NANOSILICA AS AN AUXILIARY ADDITIVE IN BEHAVIOUR ENHANCEMENT OF WEAK SOIL SUBGRADE
Keywords:
glinena zemljina, nanosilika, kalifornijsko merilo nosilnosti podlage ali temeljev, omakanje-sušenje
Abstract
Nanosilica has enormous potential for applications in pavement engineering. The present study evaluated the contribution of nanosilica as a secondary additive towards enhancement of the compressive strength of soil for its application in the construction of roads and embankments with lime as the primary additive. Considering both short-term and long-term curing, unconfined compressive strength tests were performed on soil modified with lime and the soil-lime mixture with the optimal proportion of nanosilica for curing periods of (0, 7, 14, 28, 90 and 120) days. Though lime-modified soil had good strength characteristics, the present study revealed an elevated compressive strength with the addition of the optimum dosage of nanosilica (0.75 % by mass of soil) in a short-time span. Strength improvement of 11.05 times and 17.57 times that of the virgin soil were achieved in the case of lime-modified soil without and with nanosilica, respectively. Durability tests were conducted to evaluate the effective contribution of nanosilica to the strength retention of soil subgrade subjected to wetting-drying and freeze-thaw cycles. The increase in the California bearing ratio (CBR) of the lime-modified soil without and with nanosilica by 4.23 times and 5.36 times that of the virgin soil demonstrated the efficacy of nanosilica in the reduction of pavement thickness. The study thus provided an improved assessment of the use of nanosilica for strengthening weak soil subgrade.
References
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16IS 1498, 1970 (Reaffirmed 2007): Classification and identification of soils for general engineering purposes, Bureau of Indian Standards.
17 IS 2720 Part 3,1980: Determination of specific gravity, Bureau of Indian Standards.
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20 IS 2720 Part 40, 1977 (Reaffirmed 2002): Determination of free swell index of soils, Bureau of Indian Standards.
21 IS 2720 Part 7, 1985 (Reaffirmed 2011) : Determination of water content - dry density relation using light compaction, Bureau of Indian Standards.
22 IS 2720 Part 10, 1991 (Reaffirmed 2006): Determination of unconfined compressive strength, Bureau of Indian Standards.
23 ASTM D6276, 2019 Standard Test Method for Using pH to Estimate the Soil-Lime Proportion Requirement, ASTM International.
24 A. Sridharan, P.V. Sivapullaiah, Mini Compaction Test Apparatus for Fine Grained Soils. Geotech. Test. J. 28 (2005) ,3: 240–246. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ12542
25 IS 2720 Part 16, 1987 (Reaffirmed 2002) : Laboratory determination of CBR, Bureau of Indian Standards.
26 G. Kannan, E.R. Sujatha, A review on the Choice of Nano-Silica as Soil Stabilizer. Silicon 14 2022, 6477-6492. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-021-01455-z/Published
27 A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei , Microstructure characteristics of cement-stabilized sandy soil using nanosilica. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 9 (2017) ,5, 981–988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2017.03.015
28 IS 4332-4 (1968): Methods of test for stabilized soils, Part 4: Wetting and drying, and freezing and thawing tests for compacted soil-cement mixtures. Bureau of Indian Standards.
29 K. Roshan, A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei, A.Fakhrabadi, The effect of adding polypropylene fibers on the freeze-thaw cycle durability of lignosulfonate stabilised clayey sand. Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. (2022), 193:103418. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COLDREGIONS.2021.103418
30 IRC: 37-2012: Tentative Guidelines for the design of flexible pavements, Indian Road Congress.
2 M.N. Agista, K. Guo , Z. Yu A state-of-the-art review of nanoparticles application in petroleum with a focus on enhanced oil recovery, Appl. Sci. 8 (2018) 6, 871. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8060871
3 M.T. Maagi, S.D. Lupyana. G. Jun Nanotechnology in the petroleum industry: Focus on the use of nanosilica in oil-well cementing applications - A review, J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 193 (2020), 107397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2020.107397
4 E. Emmanuel, C.C.Lau, V.Anggraini, P. Pasbakhsh Stabilization of a soft marine clay using halloysite nanotubes: A multi-scale approach, Appl. Clay Sci. 173 (2019), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2019.03.014
5 J. Karimiazar, E. Sharifi Teshnizi, B.C. O’Kelly , S. Sadeghi, N. Karimizad, A. Yazdi R. Arjmandzadeh ,Effect of nano-silica on engineering properties of lime-treated marl soil. TRANSP GEOTECH 43 (2023), 101-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2023.101123
6 J. Krishnan , S. Shukla , The behaviour of soil stabilised with nanoparticles: an extensive review of the present status and its applications. Arab. J. Geosci. 12 (2019), 14, 436-460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4595-6
7 A.A. Sharo, A.S. Alawneh ,Enhancement of the Strength and Swelling Characteristics of Expansive Clayey Soil Using Nano-Clay Material. In: American Society of Civil Engineers Geo 647 Chicago 2016, Chicago, Illinois. (pp. 451–457)
8 F. Changizi, A. Haddad , Improving the geotechnical properties of soft clay with nano-silica particles. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng.: Ground Improv 170 (2017), 2, 62–71. https://doi.org/10.1680/JGRIM.15.00026
9 O.O. Ugwu, J.B. Arop, C.U. Nwoji , N.N. Osadebe, Nanotechnology as a Preventive Engineering Solution to Highway Infrastructure Failures. J. Constr. Eng. Manag. 139 (2013), 8, 987–993. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0000670
10 T.T.H. Nguyen, Y.J. Cui , V. Ferber, G. Herrier, T. Ozturk, F. Plier, D. Puiatti, S. Salager A.M. Tang, Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on mechanical strength of lime-treated fine-grained soils. TRANSP GEOTECH 21 (2019),100281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2019.100281
11 M. Nabil, A. Mustapha, S. Rios , Impact of wetting—drying cycles on the mechanical properties of lime-stabilized soils. Int. J. pavement res. Technol. 13 (2020), 1, 83–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-019-0088-y
12 J. James , S.V. Sivapriya, S. Ali, T.R. Madhu , B. Singh , Wetting and drying resistance of lime-stabilized expansive soils modified with nano-alumina. E-GFOS 12 (2021) , 22, 70–80. https://doi.org/10.13167/2021.22.6
13 G. Tebaldi, M. Orazi , U.S. Orazi, Effect of Freeze—Thaw Cycles on Mechanical Behavior of Lime-Stabilized Soil. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 28 (2016), 6 06016002. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0001509
14 I. Bozbey , M.K. Kelesoglu , B. Demir, M. Komut , S. Comez , T. Ozturk, A. Mert, K. Ocal, S. Oztoprak , Effects of soil pulverization level on resilient modulus and freeze and thaw resistance of a lime stabilized clay. Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 151(2018) , 323–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COLDREGIONS.2018.03.023
15 G. Aksu , T. Eskisar, The geomechanical properties of soils treated with nanosilica particles. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 15 (2023) ,4, 954–969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2022.06.013
16IS 1498, 1970 (Reaffirmed 2007): Classification and identification of soils for general engineering purposes, Bureau of Indian Standards.
17 IS 2720 Part 3,1980: Determination of specific gravity, Bureau of Indian Standards.
18 IS 2720 Part 4,1980 (Reaffirmed 2006) : Grain size analysis, Bureau of Indian Standards.
19 IS 2720 Part 5, 1985 (Reaffirmed 2006): Determination of liquid and plastic limit, Bureau of Indian Standards.
20 IS 2720 Part 40, 1977 (Reaffirmed 2002): Determination of free swell index of soils, Bureau of Indian Standards.
21 IS 2720 Part 7, 1985 (Reaffirmed 2011) : Determination of water content - dry density relation using light compaction, Bureau of Indian Standards.
22 IS 2720 Part 10, 1991 (Reaffirmed 2006): Determination of unconfined compressive strength, Bureau of Indian Standards.
23 ASTM D6276, 2019 Standard Test Method for Using pH to Estimate the Soil-Lime Proportion Requirement, ASTM International.
24 A. Sridharan, P.V. Sivapullaiah, Mini Compaction Test Apparatus for Fine Grained Soils. Geotech. Test. J. 28 (2005) ,3: 240–246. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ12542
25 IS 2720 Part 16, 1987 (Reaffirmed 2002) : Laboratory determination of CBR, Bureau of Indian Standards.
26 G. Kannan, E.R. Sujatha, A review on the Choice of Nano-Silica as Soil Stabilizer. Silicon 14 2022, 6477-6492. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-021-01455-z/Published
27 A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei , Microstructure characteristics of cement-stabilized sandy soil using nanosilica. J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 9 (2017) ,5, 981–988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2017.03.015
28 IS 4332-4 (1968): Methods of test for stabilized soils, Part 4: Wetting and drying, and freezing and thawing tests for compacted soil-cement mixtures. Bureau of Indian Standards.
29 K. Roshan, A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei, A.Fakhrabadi, The effect of adding polypropylene fibers on the freeze-thaw cycle durability of lignosulfonate stabilised clayey sand. Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. (2022), 193:103418. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COLDREGIONS.2021.103418
30 IRC: 37-2012: Tentative Guidelines for the design of flexible pavements, Indian Road Congress.
Published
2025-09-30
How to Cite
1.
Sakthi VinayagamP, Vijayasimhan S, MuniappanT. NANOSILICA AS AN AUXILIARY ADDITIVE IN BEHAVIOUR ENHANCEMENT OF WEAK SOIL SUBGRADE. MatTech [Internet]. 2025Sep.30 [cited 2025Nov.18];59(5):709–716. Available from: https://mater-tehnol.si/index.php/MatTech/article/view/1386
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