Strength behavior of enzymatic cement treated clay

ABSTRACT

Current research studies are focusing to utilize biodegradable wastes as stabilizing agents in improving the strength of weak soils, to enhance its various properties without hindering the safety of the environment and the ecosystem. A series of laboratory studies were conducted to analyze the effect of enzymatic cement stabilization in soft clay by varying the curing time and dosages of Terrazyme (a type of bio-enzyme) and cement. A possible mechanism behind the strength improvement of enzymatically treated clay is illustrated in this paper. Data obtained from unconfined compressive strength and consistency limit tests showed that the strength of enzymatic clay has greatly improved in the presence of a small quantity of cement (1% by dry weight of soil) and the optimum dosage of enzyme added to the clay. The proposed technique is a reliable remedy underneath the foundations at shallow depths and other alike situations encountered with poor soil conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Clay
• Bio-enzyme
• Clay soil
• Terrazyme
• cement
• Soil Stabilization
• consistency limits
• strength improvement
• UCS (Unconfined Compressive Strength)
• enzymatic stabilisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

A. Geethu Thomas

A. Geethu Thomas is currently pursuing her Ph.D. Geotechnical Engineering) in the Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala. She had graduated her B.Tech (Civil Engineering) and M.Tech (Specialization: Geomechanics and Structures) degree from Saintgits College of Engineering, Pathamuttom, Kottayam, Kerala. She also had work experience in teaching as Assistant Professor in Mangalam College of Engineering, Ettumanur, Kerala. Thomas has a research interest in the area of ground improvement, the behavioral study of clay, soil dynamics, etc.

B. Kodi Rangaswamy

B. Kodi Rangaswamy is presently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala. He has received his B.Tech degree from JNTU, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India in 1999 and M.Tech (Specialization: Geotechnical Engineering) degree from SVU, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India in 2003. His doctoral degree  (Geotechnical Engineering)  was received from IIT, Madras in 2009. His research interests are mainly soil improvement techniques, liquefaction susceptibility of soils, Geotechnical earthquake engineering, etc.