A Laboratory model study on the performance of lime pile application for marine soils

Abstract

In this study, research was conducted to examine the performance of the lime pile application, a deep chemical stabilization method to improve the engineering characteristics of marine soil deposits. By using a laboratory-scale model, the marine soil sample was compacted into soil blocks in circular steel test tanks, with the installation of lime piles in them. An experimental program examined the effect of lime piles on physical and engineering properties of the soil in terms of curing periods and lime pile radial distances. Test results showed that clay fines, linear shrinkage, compressibility, and swelling pressure decreased, while permeability, preconsolidation pressure, and stiffness increased significantly with an increase in curing periods and within a close distance to the lime piles. Also, the electrical resistivity of the treated soils was examined to monitor the changes in their electrical properties. Finally, the correlation between the measured electrical resistivity and swell pressure values of the tested soils at different curing periods suggested that the electrical resistivity values can be used as a monitoring technique for deep chemical treatments of the subsurface soil.