Effects of lime on the compaction characteristics of lateritic soil in UTM, Johor

Abstract

Lime has been investigated as a ground improvement material for soils, particularly for road construction, as an alternative to soil cement stabilisation. However, the effect of lime on lateritic soil compaction characteristics is not completely defined. In this article, soil samples from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor were subjected to a variety of engineering tests, including specific gravity, sieve analysis, Atterberg's limit, and compaction. According to the results of Atterberg's Limit, lateritic soil has a plasticity index (PI), a plastic limit (PL), and a liquid limit (LL) of 19, 46, and 65, respectively. The obtained specific gravity value is 2.79. Compaction tests were conducted on untreated and lime-treated soils with lime additions of 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9%, respectively, using an automatic compactor. The OMC and MDD values for untreated laterite are 28% and 1.46 g/cm3, respectively. However, as the lime content increases, the OMC increases slightly while the MDD decreases. The dry density of lime-laterite soil decreases from 1.47 to 1.38 g/cm3, but the moisture content increases slightly from 27% to 31%. The MDD of soil treated with 5% lime is lower than that of lateritic soil in its natural state.