A Study on Consolidation Behaviour of Organic Soil Stabilized using Waste Plastic Fibres and Quicklime

V.Gayathri Devi , Dr. T. Meenambal

Abstract

Constructions on organic soils are related to many problems due to their high compressibility, low shear strength and insufficient bearing capacity. The settlements in these soils often appear very quick and also continue for a long time. However, the organic soils have to be exploited as subsoil for many constructions. In this study, the organic soil collected from Ooty is stabilized using Waste Plastic Fibres with varying fiber content (0%, 0.1%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0.75%) and different Aspect Ratio (AR - 12, 24, 48). The natural moisture content of the organic soil is taken as the water content for all the stabilization tests carried out.  The Quicklime is tested for its optimum percentage for the soil (5%) and added in constant percentage as Binder. This research is mainly focused on consolidation behaviour of the organic soil for each varying percentage of plastic fibres with optimum percentage of quicklime for curing period of 7, 14 and 28 days. Overburden pressure of 30kPa is given for each soil proportion during curing process. For each proportion of stabilised soil, the Compressive strength is determined using Unconfined Compressive Strength test and the consolidation parameters are studied using one-dimensional consolidation test. The results show that there is a marked improvement in the strength and consolidation behaviour of the soil.