Compressibility and Durability Characteristics of Lime Treated Expansive Semiarid Soils

The current study evaluates the role of lime and the curing period on the compressibility and durability characteristics of two expansive semiarid soils samples originating from Saudi Arabia. The compressibility behavior of these soil samples was evaluated using a range of loading periods of time. Starting with a minimum practicable loading period of 0.5 h, the loading periods were progressively increased to 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h. It has been observed that the addition of lime significantly reduces the compressibility behavior of both the selected soils. The study shows that, for a given consolidation pressure increment, an increase in the duration of loading time produces a moderate increase in the final equilibrium void ratio values. In order to evaluate the durability characteristics, lime leachability tests (amount of lime that is converted into soluble form by dissociation into calcium and hydroxyl ions) were conducted on compacted specimens at varying lime contents on samples cured for 1, 7, 14, and 28 days. Analysis of the soil samples subject to increasing periods of curing time show a considerable decrease in the concentration of calcium. This is due to the transformation of amorphous lime into a stable crystalline form, which leads to the formation of pozzolanic compounds.