ABSTRACT:

Expansive soils will deteriorate the structures built on them, because of their

volume change behavior due to the presence of Montmorillonite mineral.

There are various materials used a stabilizer. In this work I used Waste Saw

Dust Ash as stabilizer because, the yearly production of saw dust in the

country is about 13% of volume of wood log. Effective utilization of Waste

Saw Dust Ash as stabilizer could result in solution of land fill problems.

Waste Saw Dust Ash is mixed in soil in 2%, 4%, and 6% in dry weight of the

soil. Standard proctor compaction test and falling head permeability test were

conducted on varying percentages of Waste Saw Dust Ash. It is observed that

5. 4% of dry density was increased in addition of 2% of WSDA and then dry

density was reduced gradually on increasing the percentage of Waste Saw

Dust Ash. Permeability of soil was also reduced. Sawdust was burnt to ashes

in a furnace at a temperature of 800 C and then mixed with black cotton soil in

varying proportions of 4%, 8%, 12%, 16% and 20%

1.INTRODUCTION:

Black cotton soil (BCS) is an expansive soil (Tomlinson and Boorman,

1999; Osinubi, 2000) found in the Northeastern part of Nigeria, Cameroon,
lake Chad Basin, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Zimbabwe. The soil is
also found in India, Australia, and South-West of United States of America,
South Africa and Israel (Plait, 1953; Ola, 1978). It is also found in the semi-
arid regions of the tropics where the annual evaporation exceeds the
precipitation (Chen, 1975). Black cotton soil has long been known to be
very problematic for construction: it is not considered suitable either for
the building of houses or the construction of roads. This has led to many
investigations into ways of improving the subgrade by way of stabilizing it
and as such improving the engineering properties of the soil. Black cotton
soil has been blamed for the failure of the some of the buildings situated
in the Adamawa state of Nigeria, where the cracking of the walls up to the
foundation can be seen due to differential settlement arising from the
shrink-swell behaviour of the soil. Cracks measuring 70 mm in width and
up to 3 m in length have been reported in places with high deposits of BCS
(Adeniji, 1991). The swelling of BCS occurs when polar molecules such as
water or organic molecules adsorb onto the surface of the soil particles in
the inter-planar space. The expansion of the soil interlayer and swelling
has been reported to be primarily influenced by the type of exchangeable
cations present in the aqueous solutions that come into contact with the
clay (Luckham and Rossi, 1999; Zhou, 1995). Numerous parts of the road
connecting Yola and Zinc which runs through Numan have severe rutting.
The road has developed potholes in some sections, some of which may be
better be termed as death-traps due to their sizeas a result of the rains
that have exacerbated the very poor state of the road. Consequently, in a
bid to avoid the potholes, many motorists to find alternative routes to
Yola, the state capital. Because BCS covers an estimated area of 104 103
km2 of north eastern Nigeria (Oriola and Moses, 2010a, 2010b), the cost of
the normal methods of dealing with unsuitable subgrade (excavation and
carting away) would constitute a significant part of the costs of any road
project in the area. As such, an economical method to stable BCS is
urgently required. Several attempts have been made towards stabilizing
the black cotton soils. The most common and most widely used method
for doing so is the addition of lime. It has been observed that the addition
of lime to soil improves the engineering properties of the soil as a result of
cation exchange, flocculation and pozzolanic reaction (Narasimha and
Rajasekaran, 1996). Lime is available in two forms which are the hydrated
(or slaked) lime and quick lime (Singh, 2002). While these hydrated limes
are preferred to quick lime because they are easily handled; they are
known to be less efficient than quick lime. Various researchers (Gadzama,
2004; Ingles and Metcalf, 1972; Yoder and Witczak, 1975; Osinubi, 1995;
Eades and Grim, 1960; Ola, 1978) have reported on the stabilization of
black cotton soil with lime. The recommendations for the percentages of
lime needed for the adequate stabilization of black cotton soil ranged from
0 to 10%. Other additives such as groundnut shell ash and baggase ash
reinforced fibre have also been used in recent times to stabilize black
cotton soil (Oriola and Moses, 2010a, 2010b; Osinubi and Thomas, 2007;
Osinubi and Stephen, 2005; Ijimdiya et al, 2012). Baggase ash is the
residue obtained from the incineration of Baggase in sugar producing
factories (Osinubi and Ijimdiya, 2009). The objectives of this study are to:
Determine the properties of black cotton soil and
sawdust ash Find the effect of different
compactive efforts on the black cotton soil
Evaluate the performance of black cotton soil when stabilized with
sawdust ash and to estimate its suitability for use as pavement subgrade
Evaluate the performance of black cotton soil
when stabilized with an optimum of sawdust ash and lime and its
suitability for use as pavement subgrade. 2. Background of study 2.1. Clay-
lime reaction The addition of lime to clay is a widely used means of
chemically transforming unstable expansive clay soils into structurally
sound foundation materials. This addition of lime to clay improves its
strength, improves its resistance to fatigue and permanent deformation
and reduces its swelling. Although the addition of lime to all types of clay
results in the modification of the soil, substantial improvements are only
seen in moderate to high plastic soils (Little, 1996). The addition of lime to
clay initiates two types of chemical reactions: short term reaction and
long term reaction. The short term reaction consists of cation exchange,
flocculation and agglomeration and lime carbonation (Little, 1996). The
cation exchange which occurs at the surface of the clay particles is a
result of the CaO from the lime which reacts with water and introduces
Ca2+ and OH-1 into the soil–lime system. That is: CaO + H2O ! Ca(OH)2 and
Ca(OH)2 !
Ca2þ+2(OH

1). The Ca2+ replaces other monovalent exchangeable cations associated

with the surface of the clay particles and results in an increase in valence,
modification of the density of the electrical charge around the clay
particles and reduction of the thickness of the double layer. This leads to
the formation of flocs and agglomerates within the soil system and results
in reduction of the swelling of the soil (Bell, 1993). Furthermore, the
hydrated lime, Ca (OH)2 and atmospheric carbon dioxide, CO2, can react
to produce crystals of calcite CaCO3 by a process known as lime
carbonation. The calcite crystals produced in this way do link the clay
particles but weakly. It is of note that at this stage of reaction, only a
limited quantity of lime, irrespective of the amount of lime added, is used
in the reaction. The lime added firstly satisfies the thirst of the soil for
lime until the lime fixation point is reached. After this point, the further
addition of lime does not bring about further changes in the soil plastic
limit (Hilt and Davidson, 1960). The long term reaction arising from the
addition of lime is pozzolanic in nature. It is as a result of the introduction
of hydroxyl ions into the system which, over a period of time, results in the
dissolution of the silica and alumina in the clay soil (Mathew and Rao,
1997). The reaction between calcium present in Ca2þ +
2(OH

) + SiO2(clay silica) ! CSH Ca2þ +

2(OH

) + Al2O3(clay alumina) ! CAH Ca2þ +

2(OH

) + SiO2(clay silica) þ Al2O3(clay alumina) ! CASH the lime and the

dissolved silica and alumina leads too the formation of cementitious
compounds such as calciumsilica-hydrates (CSH), calcium alumina-
hydrates (CAH) and calcium-alumino- silicate hydrates (CASH) which bond
the adjacent soil particles together (Arabi and Wild, 1989; Bell, 1996). A
detailed study involving pH measurements and other tests conducted on
lime mixed with expansive FoCa clay of France by Al-Mukhtar et al (2012)
under curing periods of 1.5 h to 90 days and varying percentages of lime
ranging from 1% to 7% verified all the previously discussed chemical
processes. 2.2. Clay-fly ash and clay-fly ash-lime reactions Fly ash is the
finely divided residue from the combustion of coal in a thermal power
plant. It is divided into two classes, F and C, depending on its chemical
composition. Class F is produced from the burning of anthracite and
bituminous coals, and although it contains siliceous and aluminous
materials, it does not by itself possess significant cementitious value. It
will however chemically react with calcium hydroxide in the presence of
moisture to form cementitious compounds. Class C fly ash, which is
pro duced from the burning of lignite coal, contains a signifi cant amount
of calcium oxide and is considered to have cementitious properties.
Another important property of fly ash is that it is a source of reactive
silica: this is useful in the production of cementitious compounds. The
reaction between soils, and especially clay with fly ash, also occurs in
two stages: one, short term, and the other, long term. The short term
reaction is as previously described in the case of lime while the long term
reaction for class C is mainly due to the reaction between reactive silica
in the fly ash and free lime, which produces the binding agent calcium-
silica-hydrates (CSH) (Sivapullaiah et al., 1998). Ca2þ + 2(OH ) + SiO2
(clay silica) ! CSH Although there are noticeable improvements in the
geotechnical properties of soil stabilized with only fly ash, the
improvements are often not adequate for its use in roadwork and
foundation design (Christopher et al., 2006; NRRDA, 2007). The addition of
lime to the clay fly ash mixture is therefore a means of increasing the
amount of Ca2+ in the system. Because of the reaction between the Ca2+
and silica and alumina, this increase, which is most likely above the lime
fixation point, results in an increase in cementitious products. These
cementitious products bind the flocculated particles, providing extra
strength. 2.3. Comparison of fly ash and sawdust ash A comparison of the
chemical composition of typical fly ash (class C and F) and the sawdust
ash (SDA) used in this research work is shown in Table 1. It can be seen
from the table that SDA has a very high quantity of quicklime, CaO, which
is necessary for both the short term (cation exchange, flocculation and
agglomeration and lime carbon ation) and long term (pozzolanic)
reactions. Also of note is the comparable quantities of reactive silica
present in both additives; this plays a role in the formation of
calcium silica-hydrate (CSH), which is a cementitious compound. 3.
Materials and methods 3.1. Materials The black cotton soil used in this
study was obtained at Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola in Numan,
Adamawa State. It is located at latitude 9 140 N and Longitude 12 280 E
of the Greenwich Meridian. The geographical loca tion of Adamawa state
is at latitude 9 290 1000N and longi tude 12 020 3600E. The state is
bordered by Borno on the northwest, Gombe on west, Taraba on the
southwest and the Republic of Cameroon on the east. The samples were
collected as hand carved samples at a depth of 1 m below the ground
surface after scraping off the top soil, which contained a lot of organic
matter. The samples were bagged in different cellophane bags and
transported to the Civil Engineering, geotechnical labora tory, at the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN) where the actual experimental work
on the sample was carried out. An X-ray diffraction analysis of the soil by
Ntekim and Ejikeme (2009) show that the abundant minerals are
montmorillonite (with a d-spacing of 9.38 A˚ ), illite (with d-spacing of 3.26
A˚ ) and quartz (with d = 1.08 A˚ ). Montmorillonite constitutes about 89%
of the total minerals in the soil while illite and quartz constitute about 9%
and 1%, respectively. The chemical composition (by mass) of the black
cotton soil, shown in Table 2, indicates an insignificant quantity of the
sulphate radical, and as such, there is no risk of the formation of ettrignite
mineral as a result of the addition of lime to the soil. The chemical
com position of both the black cotton soil and the sawdust ash was
determined using X-ray florescence equipment, the Advantx 1200 model.
The samples were dried in an oven at a temperature of 60 C for 30 min
and broken into pieces using the jaw disc miller to a size of 0.15 lm before
being fed into the equipment. Sawdust ash (SDA) is a fine grey to black
powdery sub stance with a larger specific surface area and finer particle
size than cement (Marthong, 2012; Ogah and Amos, 2011). Its specific
gravity varies from 2.05 to 2.5 (Ettu et al, 2013; Mageswari and Vidivelli,
2009) and it is pro duced by the burning of sawdust, which is mainly
organic in nature. It is estimated that over 1,000,000 m3 of sawdust, split
wood, planner shavings and sander dust was gener Table 1 Chemical
composition of fly ash and sawdust ash. Chemical component (%) Class C
Fly ash Class F Fly ash SDA (Presentated in Nigeria in 2010 (Ogunwusi,
2014). Of these by products, sawdust remains the most troublesome in
the lumber industry in terms of waste management. It is either dumped at
certain locations and allowed to decompose in the open atmosphere, or is
burnt in the open air by the var ious timber processing plants. These
methods of disposal are adopted irrespective of their environmental
dangers to water bodies and the atmosphere primarily because most of
the excess sawdust produced is not reused either in agri culture or in the
production of briquettes, despite being made freely available to anyone
who would make use of it. The sawdust that was burnt and used as the
admixture in this research was sourced locally from a place popularly
referred to as the ‘Timber Shed’ in Nsukka. The sawdust was burnt in a
furnace at a temperature of 800 C. This burning, which is different from
that done by sawmills, was done in a closed furnace so that the ash
produced did not escape into the atmosphere. This results in larger
quantities of ash and minimized environmental pollution. The ash
produced was allowed to cool in the furnace for several hours, scooped
out and poured into an air-tight container in the laboratory. The chemical
composition of the sawdust ash is as presented in Table 2: it contains
insignificant amounts of heavy metal, 33.20% of SiO2 and 45.98% of CaO.
Lime in the form of quicklime, CaO, was used for the treatment of the soil-
SDA mixture. The lime is a pure amorphous solid with melting point of
2600 C, produced from natural limestone. It was bought from a
pharmaceu tical company in a sealed container. Although hydrated lime,
C a(OH)2 could be used, lime in form of CaO offers the advantage of
hydrating the soil moisture to become hydrated lime. It is thereby a better
drying agent before the addition of calcium to react with silica and
alumina in the clayey soil. 3.2. Methods All experimental tests were
conducted in accordance with the recommendations of BS 1377 (1990)
and BS 1924 (1990). The tests were performed on the natural black cotton
soil, black cotton soil mixed with sawdust ash and on black cotton soil
mixed with sawdust ash and lime. To determine the optimum moisture
content and maxi mum dry density of the soil, a two compaction tests
were carried out: the British standard light (BSL) and the British standard
heavy (BSH) compaction methods. The difference between both types of
compaction is in the compactive effort applied to the soil (Arora, 2000).
The BSL com pactive effort was obtained using a 2.5 kg hammer falling
freely through 30 cm onto soil compacted in three layers, each receiving
27 uniformly distributed blows while the BSH compaction energy was
obtained from a hammer of 4.5 kg mass falling freely through a height of
45 cm onto soil compacted in 5 layers at 27 blows each. A mould of 1000
cm3 was used for both types of compaction with the mixture of the soil
sample, additives (sawdust ash or a com bination of sawdust ash and
lime) and water, placed in lay ers within the mould and then compacted.
The samples were not cured and the only delay was that associated with
the compaction process. The method of BS 1377: Part 4 (1990) was used
to deter mine the California bearing ratio (CBR), which is an index of soil
strength and bearing capacity. The CBR was deter mined for the
compacted soils under BSL and BSH com pactive efforts considering both
the soaked and unsoaked compacted soils, with the soaked samples
having been immersed in water for 96 h in order to simulate the worst
possible condition on the field. The compacted mixture was then placed
under the CBR machine and load applied at a penetration rate of 1.25
mm/min. The load values cor responding to penetrations of 0.0 mm up to
12.5 mm where applicable were noted. The samples were tested at a
tem perature of 37.5 C. The differential free swell (DFS) also known as
free swell index is one of the three parameters used for the identifica tion
of expansive soils (Garg, 2011; Koteswara Rao et al., 2012). It is
performed in order to compare the volume changes in an expansive soil
using kerosene (or carbon tetrachloride, CCl4) and water as pore fluids. In
order to obtain the DFS, the procedure proposed by Holtz and Gibbs (1956)
was adopted with slight modification. Some portions of the soil samples
were pulverized, oven dried and sieved through a 425 lm sieve. Two
specimens of the sieved samples weighing 10 g each were taken and one
of them poured slowly into a 100 cm3 graduated glass cylinder containing
a non polar liquid (kerosene) and allowed to stand undisturbed for 24 h.
The second sample was also poured slowly into a 100 cm3 graduated
glass cylinder con taining distilled water and also left to stand
undisturbed for 24 h. After 24 h, the soil volumes were noted and the DFS
calculated using Eq. (1). The values of the DFS can be related to the
degree of expansiveness using the correlation defined by Garg (2011). DFS
¼ Soil Volume in water Soil volume in kerosene Soil volume in kerosene
100 ð1Þ 3.2.1. Optimum dosage of SDA In order to obtain the optimum
dosage of SDA, the BCS was mixed with SDA in percentages ranging from
4% up to 20% of the dry weight of the soil and the samples so obtained
subjected to compaction, CBR, Atterberg’s limits and differential free
swell tests. The results are listed in Table 4. 3.2.2. Minimum lime
content/fixation point In order to determine the minimum amount of lime
required for the proper stabilization of the BCS-SDA mix, the pH of the
samples were determined using a pH C.C. Ikeagwuani et al. / Soils and
Foundations 59 (2019) 162–175 165 meter. The process proposed by Eades
and Grim (1966) involves testing a mixture of 25 g of soil passed through
the 425 lm sieve, a certain percentage of lime, and 100 g of distilled water
shaken periodically and tested for pH. The lime fixation point represents
the quantity of lime added to achieve a pH value of 12.4 for the lime–soil
mix. This was achieved at a combination of 16% SDA and 4% lime which
gave a pH value of 12.47. Subsequent increases in the lime content
beyond 4% did not result in any significant changes in pH. 3.2.3. Micro-
level analysis of stabilization mechanism A micro-level analysis of the
stabilization mechanism was carried out using X-ray diffraction equipment
with the Shimabzu 6000 model, and scanning electron micro scope
images obtained by the Phenom Pro-X machine. The XRD analysis was
done on the BCS and on BCS stabilized with 16%SDA + 4%lime. The
stabilized soil was cured in a closed environment for 3 days and 7 days
before the XRD analysis. Because the samples were ori ented clay
minerals, the scan range for the XRD analy sis was between 2 and 40
theta bragg angle. The scan speed was set at 6 degrees per minute, the
voltage main tained at 40 kV and the current set at 30 mA. The auto– silts
(divergence, scatter and receiving) used for the var ious apertures control
are 1.0, 1.0 and 0.3 (degrees). The raw data was processed using
proprietary instrument software and ICDD PDF 2/4 card files for reference.
The samples for SEM analysis were force dried using the Sputter coater
model Q150R by Quorum Technolo gies, and coated with 5 nm of gold.
Thereafter, the sam ples were placed on a sample stub with a double
sided adhesive, placed on a charge reduction sample holder and
introduced into the column of the SEM machine. This was viewed via a
navigation camera: the bright ness, contrast and focus were slightly
adjusted, There after the samples were transferred to SEM mode where
different magnifications were stored on a USB stick. The results and
discussion are presented in Sec4. Results and discussions 4.1. Properties
of black cotton soil Table 3 shows the properties of the untreated black
cot ton soil. The liquid limit of the soil determined using the Cassagrande
apparatus was 82.6% while the plasticity index was 53.4%. This value of
53.4% is evidence of the high plasticity of the soil. The shrinkage limit of
the soil, at 11.31%, confirms that the soil is poor quality, based on the
classification of soils in terms of shrinkage limit (Schedig, 1948). Also,
because the California bearing ratio (CBR) and the Maximum dry density
(MDD) values were small, the soil clearly needs to be stabilized before it
can be used as a subgrade material. Table 2 Chemical composition of BCS
and SDA. Chemical composition of BCS Oxides Al O2 3 SiO2 SO3 P O2 5 Na
O K 2 O CaO MgO TiO 2 2 Fe O2 3 MnO L.O.I Chemical composition (%)
11.00 56.704. Results and discussions 4.1. Properties of black cotton soil
Table 3 shows the properties of the untreated black cot ton soil. The
liquid limit of the soil determined using the Cassagrande apparatus was
82.6% while the plasticity index was 53.4%. This value of 53.4% is
evidence of the high plasticity of the soil. The shrinkage limit of the soil,
at 11.31%, confirms that the soil is poor quality, based on the
classification of soils in terms of shrinkage limit (Schedig, 1948). Also,
because the California bearing ratio (CBR) and the Maximum dry density
(MDD) values were small, the soil clearly needs to be stabilized before it
can be used as a subgrade material. Table 2 Chemical composition of BCS
and SDA. Chemical composition of BCS Oxides Al O2 3 SiO2 SO3 P O2 5 Na
O K 2 O CaO MgO TiO 2 2 Fe O2 3 MnO L.O.I Chemical composition (%)
11.00 56.70ucts due to the reaction with available silica and alumina.
Thus the dry density (BSH) of the BCS increased from 1.47 kg/cm3 to 1.60
g/cm3 with the addition of SDA and up to 1.66 g/cm3 with the addition of
4% lime. 4.4. CBR results 4.4.1. CBR results for natural BCS As shown in
Fig. 3a, the soaked CBR values were 4.0% and 5.98% for the BSL and BSH
compactive efforts. The unsoaked CBR values, shown in Fig. 3b, were
9.2% for the BSL and 11.4% for the BSH compactive efforts. The CBR
values were obtained from a load corresponding to a penetration of 2.5
mm. 4.4.2. CBR test results for BCS treated with varying percentages of
SDA The results of the soaked CBR test for BCS mixed with varying
percentages of sawdust ash under BSL and BSH compactive efforts are
shown in Fig. 4. Similar trends were observed in the results for both:
increases occured with the addition of 4% SDA, and the peak values were
8.5% and 10.5% CBR values at 16% SDA content. The BSH com pactive
effort produced a higher CBR value than that of the BSL compactive effort.
4.4.3. CBR test result for BCS stabilized with optimum SDA and varying
percentages of lime Fig. 5 shows the values of the soaked CBR obtained
after stabilizing with the optimum of 16% sawdust ash and various
percentages of lime ranging from 2 to 10%. While similar trends were
noted in the results for both BSH and BSL compaction, the BSH produced
a higher CBR value. The addition of 4% lime to the SDA-clay mix ture
resulted in a higher CBR value than that obtained from the combination of
SDA and clay only. The resultant increase in CBR is over 50%, and would
be more if curefor longer periods of time to allow for the development of
cementitious compounds. 4.5. SEM results The SEM results for BCS, BCS +
16%SDA + 2%lime, BCS + 16%SDA + 4%lime and BCS + 16%SDA + 6%lime
(none of the samples were cured) are shown in Fig. 6. It can be seen that
flocculation is initiated with the addition of 2% lime while flocculation and
agglomeration becomes fully evident with the addition of 4% and 6% lime.
An analysis of the biggest pore areas using the SEM machine shows that
BCS, BCS + 16%SDA + 2%lime, BCS + 16%SDA + 4%lime and BCS +
16%SDA + 6%lime have pore areas corresponding to 2180.18 lm2 , 557.51
lm2 , 210.65 lm2 and 431.41 lm2 respectively. Thus, as a result of
floccula tion and agglomeration, the pore spaces in the stabilized soil are
much smaller than those of the natural BCS. This is also true of the
compaction, Atterberg’s limit, specific gravity and CBR results: the
combination of BCS + 164.5. SEM results The SEM results for BCS, BCS +
16%SDA + 2%lime, BCS + 16%SDA + 4%lime and BCS + 16%SDA + 6%lime
(none of the samples were cured) are shown in Fig. 6. It can be seen that
flocculation is initiated with the addition of 2% lime while flocculation and
agglomeration becomes fully evident with the addition of 4% and 6% lime.
An analysis of the biggest pore areas using the SEM machine shows that
BCS, BCS + 16%SDA + 2%lime, BCS + 16%SDA + 4%lime and BCS +
16%SDA + 6%lime have pore areas corresponding to 2180.18 lm2 , 557.51
lm2 , 210.65 lm2 and 431.41 lm2 respectively. Thus, as a result of
floccula tion and agglomeration, the pore spaces in the stabilized soil are
much smaller than those of the natural BCS. This is also true of the
compaction, Atterberg’s limit, specific gravity and CBR results: the
combination of BCS + 16% Fig. 5. CBR result for BCS stabilized with
optimum SDA and varying percentages of lime. Fig. 6. SEM images at
1000 magnification (a: natural BCS, b: 16%SDA + 2%lime, c: 16%SDA +
4%lime, d: 16%SDA + 6%lime). 170 C.C. Ikeagwuani et al. / Soils and
Foundations 59 (2019) 162–175 SDA + 4%lime gave the highest value. The
lower strength gain of 6% lime addition than that obtained with the
addi tion of 4% lime may be because the pozzolanic reactions had not
started at this point. 4.6. XRD results A comparative summary of the
mineralogical changes occurring in the black cotton soil as a result of
stabilization is shown in Table 5, and the individual XRD results are Table
6 X-ray diffraction result for natural BCS. S/N Card Chemical formula S L d
I R Chemical name (mineral name) Dx WT% S.G 1 37–0031 ZrO2 Zirconium
oxide 0.057 1.0 (4/7) 0.47 0.650 0.306 2 31–0794
(Mg,Al)9(Si,Al)8O20(OH)10 4H2OMagnesium aluminium silicate hydroxide
hydrate (palygorskite) 0.235 0.8 12/17 0.620 0.498 0.247 3 21–1272 TiO2
Titanium oxide (Anatase) 0.103 0.429 3/39 0.944 0.582 0.236 4 49–0924
Na2Al2Si13.3O29.6 + x Sodium aluminium silicate (Mordenite) 0.123 0.571
8/14 0.566 0.526 0.170 5 7–0417 Mg3-x[Si2O5](OH)4-2x Magnesium silicate
hydroxide (Antigorite) 0.943 0.472 17/39 0.605 0.580 0.166 6 13–0558
Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 (Talc) 0.239 0.650 13/30 0.504 0.484 0.158 7 35–0463
LiAlSi4O10 Lithium aluminium silicate (Petalite) 0.742 0.429 18/42 0.718
0.481 0.148 8 25–0645 Mg3[Si2-xO5](OH)4-4x Magnesium silicate
hydroxide (chrysotile) 0.553 0.714 10/18 0.643 0.301 0.138 9 10–0446
Al2Si2O5(OH)4 Aluminium silicate hydroxide (Dickite) 0.213 0.486 18/39
0.534 0.461 0.120 10 31–0966 KAlSi3O8 Potassium aluminium silicate
(Orthoclase) 0.189 0.5 21/42 0.59 0.392 0.116 11 33–0311 CaSO4 2H2O
Calcium sulpahate hydrate (Gypsum) 0.348 0.405 17/42 0.616 0.460 0.115
12 13–0135 CaO 2(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2 4H2O Calcium magnesium
aluminium silicate hydroxide (Montmorillonite) 0.183 0.615 8/17 0.527
0.333 0.108 Table 5 X-ray diffraction behaviour of natural and stabilized
BCS. S/N Natural BCS Stabilized BCS at 3 days curing Stabilized BCS at 7
days curing 1 * Zirconium Oxide * Zirconium silicate * Zirconium Oxide 2 *
Titanium Oxide Absent Absent 3 * Mordenite Absent * Mordenite 4
Palygorskite Palygorskite Palygorskite 5 Antigorite (serpentine group)
Antigorite Antigorite 6 Talc Talc Absent 7 * Petalite * Petalite Absent 8
Chrysotile (serpentine group) Chrysotile Chrysotile 9 Dickite (Kaolinite
group) Halloysite-7(Kaolinite group) Nacrite (Kaolinite group) 10 *
Orthoclase * Orthoclase Absent 11 * Gypsum * Gypsum Absent 12
Montmorillonite I Montmorillonite I Absent 13 New Minerals 14 Vermiculite
Absent 15 Xonotlite (CSH) Xonotlite (CSH) 16 Sepiolite Sepiolite 17
Montmorillonite II Absent 18 New Minerals Corundum Sanidine Hopeite
Phlogopite Osumilite Montmorillonite I =
CaO (2Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2 4H2O. Montmorillonite II =
NaO 3(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2 xH2O. * Represents non clay minerals. C.C.
Ikeagwuani et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 162–175 171 Table 8 X-
ray diffraction result for stabilized BCS at 7 days curing. S/N Card
Chemical formula S L d I R Chemical name (mineral name) Dx WT% S.G 1
10–0173 Al2O3 Aluminium oxide (corundum) 0.104 0.889 8/42 0.689 0.535
0.328 2 37–0031 ZrO2 Zirconium oxide 0.063 1 4/7 0.487 0.624 0.304 3 31–
0794 (Mg,Al)9(Si,Al)8O20(OH)10 4H2O Magnesium aluminium silicate
hydroxide hydrate (palygorskite) 0.203 0.8 12/17 0.765 0.476 0.291 4 49–
0924 Na2Al2Si13.3O29.6 + x Sodium aluminium silicate (Mordenite) 0.068
0.5 7/14 0.591 0.774 0.229 5 21–0963 Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 Magnesium silicate
hydroxide (Antigorite) 0.157 0.625 15/27 0.615 0.552 0.212 6 13–0595
Mg4Si6O15(OH)2 6H2O Magnesium silicate hydroxide hydrate (sepiolite)
0.271 0.611 22/39 0.665 0.502 0.204 7 23–0125 Ca6Si6O17(OH)2 Calcium
silicate hydrate (Xonotlite) 0.167 0.643 18/39 0.707 0.434 0.197 8 25–0645
Mg3[Si2-xO5](OH)4-4x Magnesium silicate hydroxide (chrysotile) 0.292
0.786 11/18 0.665 0.345 0.180 9 10–0357 (Na,K)(Si3Al)O8 Potassium
sodium aluminium silicate (Sanidine) 0.173 0.529 9/17 0.777 0.389 0.160
10 33–1474 Zn3(PO4)2 4H2O Zinc phosphate hydrate 0.233 0.524 22/42
0.759 0.360 0.143 11 10–0495 KMg3(Si3Al)O10(OH)2 Potassium
magnesium aluminium silicate hydrate (Phlogopite) 0.250 0.708 17/26
0.804 0.245 0.140 12 29–1016 KMg2Al3(Si10Al2)O30 0.137 0.515 17/33
0.688 0.371 0.132 13 16–0606 Al2Si2O5(OH)4 Aluminium silicate hydroxide
(Nacrite) 0.263 0.595 25/42 0.593 0.370 0.131 Table 7 X-ray diffraction
result for stabilized BCS at 3 days curing. S/N Card Chemical formula S L d
I R Chemical name (mineral name) Dx WT% S.G 1 29–1487 Al2Si2O5(OH)4
Aluminium silicate hydroxide (Halloysite) 0.073 0.667 4/7 0.794 0.589
0.312 2 31–0794 (Mg,Al)9(Si,Al)8O20(OH)10 4H2O Magnesium aluminium
silicate hydroxide hydrate (palygorskite) 0.188 0.8 12/17 0.671 0.532 0.285
3 33–1485 ZrSiO4 Zirconium silicate 0.313 0.583 7/30 0.716 0.605 0.253 4
13–0259 NaO.3(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2 xH2O Sodium magnesium aluminium
silicate hydroxide (Montmorillonite) 0.465 0.571 4/7 0.530 0.641 0.194 5
35–0463 LiAlSi4O10 Lithium aluminium silicate (petalite) 0.761 0.524 22/42
0.727 0.479 0.182 6 21–0963 Mg3Si2O5(OH)4 Magnesium silicate
hydroxide (Antigorite) 0.123 0.583 14/17 0.647 0.467 0.176 7 16–0613
Mgx(Mg,Fe)3(Si,Al)4O10(OH)2 4H2O Magnesium iron aluminium silicate
hydroxide (vermiculite) 0.189 0.448 13/32 0.763 0.466 0.159 8 13–0558
Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 (Talc) 0.186 0.6 12/30 0.557 0.427 0.143 9 31–0966
KAlSi3O8 Potassium aluminium silicate (Orthoclase) 0.198 0.405 17/42
0.683 0.496 0.137 10 23–0125 Ca6Si6O17(OH)2 Calcium silicate hydrate
(Xonotlite) 0.236 0.464 13/39 0.670 0.374 0.116 11 13–0135
CaO 2(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2 4H2O Calcium magnesium aluminium silicate
hydroxide (Montmorillonite) 0.123 0.538 7/17 0.595 0.357 0.115 12 25–0645
Mg3[Si2-xO5](OH)4-4x Magnesium silicate hydroxide (chrysotile) 0.331
0.714 10/18 0.695 0.214 0.106 13 21–0816 CaSO4 2H2O Calcium
sulpahate hydrate (Gypsum) 0.389 0.485 16/38 0.6 0.360 0.105 14 13–0595
Mg4Si6O15(OH)2 6H2O Magnesium silicate hydroxide hydrate (sepiolite)
0.247 0.611 22/39 0.612 0.269 0.101 172 C.C. Ikeagwuani et al. / Soils and
Foundations 59 (2019) 162–175 shown in Tables 6–8. The aim of the three
and seven days curing periods was to determine whether a pozzolanic
reac tion occurs as a result of the addition of 16%SDA and 4% lime to the
BCS. It is therefore evident from Table 5 that CSH had occurred at the 3rd
and 7th day of curing, show ing that indeed pozzolanic reactions had
began to take place. In addition to normal CSH, aluminium and
magne sium incorporated C-S-H phases were also present. The mineral
Phlogopite (KMg 3(Si3Al)O10(OH)2) which is seen on the seventh day is
one of the micacious minerals that possesses properties such as high
dielectric strength, low expansion coefficients, cold and heat resistance,
and high tensile strength (Jessica et al., 2006) while zinc phosphate
hydrate is a known cementing agent. An additional obser vation is that
there is a breakdown of the montmorillonite mineral at the 7th day of
curing irrespective of the fact that CASH mineral is yet to become visible.
CASH usually begins to crystallize when the sample is cured for 28 days
(Solanki and Zaman, 2012; Wang, 1964). 4.7. Comparative analysis of the
properties of unstabilized and stabilized BCS Table 9 shows a comparison
of the properties of natural black cotton soil, black cotton soil stabilized
with 16%SDA and black cotton soil stabilized with the combination of
optimum 16% SDA and optimum 4% lime. The liquid limit of the black
cotton soil decreased from 82.6% to 60.5% Table 9 Comparative analysis
of the properties of unstabilized and stabilized BCS. S/No Property Symbol
Black cotton soil(untreated) BCS treated with 16 %SDA BCS treated with
16%SDA and 4% lime 1 Liquid limit (%) WL 82.6% 60.5% 42% 2 Plastic
limit (%) WP 29.2% 31.8% 34.6% 3 Plasticity index IP 53.4% 28.7% 7.4% 4
Specific gravity G 2.33 2.72 2.87 5 Differential free swell DFS 74% 31.5%
22.6% 6 Optimum moisture content OMC BSL 38% 33.4% 29.6% BSH 30%
24.2% 22.1% 7 Maximum dry density MDD BSL 1.31 g/cm3 kN=m3 1.37
g/cm3 kN=m3 1.37kN=m3 BSH 1.49 g/cm3 kN=m3 1.60 g/cm3 kN=m3 1.66
g/cm3 kN=m3 8 Soaked CBR values (%) CBR BSL 4.00% 8.72% 13.22% BSH
5.98% 13.82% 20.64% Fig. 7. SEM images at 2000 , 3000 and 4000
magnification (e natural BCS, f: 16%SDA + 2%lime, g: 16%SDA + 4%lime, h:
16%SDA + 6%lime, i: 16%SDA + 4%lime, j: 16%SDA + 6%lime). C.C.
Ikeagwuani et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 162–175 173 with the
addition of 16% SDA, which is a reduction of about 26.76%, and with the
addition of 4% lime, it decreased further by 49.15%. The decrease in the
liquid limit is as a result of the cation exchange, flocculation and
agglomeration (as shown in Figs. 6 and 7) and subse quent reduction in
the amount of adsorbed water which occur when SDA and lime are added.
The plastic limit sub sequently increased by 8.90% when 16% SDA was
added and further increased to 18.49% when 4% lime was added. The
increase in the plastic limit implies that with the increase in the water
content, the soil mixture changes from the plastic state to the semisolid
state. According to Little (1996), the soil achieves greater workability as a
result of textural change and also higher shear strength when this occurs.
This increase in strength is corroborated by the increase in the unsoaked
CBR values of the stabilized soil where the increased strength at this
point can be attributed to the short term chemical reactions. Similarly, the
plastic ity index decreased to 28.7% on the addition of 16% SDA and
further decreased significantly to 7.4%, indicating a medium plastic state.
The specific gravity, which was determined using the pyncometer method,
improved from an initial value of 2.33 in the 100% black cotton soil to a
value of 2.72 when 16% SDA was added, and to 2.98 when 4% lime was
fur ther added to the sample. The optimum moisture content for the BSL
compaction in the 100% black cotton soil was found to be 38% but this
decreased to 33.4% when 16% SDA was added and to 29.6% with the
further addi tion of 4% lime to the sample. The OMC obtained from the
BSH compaction was initially 30% for the 100% black cotton soil, but this
reduced to 24.2% and 22.1% with the addition of 16%SDA and a
combination of 16%SDA and 4% lime, respectively. The reduction in OMC
is attributed to the hydration reactions which continue until the lime
fix ation point, which corresponds to 4% lime was reached. Thereafter,
the further addition of lime had no immediate microstructural effect on
soil compaction. This explains the increase in the OMC beyond 4% lime
addition. The maximum dry density was found to be 1.31 g/cc and 1.49
g/cc for the BSL and BSH respectively in the 100% black cotton soil. The
result in the case of the BSL is that MDD increased by 3.87% and 7.75%
with the addition of 16%SDA and 16%SDA + 4%lime, respectively. In the
case of BSH compaction, which had a value of 1.49 g/cc, MDD increased
by 6.09% when 16% SDA was added, and also increased further by 10.42%
when a further 4% lime was added. The differential free swell had a
decrease of 57.43% when 16% SDA was added. That is, it decreased from
an initial value of 74–31.5% and further decreased by 69.46% with the
addition of 4 %lime. This decrease is also due to the short term chemical
reactions, as shown in the SEM images. The Soaked California bearing
ratio for BSL com paction, which was obtained after 96 h of soaking,
increased from 4% to 8.72% (118% increase) when 16% SDA was added,
and upon the further addition of 4% lime, it increased from 4% to 13.22%
(a 230.5% increase). In the case of BSH compaction, the CBR increased by
131.10% when 16% SDA was added and further increased by 245.15%
when 4% lime added. The increase in the soaked CBR values is attributed
to the formation of CSH, known as Xonotlite (see Table 7), which had
began to crystallize after 72 h. 5. Conclusion It can be concluded from this
investigation that black cotton soil can be properly stabilized for use as
subgrade material. Adequate strength was achieved with 16% SDA and 4%
lime. The importance of the results is that unlike other lime stabilization
cases where higher quantities of lime (and invariably higher construction
cost) were required for the optimum stabilization of expansive clays,
suitable results were achieved at just 4% lime and 16% SDA. Also,
sawdust is an inexpensive by-product of wood processing industries, and
its utilization greatly minimizes environmental pollution. While
acknowledging that there is room for improvement on the proposed
method, the use of sawdust in this way is arguably far better than the
open air burning typically done by sawmills operators. Also, the large
scale production of the ash is possible using higher quality furnaces, such
as those for coal combustion, which comply with the Clean Air Act or the
Clean Coal Technology and are associated with negligible environmen tal
pollution. Finally, the CBR value of 20.64% meets the criteria set by
Nigerian General Specification for Roads and Bridges (1997) and that by
TRL (1993) for subgrad