
4. Conclusions
This study aims to investigate the effect of CHA on compress-
ibility and strength characteristics of BC soil. To examine these
properties, 1D odometer and CBR tests are conducted on untreated
soil and soil stabilized with different percentages (5%, 10%, 15% and
20%) of CHA. The following conclusions are drawn:
(1) The soaked CBR value of untreated BC soil is 1%. After treated
with 20% CHA, the value increased by three-fold and was
3.1%. For the unsoaked CBR test, addition of 20% CHA in-
creases the bearing capacity from 8.3% to 10.67%. The per-
centage increment of CBR value for unsoaked condition is
28%, while it increases by 203% for soaked condition. From
these results, it can be concluded that CHA is more effective
for wet than dry condition. The results indicate that CHA
improves the bearing capacity of the investigated soil.
(2) The study also reveals that the swell percentage of the BC soil
decreases as the concentration of the CHA addition increases.
For the maximum concentration of CHA (20%), the swell
percentage decreases from 10% to 5.7%, indicating a signifi-
cant decrement of about 43%.
(3) The results obtained from 1D consolidation tests show that
the void ratio declines as the magnitude of stress and CHA
concentration increase, indicating that the volume of voids
decreases. As the percentage of CHA increases, the
compression and recompression index values decrease,
suggesting the decrement in soil compressibility. Further-
more, the coefficients of compressibility and volume change
are declined as the CHA percentage increases.
(4) From SEM analysis, it is observed that the structure of a
material has a significant influence on engineering proper-
ties. SEM images of CHA-treated samples indicate a reduc-
tion in pores, which may be attributed to the formation of
cementitious products that perhaps contribute to the
improvement of BC soil properties.
347
(5) The stabilization of BC soil using CHA improves the bearing
capacity, swelling properties and compressibility behavior of
the BC soil. In addition, the potential use of this waste ma-
terial as a stabilization agent has a positive effect on reducing
the cost related to stabilization, and furthermore, it can
address the associated disposal problems and environmental
concerns.
Conflict of interest
The authors wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of
interest associated with this publication and there has been no
significant financial support for this work that could have influ-
enced its outcome.
Acknowledgments
The authors are very thankful to the Catholic Academic Ex-
change Service (Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer-Dienst
(KAAD)) for their financial support. The authors wish to thank
Elektronenmikroskopisches Zentrum (EMZ), University Medicine
Rostock (UMR), and Einkristalldiffraktomtrie-Strukturanalytik
Institute of Chemistry, University of Rostock for carrying out SEM
and XRD tests, respectively. The authors are also thankful to the
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Addis Ababa Institute
of Technology for facilitating the geotechnical engineering
laboratory.
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M.K. Atahu is currently a PhD student at the University of
Rostock (Rostock, Germany). She obtained her BSc degree
in civil engineering from Jimma University, Jimma,
Ethiopia, and MSc degree in structural engineering from
Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Her research
topic is the expansive soil stabilization using waste ma-
terials. After successful completion of her MSc study with
distinction, she was immediately employed by Adama
Science and Technology University, in Civil Engineering
Department as a lecturer.