PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF BLACK COTTON SOIL TREATED WITH GRANITE DUST AND LIME

Generally black cotton soils are not good for road construction or for the construction of foundation. These soils are expansive clays which have high potential for shrinkage or swelling when there is a chance of change in moisture content. A laboratory study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of granite dust and lime as a soil stabilizer. Soil sample containing granite dust (0, 10, 20, 30%) and lime (3, 4, 5, 6 %) by weight of soil were prepared and compaction characteristics, variation in free swell index, variation in plasticity index and California bearing ratio test were conducted accordingly by IS code of practice. These tests are repeated on sample of soil mixed with different percentage of granite dust and lime in order to examine modifications in geo-technical properties of soil. The conclusions from the test results explains that the Compaction parameters, CBR and DFS values of the soil are improved greatly with the addition of the granite dust and lime. The conclusion that was drawn from the experimental work is that the expansive clay like black cotton soil can be stabilized by the combination of granite dust and lime to control its swell nature and to increase the bearing stability.