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Permanent deformation behaviour of black cotton soil treated with calcium

carbide residue

Article  in  Construction and Building Materials · August 2019

DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.010

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 Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Permanent deformation behaviour of black cotton soil treated with

calcium carbide residue
Venkatesh Noolu a,⇑, Heeralal Mudavath b, Rakesh J. Pillai b, Sudheer Kumar Yantrapalli c
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology, Hyderabad, India
b
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India
c
Department of Civil Engineering, Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science, Chittoor, India

h i g h l i g h t s

Calcium carbide residue was used as an additive in this study.

Shakedown concept was used to classify permanent deformation of natural and stabilized soils.

Effect of water content and deviatoric stress on the permanent deformation was investigated.

Mineralogical and morphological studies were conducted on natural and stabilized soil.

Regression analysis was performed using the experimental results by VTT model and power law model.

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

Article history: Uncontrolled dumping of huge quantities of calcium carbide residue (CCR) which is an industrial by pro-
Received 28 December 2018 duct of acetylene gas industry is hazardous to environment due to its high alkalinity. Utilization of cal-
Received in revised form 21 June 2019 cium carbide residue for stabilization of subgrade soils is a cost effective and sustainable practice,
Accepted 2 July 2019
which can be adopted in design and construction of flexible pavements. In the present work, the efficacy
of treatment with CCR in reducing the accumulation of permanent deformations in black cotton soil (BC
soil) subgrade subjected to repeated loading is investigated. Untreated black cotton soil samples and CCR
Keywords:
stabilized samples are subjected to repeated load triaxial tests for determining the accumulation of plas-
Permanent deformation
Calcium carbide residue
tic strain with repeated loading cycles. Effect of cyclic deviatoric stress levels and moulding water content
Black cotton soil on the development of permanent deformation is examined. The accumulation of permanent deforma-
Moisture content tion is quantified using the critical cyclic stress levels based on the shake down theory. The experimental
Cyclic stress levels data for the permanent deformation of treated as well as untreated soil samples is found to fit well with
Regression models two the models (VTT model and power law model) reported in literature. The efficacy of CCR stabilization
in reducing the permanent deformations of black cotton soil subjected to repeated loading is confirmed
based on the mineralogical and morphological studies carried out on the treated samples.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Black cotton soil deposits formed from basaltic rocks are spread
over large area in the tropical countries of Asia and Africa. Black
cotton soil is considered as problematic material for foundations
and pavement applications due to the presence of high percentages
of expansive montmorillonite mineral. Pavement construction over
the subgrade of black cotton soil is a serious concern to the civil
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: nooluvenkatesh29@gmail.com (V. Noolu), mhl@nitw.ac.in
(H. Mudavath).
engineers owing to large volumetric changes along with the reduc-
tion in strength and stiffness occurring due to the variation in
moisture content, leading to distress in the pavements [1,2]. Over
the past few decades, significant amount of research work has been
carried out on the improvement of black cotton soils [3–5]. Addi-
tives such as cement, lime and fly ash are frequently used for con-
trolling the expansive nature of black cotton soil. However, in the
recent years, focus of researchers has been shifted towards the
use of calcium based industrial by-products for soil stabilization,
which is not only cost effective but also a sustainable option, as
they facilitates environmentally safe reuse of industrial waste
products.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.010
0950-0618/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
442 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449
Calcium carbide residue is an industrial waste product released
from the acetylene industry and is a residual product formed by
the reaction between water and calcium carbide. In developing
countries like India, there are many acetylene gas production units
and PVC chemical plants, which produce CCR in huge amounts
[3,6]. Formation of CCR can be illustrated using the following
chemical equation:
CaC 2 þ 2H2 O ! C 2 H2 " þCaðOHÞ2
Calcium Carbide Residue, leads to serious environmental prob-
lems due to its alkalinity and should be properly disposed. Du et al.
and Horpibulsuk et al. has cautioned about the serious environ-
mental pollution caused by large CCR dumps and suggested the
utilization of CCR for ground modification which will be a low car-
bon and low energy intensive environmental friendly technique
[3,7].
Rutting is considered as a major distress in the flexible pave-
ment design and is mainly caused due to the accumulation of per-
manent strains developed in granular layers subjected to repeated
wheel loading [8–10]. Some researchers have reported that some
subgrade materials containing high fine contents, may exhibit high
permanent deformation in spite of their higher resilient modulus
values [10,11]. Hence, it is important to investigate the permanent
deformation behaviour of sub grade soil along with the resilient
behaviour for its complete characterization. Extensive research
have been carried out by researchers in the past to evaluate the
resilient and permanent behaviour of granular geomaterials based
on stress level, moisture content and confining pressure [10–13].
However, less research was reported which deal with the perma-
nent deformation of stabilized subgrade soils. Chahuan et al.
observed that the permanent deformation decreased by 21% when
a silty sand material was stabilized with fly ash and fibre while 18%
reduction was obtained with the addition of synthetic fibre [14].
Anupam et al. reported that the accumulation of plastic strain
reduced by 64% and 67%, when a clayey soil with intermediate
plasticity was treated with fly ash and rice husk ash respectively
[15]. Patel and Shahu used fly ash, steel slag and dolomite mix as
base course material and observed 83% reduction in plastic strain
when compared to the standard wet mix macadam [16]. Farakh
et al. carried out a comparative study on the efficacy of cement
and lime in reducing the permanent strains of five soils with differ-
ent plasticity characteristics and they concluded that the cement
stabilization is more effective for silty and sandy soils whereas
lime stabilization is more suitable for high plastic clays [17].
Another research work was carried out by Farakh et al. to analyse
the influence of initial moisture content on the permanent defor-
mation of cement stabilized soils and they concluded that the soils
compacted at wet of optimum are more suitable for cement stabi-
lization [18]. Zhongming et al. observed that permanent deforma-
tion of coarse grain materials decreases with increasing
compaction effort [19].
Shakedown theory is being used to explain the deformation
behaviour of geomaterials under repeated loading cycles with dif-
ferent stress levels. Shakedown theory was initially developed by
Melan to demarcate the stress levels causing excessive deforma-
tions in case of metals subjected to repeated loading [20]. Sharp
and Booker adopted this theory for pavement behaviour and tried
to explain the concept in relation to the response of granular geo
materials subjected to repeated loading [21]. According to Werk-
meister, the development of permanent strain in granular material
subjected to cyclic loading may exhibit three different patterns of
behaviour depending on the applied stress levels, namely elastic
shake down, plastic creep and incremental collapse as shown in
Fig. 1 [22]. In elastic shake down range (Range A), permanent strain
accumulation stops after a certain number of loading cycles. The
stress-strain hysteresis loops will be very narrow and this type of
ð1Þ
Fig. 1. Permanent deformation behavior of granular material according to
shakedown.
behaviour occurs when low cyclic deviatoric stress is applied to
the material. In plastic creep stage (Range B), plastic strain accu-
mulation will increase almost linearly with the number of load
repetitions. This response pattern is observed when cyclic stress
levels greater than those in the case of elastic shakedown range
is applied. The rate of plastic strain increment will be very low
and this response is attributed due to the particle contact attrition.
The hysteresis loops will be wider compared to Range A due to the
frictional losses accompanied by ongoing damage. In incremental
collapse stage (Range C) which occurs at higher stress levels, the
plastic strain accumulation will be rapid and uncontrolled result-
ing in failure. Hysteresis loops will be very wide indicating higher
energy losses. This range should be avoided in pavement structure
as sudden collapse may happen due to the particle damage and
dilation caused by volume changes during repeated loading. Range
A and Range B can be tolerated in a pavement subgrade but not the
range C. The stress level beyond which the material goes unstable
is called the critical stress level [23,24].
Studies related to the permanent deformation behaviour of
highly plastic clays like black cotton soil, treated with calcium car-
bide residue (CCR) is less reported in the literature. In the present
work, investigations are carried out to study the permanent strain
behaviour of CCR treated black cotton soil samples subjected to
repeated triaxial loading under different deviator stress levels
and moulding water content. Repeated load triaxial tests were car-
ried out on virgin soil samples as well as samples treated with CCR
prepared with three different moulding moisture contents at dif-
ferent cyclic deviatoric stress levels. Regression analysis is per-
formed using the repeated load triaxial test results using two
models mentioned in the literature, namely VTT model and power
law model.
2. Experimental programme:
Locally available black cotton soil was collected, air dried and
stored in the laboratory. The index properties of black cotton soil
used in the present study are given in Table 1. As per IS classifica-
tion and AASTHO, the soil can be classified as high plasticity clay
(CH). Calcium carbide residue (CCR) which is an industrial by pro-
duct of acetylene gas industry is collected from local factories. The
chemical composition of the black cotton soil used and CCR is
determined using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) analysis
and is given in Table 2. The effect of calcium carbide residue on
the liquid limit, plastic limit and plasticity index of black cotton
soil can be understood from Fig. 2. Addition of CCR resulted in
the reduction of liquid limit and plasticity index of black cotton
soil, whereas the plastic limit values have increased. Flocculation
 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449 443

Table 1 The mineralogical and micro-structural alterations, which

Physical properties of black cotton soil. occurred in the black cotton soil with addition of CCR, was investi-
S. NO Properties Values Code gated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron
1 Specific gravity 2.65 ASTM 854-14 [27] microscopy (SEM). A PAN analytical X-ray diffractometer with
2 Grain size analysis 29 ASTM D6913-17 [28] Cu-K a radiation was used for XRD analysis with steps of 0.02 at
Sand (%) 42 a rate of 1° (2h) per minute and sweep from 6° to 70° (2h), accord-
Silt (%) 29 ing to the powder diffraction method. The XRD results were anal-
Clay (%)
3 Liquid Limit (LL) 59 ASTM D4318-17e1 [29]
ysed with an X-Pert high score software loaded with PCPDF
4 Plastic Limit (PL) 18 database. SEM images were captured using a TESCAN VEGA
5 Plasticity Index (PI) 41 3LMU microscope and live stereoscopic imaging using 3D beam
6 Free Swell index 120 IS 2720-part 40-1977 [30] technology. The morphological alterations in the soil caused due
7 Soil classification CH ASTM D2487-17 [31]
to the treatment with CCR are studied using the SEM images.
All the static and repeated load triaxial (RLT) tests were per-
formed using cylindrical specimens with 75 mm diameter and
150 mm height under undrained conditions. Black cotton soil
Table 2 was mixed thoroughly with the required quantity of CCR and water
Chemical composition of black cotton soil and calcium carbide residue. and was compacted statically in a cylindrical mould to attain the
Constituent Black Cotton soil Calcium Carbide Residue maximum dry density. The compacted samples were wrapped in
Silica (SiO2) 79.93% 40.7% polythene sheets and cured in a desiccator for 28 days. Repeated
Alumina (Al2O3) 10.59% 10.17% load triaxial (RLT) test, also referred as cyclic triaxial test is widely
Ferrous (Fe2O3) 5.07% 8.04% used to study the behaviour of geomaterials subjected to repeated
Calcium (CaO) 1.05% 40% loading induced by earthquakes, wave loading and traffic loading
Titanium (TiO2) 0.54% 0.65%
[32–34]. One-way cyclic loading with only compressive stress
Magnesia (MgO) 2.11% 0.44%
Sodium (Na) 0.6% – pulses and no principal stress reversal, which simulate the
Potassium (K) 1.11% – repeated loading on pavements, is adopted in the present study.
A compressor along with regulators and control system is used
to provide the required confining pressure and deviatoric stress.
The required confining pressure is provided in the triaxial cell with
the help of an air-water interface, which is controlled with a servo-
controlled valve. A pneumatic actuator assembly controlled by
servo-controlled valves and regulators is used to apply the cyclic
deviator stress as haversine pulses with 1 Hz frequency. The load
acting on the specimen was measured using a 5 kN capacity sub-
mersible load cell and the deformations were measured using
two LVDTs with a precision of 0.01 mm. All the sensors are con-
nected to a control cum data acquisition unit, which operates with
the help of a dedicated software.
In order to study the effect of moisture content on permanent
deformation behaviour the specimens were casted with three ini-
tial moisture contents of OMC, OMC + 2% and OMC + 4%. The
moulding water contents were decided based on the observation
made by Lin et al. that after two years of construction of the sub-
grade, water content of the soil can increase up to 20% of OMC
Fig. 2. Variation of Atterbergs limits of black cotton soil with increase in CCR
content.
[35]. Soil samples were tested under seven different deviatoric
stress levels and 20 kPa constant confining pressure by subjecting
the specimens to a total number of 10,000 loading cycles. Devia-
toric stress level can be defined as the ratio of cyclic deviatoric
of clay particles due to the inclusion of Ca2+ ions by cation stress applied on the sample to the ultimate failure stress deter-
exchange process and increase in coarser particle content caused mined from static triaxial test. In the present study, different stress
by the addition of CCR can be the reason for this behaviour levels were selected similar to the studies carried out by Yang and
[25,26]. From Fig. 2, it can be further noticed that the addition of Huang [36].
CCR beyond 8% is not having any noticeable effect in bringing
down the plasticity index of the soil samples. This shows that the
black cotton soil cannot further absorb more amounts of Ca2+ ions 3. Results and Discussions:
and hence 8% can be considered as CCR fixation point. The cation
exchange and flocculation of soil particles with addition of CCR The mineralogical and morphological changes, occurred in the
can be further noticed by comparing the Proctor compaction test soil on addition of CCR, were examined using XRD and SEM analy-
results of natural black cotton soil and 8% CCR stabilized black cot- sis. XRD patterns shown in Fig. 3 indicate that the major minerals
ton soil. present in natural black cotton soil are montmorillonite, quartz
The virgin soil is found to have an optimum moisture content of and microcline. After treating with 8% CCR, the hydration products
17.2% and maximum dry unit weight of 18.7 kN/m3 whereas soil Anorthite (CaAl2Si2O8) and Gismodine (CaAl2Si2O84H2O) are
treated with 8% CCR is found to have an optimum moisture content mainly formed and it is evident from the XRD patterns. The puz-
of 18.4% and maximum dry unit weight of 17.5 kN/m3. The reduc- zolonic reactions between the silica and alumina of black cotton
tion in maximum dry unit weight with the addition of CCR is pri- soil and the lime of CCR lead to the formation of anorthite mineral.
marily attributed to the lesser specific gravity of CCR. Scanning electron microscope images of the natural black cotton
Horpibulsuk et al. (2013) also have made similar observations [25]. soil and CCR stabilized soil is shown in Fig. 4. Natural soil exhibits
444 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449
Fig. 3. XRD images of black cotton soil stabilized with CCR.
Fig. 4. SEM images of black cotton soil stabilized with CCR.
a film type of microstructure whereas stabilized soil exhibits a floc-
culated structure. The precipitation of binders around the particles
is also evident from the SEM micrographs of stabilized soil. The
flocculation of particles is mainly due to the presence of binding
agents, which were formed as a result of the pozzolonic reactions
[37].
The results of static triaxial tests conducted on the untreated
and treated soil samples prepared at three different moisture con-
tents are presented in Fig. 5. Stress levels for cyclic triaxial tests are
calculated based on the failure stress obtained from these static tri-
axial tests. Fig. 5 presents a comparison between the undrained
shear strength of the untreated and treated samples casted with
three different initial moisture contents of OMC, OMC + 2% and
OMC + 4%. The undrained shear strength of black cotton soil
increases after treatment with CCR, which can be readily observed
Fig. 5. Static strength of untreated and treated black cotton soil with different
moisture content.
from the graphs. The pozzolonic reactions between the lime in CCR
and the silica and alumina present in clay results in the formation
of cementing agents, thus ensuing in an increased strength of trea-
ted black cotton clay.
The repeated load triaxial test results displaying the permanent
deformation behaviour of untreated and treated black cotton (BC)
soil samples prepared at OMC is given in Fig. 6.
From Fig. 6a, it can be observed that for untreated soil, rate of
increase in plastic strain comes down after the initial hundred
cycles for cyclic deviatoric stress levels less than 30%. This phase
corresponds to elastic shake down according to the shakedown
theory. Slight increase in permanent strain even after 5000 cycles
can be observed for the stress levels of 40% and 50%. For 60% stress
level, though the permanent strain is found to increase rapidly dur-
ing the initial cycles, strain values increase at a constant rate in the
later cycles, which is a typical plastic creep stage behaviour. Incre-
mental collapse stage with rapid accumulation of plastic deforma-
tions leading to collapse can be noticed for samples subjected to
 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449 445

Fig. 6. Development of permanent strain for (a) untreated and (b) treated black cotton soil prepared at OMC.

70% stress level. Similar results for the soil samples treated with
CCR and casted with initial water content equal to OMC are pre-
sented in Fig. 6b. It can be noticed from the graph that for the trea-
ted soil samples the behaviour is within the elastic shake down
phase for stress levels up to 50%, as the increase in permanent
strain is not observed even after 5000 cycles. The behaviour under
60% stress level and 70% stress level is similar as that of the
untreated soil samples.
The repeated load triaxial test results of treated and untreated
soil samples casted with OMC + 2% moisture content is given in
Fig. 7. It can be noted from Fig. 7a and 7b that the elastic shake
down behaviour of untreated black cotton soil is up to the stress
level of 30%, whereas the elastic shake down limit is 40% in the
case of soil treated with CCR. The behaviour at 40% and 50% stress
levels indicates plastic creep stage with constant rate of strain
increment with number of cycles in the case of virgin black cotton
soil. Rapid development of permanent strains can be noticed for
soil samples subjected to 60% stress level, which represents the
incremental collapse phase. In the case of treated black cotton soil
prepared with initial moisture content of OMC + 2%, plastic creep
behaviour is observed for samples subjected to 50% and 60% stress
levels, whereas samples subjected to 70% stress level exhibited

Fig. 7. Development of permanent strain for (a) untreated and (b) treated black cotton soil prepared at OMC + 2%.
446 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449
incremental collapse behaviour with rapidly increasing plastic
strains. Similar results showing the permanent deformation beha-
viour of untreated and treated black cotton soil samples prepared
at a moulding water content of OMC + 4% is given in Fig. 8. It can
be noted from Fig. 8a elastic shake down untreated black cotton
soil is decreased to the 20% stress level. From Plastic creep stage
of natural black cotton soil shifted from 60% stress level to 40%
stress level with increment of 4% moisture content. Increases in
moisture results the interaction between soil particles reduced,
therefore the load carrying capacity drastically reduced. Rapid
development of permanent strain occurs at 50% stress level for nat-
ural black cotton soil 50% stress levels. Fig. 8b represented shake-
down ranges for CCR stabilized black cotton soil prepared with
OMC + 4%. From Fig. 8b it can be observed that as the stress levels
for elastic shake down stage, plastic creep stage and incremental
collapse stage have reduced to 30%, 50% and 60% respectively.
Yang and Huang used plastic strain rate to demarcate the per-
manent deformation behaviour based on shake down theory [31]
and plastic strain rate, defined as the accumulation of plastic strain
divided by the number of load cycles, to demarcate stable and
unstable states of cohesive soils under repeated loading. He sug-
gested that a stable state has been reached when the plastic strain
rate drops below 10–7 per cycle, which is considered a very small
level. In the present work, Plastic strain accumulated in consecu-
tive 100 load cycles was considered to determine the plastic strain
rate. Fig. 9 represents the variation of plastic strain rate with plas-
tic strain for untreated and treated soil samples prepared at differ-
ent moisture contents. Fig. 9a and b shows the variation of plastic
strain rate to plastic strain (%) for virgin soil samples and treated
samples respectively, moulded at OMC. Similar results for
untreated and treated samples prepared at OMC + 2% are given in
Fig. 9c and d respectively whereas the results for samples prepared
at OMC + 4% are shown in Fig. 9e and f. The change in slope of the
graphs indicates the change of behaviour from elastic shake down
to plastic creep and incremental collapse stages. The demarcation
of shakedown behaviour stages obtained using this method for
both treated and untreated samples is almost similar to that
obtained based on the analysis carried out using Figs. 6–8. Guimar-
aes et al. also used similar concept for demarcate the permanent
deformation behaviour of seven sub grade soils [38].
Fig. 8. Development of permanent strain for (a) untreated and (b) treated black cotton soil prepared at OMC + 4%.
Regression analysis is carried out using the experimental results
to develop models, which calculate the permanent strain based on
the load repetitions and stress levels. Power law model and VTT
model are two regression models used for fitting the accumulation
of permanent strain of subgrade geomaterials, obtained from
repeated load triaxial tests. Monismith et al. proposed power law
model to correlate the permanent strain with number of load
cycles using the following equation [8].
ep ¼ ðeapp Þ  ðNk Þ ð2Þ
where ep is the permanent strain, eapp and k are model parameters
and N represents the number of load cycles. The values of the
parameters (eapp , k) obtained by regression analysis and the R2 val-
ues for both the natural black cotton soil and CCR stabilized soil are
given in Tables 3 and 4.
The power law model does not consider the effect of stress level
whereas the VTT model proposed by Korikala- Tantu includes the
effect of stress level using a term called failure ratio (R) as given
below [30]. Load repetitions and R represents the failure ratio.
Model parameters (C and b) and theR2 values determined for the
natural and CCR treated black cotton soil are presented in Table 5.
ep ¼ C  ðNb Þ  ðR=1  RÞ ð3Þ
Both the models are able to fit the experimental data very well
for natural black cotton soil as well as CCR stabilized black cotton
soil, as indicated by the high R2 values. The models are not able to
represent the experimental results corresponding to incremental
collapse stage and hence that data is not considered in the regres-
sion analysis.
4. Conclusions
The efficacy of calcium carbide residue (CCR), which is an indus-
trial waste product, in improving the permanent deformation
behaviour of black cotton soil is examined. Repeated load triaxial
tests were performed on natural, CCR stabilized black cotton soil
specimens, and the permanent deformation behaviour is discussed
based on shakedown theory. The addition of CCR is found to reduce
the plasticity and improve the undrained shear strength of the
 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449 447

Fig. 9. Variation of plastic strain rate with plastic strain.

Table 3
Regression parameters of power law model for black cotton soil.

Water Content Stress Level Deviator Stress k eapp R2

OMC 10 42.12 0.0898 0.0457 0.9722
20 84.25 0.0811 0.1101 0.9751
30 126.37 0.0627 0.2065 0.9251
40 168.49 0.0764 0.3251 0.9961
50 210.62 0.0676 0.4098 0.9772
60 252.74 0.1557 0.359 0.9319
OMC + 2% 10 19.76 0.0941 0.0497 0.9238
20 39.52 0.0667 0.1954 0.9765
30 59.28 0.0421 0.324 0.9855
40 79.05 0.0736 0.4174 0.9992
50 98.81 0.1335 0.5017 0.9618
OMC + 4% 10 11.47 0.2014 0.0214 0.9286
20 22.93 0.1609 0.1042 0.9886
30 34.39 0.1077 0.2403 0.9906
40 45.86 0.1492 0.2928 0.9755

black cotton soil. The mineralogical and morphological changes
occurring as a result of the addition of CCR is analysed with the
help or XRD and SEM images. The effect of stress levels and mois-
ture content on the accumulation of permanent strain of the black
cotton soil and black cotton soil stabilized with CCR is investigated
based on the shakedown theory. For black cotton soil specimens
prepared at its OMC, the elastic shakedown limit is found to be
below 30% stress level, whereas the incremental collapse is
observed for 70% stress level. Similar results were observed for
samples prepared at higher water contents of OMC + 2% and
OMC + 4%, but the incremental collapse stage occurred at 60%
and 50% stress levels respectively. These results confirm the role
played by the subgrade water content in reducing the stress level
corresponding to shakedown and thus increasing the risk of rutting
448 V. Noolu et al. / Construction and Building Materials 223 (2019) 441–449

Table 4
Regression parameters of power law model for CCR stabilized black cotton soil.

Water Content Stress Level Deviator Stress k eapp R2

OMC 10 170.56 0.00593 0.053 0.983
20 341.12 0.0111 0.1637 0.9223
30 511.68 0.0652 0.1849 0.9833
40 682.24 0.0721 0.304 0.9765
50 852.53 0.1492 0.3337 0.9565
60 1023.04 0.0605 0.3755 0.9626
OMC + 2% 10 133.65 0.0673 0.0608 0.91
20 267.3 0.0283 0.1748 0.9791
30 400.95 0.0887 0.2125 0.9003
40 534.6 0.0477 0.44 0.9471
50 668.25 0.1506 0.3906 0.98
60 801.9 0.1115 0.7743 0.9201
OMC + 4% 10 127.04 0.0238 0.1423 0.9342
20 254.1 0.0443 0.2241 0.9478
30 381.13 0.0626 0.2871 0.9373
40 508.17 0.1576 0.3338 0.9288
50 635.22 0.1182 0.8312 0.9922

Table 5
Regression parameters of VTT model.

BC soil CCR stabilized BC soil

2
Water content C b R C b R2
OMC 0.455 0.072 0.991 0.481 0.052 0.990
OMC + 2% 0.74 0.052 0.938 0.572 0.066 0.975
OMC + 4% 0.52 0.12 0.966 0.754 0.055 0.920

under repeated traffic loading. The stabilization with CCR is found
to be effective, as the stress levels corresponding to elastic shake
down, plastic creep and incremental collapse stages have increased
for the treated samples. For the samples treated with CCR and pre-
pared with initial water content equal to optimum moisture con-
tent, the elastic shake down behaviour is observed for stress
levels less than 50%. For treated samples prepared at OMC + 2%
and OMC + 4%, the incremental collapse stage is observed at stress
levels of 60% and 70% respectively. VTT model and power law
model demonstrate very good fit with the experimental data, for
both the natural black cotton soil as well as calcium carbide resi-
due stabilized soil.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
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