Internal Erosion Stabilization of Cohesionless Soil Using Lime

Abstract

Soil embankments are valuable for the adequate reserve and supply of water to multiple industries. However, they are susceptible to internal soil erosion, which may ultimately lead to structural collapse. To counteract this issue, soil stabilization is practiced in the construction industry. This paper proposes the internal erosion stabilization of cohesionless soil using quicklime. For this research, two cohesionless soil types were investigated and treated with quicklime: poorly graded and well-graded cohesionless soils. For poorly graded soil, the lime percentage varied from 0.0% to 6.0% based on the soil’s weight, while for well-graded soil, it ranged from 0.0% to 3.0%. All the soil specimens were cured for 24 h and tested using the hole erosion test (HET) to replicate the internal erosion effortlessly. The analyzed results demonstrated the efficiency of quicklime as an internal erosion stabilizer for cohesionless soils. The optimum lime content for poorly graded cohesionless soils was 5.0%; for well-graded, the percentage was approximately 3.0%. Moreover, adding lime significantly improved the strength, critical shear stress, and erosion rate index of the soil.