Journals Proceedings

Abstract

Peat soil has geotechnical properties such as high water content, high organic matter content, low shear strength, low bearing capacity and high compressibility which makes it as a difficult soil for construction of structures in its natural state. In Manipur, India around 4,24,000 hectares of land area is covered by peat soil, so, improvement mechanism is needed for construction of structures upon it. Industries are very less in Manipur, so commonly used stabilising industry by products like fly ash, lime etc are not economically available. Therefore, locally available admixtures such as stone dust ( S D) and kiln dust (K D) have been selected for stabilization of peat soil. Admixtures are mixed with peat soil in different seven (7) percentages: 0%, 2%, 5%, 8%, 10%, 12%, and 15%, respectively. Again the peat soil is also mixed with both stone dust (S D) and kiln dust (K D) in the ratio of (soil: stone dust: kiln dust); 94:3:3, 92:4:4, 90:5:5, 88:6:6 and 86:7:7. Proctor compaction test, Unconfined compressive strength test, triaxial shear strength test and California bearing ratio tests are conducted on stabilised soil to determine admixture impact on peat soil properties. Laboratory test results shows that Maximum dry density (MDD) and unconfined compressive strength of stabilised soil are maximum at 10% of admixtures. Maximum value of shear strength are observed at 8%, for soils with KD and SD+KD, & at 5% for soils with SD. CBR values increases in all cases & bearing capacity is maximum at 8%. Results of this study show that, if properly optimized, the use of these locally available admixtures may be a viable alternative for the stabilization of peat soil.