Study on the relationship between strength and pore size distribution in compacted stabilized soils

Abstract

Recently, chemical soil stabilization are actively adopted for the improvement of the soft ground on which roads or buildings will be constructed. In addition to traditional stabilizers of Potland cement and lime, the industrial by-products such as fly ash and pulverized blastfurnace slag are also used for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of cement and lime as a stabilizer and their effective utilization in soil stabilization. The objective of this study is to reval the mechanisms of strength development of the compacted stabilized soils from a microstructural view-point. The compressive strength, modulus of deformation and pulse velocity of various compacted soils stabilized with cement, lime and lime-fly ash (or pulverized blastfurnace slag) were measured. Their microstructures were also characterized by the SEM observation and pore size distributions obtained by the mercury intrusion porosimeter. The relationships between strength and changes in microstructure in compacted stabilized soils are discussed.