Experimental Study on the Influence of Alccofine-1203 and Phosphogypsum on the Strength Characteristics of Expansive Soil

Abstract

Expansive soil is generally found in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. One of the main issues with these expansive soils is their swelling properties when their natural water content increases. The various swell-shrink tendencies of expansive soils cause numerous issues with the substructure and distress in infrastructures such as buildings, pavements, and breast walls, among others. Geotechnical engineers have worked hard to understand the behavior of expanding soil and implement appropriate management strategies. The current study aims to elucidate the efficacy of alcofine-1203 and Phosphogypsum (PG) powder in achieving the geotechnical properties of soil and improving its high swell, high shrink, and low bearing capacity, which have benefits for civil engineering. The combination of the two materials can be more beneficial when used as a stabilizing agent than using them individually. An experimental programme has calculated the effects of alcofine-1203 (3, 6, 9, and 12%) and Phosphogypsum (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0%) on the Atterberg limits, optimum moisture content (OMC), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), maximum dry density (MDD), and other essential soil characteristics. Both admixtures were added independently and blended into the expansive soil. It was found that the liquid limit, plasticity index, optimum moisture content, and swelling behavior of the expansive soil have been greatly reduced with the addition of specified admixtures. UCS gradually increases from 46.4 kPa to 948 kPa after 56 days due to the combined effect of 12% alccofine and 1.0% Phosphogypsum reacting with soil, which plays a critical role when compared to the remaining admixture combination. Hence, the result concluded that the addition of 12% alccofine and 1.0% PG exhibited an essential improver of expansive soils, proved that adding the admixture is a potential stabilizer, and also proved that the problematic soil was transformed into the best soil. It also reduced the construction cost by making the best use of locally available materials.