Effect of curing temperature and SiO2-nanoparticles on the engineering properties of lime treated expansive soil

Expansive clayey soils can undergo periodic volumetric changes in the form of ground heave and settlement when subjected to moisture fluctuations. Such changes may lead to exert stress and serious problems to geotechnical structures if not adequately taken care of. Lime continues to be commonly used for treatment of these type soils; however, some restrictions are associated with its application. Therefore, in the present study a series of macro and micro level tests including swelling potential, unconfined compression strength (UCS), consolidation, pH and electrical conductivity (EC), adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses were carried out at various curing periods (1, 7, 28 and 90 days) and different temperatures (10, 20, and 40 °C) to assess the effects of environmental condition and SiO2-nanoparticles (NS) on the performance of lime treatment. To achieve the stated objective, lime and lime/NS (LNS) mixture were separately added to highly expandable clay at wide ranges from 0% to 30% by mass, respectively. The results obtained show that the environmental temperature, especially in the initial time of curing, has a prominent role on the geo-mechanical properties of lime treated soil samples. It was also found that the reduction in the temperature particularly at inadequate curing (lower than 28 days) provides a deleterious impact on the pozzolanic activity and decrease the formation of cementing compounds such as Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (CSH) and Calcium-Aluminate-Hydrate (CAH) gels. In this case, the process of soil modification is mainly due to the short-term reactions (i.e. cation exchange and increase in osmotic pressure), increasing the amount of additives (up to two times) to control the swelling power. On the other hand, the incorporation of SiO2-nanoparticles into the binder system causes a reduction in the detrimental effects of low temperature on the engineering parameters of lime-treated products and decreases their sensitivity to the time of curing. The samples amended with the LNS blend exhibit a continuous development of soil mechanical capacity as the additive content increased. They are less deformable and show a decrease in their compression index by nearly 40% as compared with sole lime. Based on the XRD and SEM experiments, the superior influences of LNS are mainly ascribed to the higher and faster formation of cementitious compounds. In fact, at the presence of LNS, due to direct interaction of lime and silica from NS, the silicate gel can be immediately formed to coat and bind the clay particles together; whereas, with the addition of lime alone, the gel produces only by the removal of silica from the clay minerals that needs further time to complete its formation and hence the lower modification was occurred, especially at curing time shorter than 28 days. Moreover, NS reduces the pores sizes and serves to distribute the new crystalline phase (e.g. CSH gel) in a more homogenous fashion in the available space. This micro-structural reorganization upon the LNS treatment could rapidly block off the soil voids and greatly interlock the clay particles together that provide higher environmentally-stable materials with lower cost and energy as compared to standalone lime. It is finally concluded that the utilization of LNS mixture gives a promising way for increasing the efficiency of lime stabilization and decreasing the additive consumption.