Soil Improvement

In improving soil we need to know the three basic types of soil - Sandy, Clay, and Silt. First, is Clay-based soil causes problems by holding the water and being too dense to our work. Second, Sandy soil allows water to drain too easily which washes out nutrients. Third Silty soil also allows water to wash through it too fast. The difference with sandy soil is when it is dry, the silty soil is powdery in texture and prone to wind damage.

Below are the techniques that involve changing soil characteristics by a physical action, such as vibration, or by the inclusion or mixing in the soil of a stronger material. The process will increase the load-bearing capacity and/or the shear strength, reduce both absolute and differential settlements or in some instances, accelerate them, to mitigate or remove the risk of liquefaction in the event of an earthquake or significant vibrations.

An improvement in the compaction properties of the soil will give maximum dry density drops, while the optimal water content rises so that the soil moves into a humidity range that can be easily compacted. This effect is advantageous when used on soils with a high water content. A treatment with quicklime, therefore, makes it possible to transform a sticky plastic soil, which is hard to compact, into a stiff, easily handled material. After compacting, the soil has excellent load-bearing properties.

When lime comes into contact with a substance containing soluble silicates and aluminates (such as clay and silt), it forms hydrated calcium aluminates and calcium silicates it is called soil stabilization. 

This method involves mixing or injecting the soil with chemical compounds such as cement, lime, fly ash, calcium or sodium chloride or with viscoelastic materials such as bitumen. Many waste materials can be used in stabilizing expansive clayey soils such as Jute, Palm fiber, nylon fiber, aluminum residue, iron residue, fly ash and coal.