A study of calcium hydroxide as a stabilizing agent in clay soil toward California bearing ratio and unconfined compression value

Abstract

Soil is one of the most important materials in construction. Soil stabilization is an attempt to increase condition of soil that have poor engineering properties. Soil stabilization is also a mixture of soil with certain stabilizing agents to increase the engineering properties of the soil to attain technical requirements. This research used calcium hydroxide as a stabilizing material. The study purposes were to improve the engineering properties of clay due to the addition of 3% - 30% calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2. The clay soil was classified as A-7-6 (9) based on the AASHTO classification system and was classified as CL (Clay - Low Plasticity) based on USCS. The unsoaked California Bearing Ratio (CBR)of original soil was 6.29%. Meanwhile, the Unconfined Compression Test (UCT) of original soil was 1.42 kg/cm2. The study showed that the addition of calcium hydroxide increased the engineering properties of clay soil. The unsoaked CBR reached the maximum value of 11.46% at a variation of 12% calcium carbonate. The UCT also gained the maximum value of 3.12kg/cm2 at a variation of 12% calcium hydroxide.