Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Expansive Soil Stabilization by Waste Marble Dust and Volcanic Ash: Experimental Approach in the Case of Lachi Area, Mekelle, Ethiopia

Abstract

Alula Araya Kassa* and Abdulaziz Osman Abdulkadr

Expansive soil deposits in the study area imposed multiple problems to various civil structures and require geotechnical solutions. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the possibility of utilizing waste marble dust and volcanic ash as soil stabilizers which are plentifully available in the vicinity. The evaluation was carried out with the addition of a predetermined percentage of the stabilizers up to 30% by mass measurement. The effects of the stabilizers on the different properties of the in-situ expansive soil sample were evaluated via experiments. The investigation showed that the physical properties and selling characteristics of the problematic soils have been improved significantly. Therefore, this study indicated that both waste marble dust (marble by-product) and volcanic ash (locally available material) can be used as stabilizers. It is also observed that the waste marble dust is more effective stabilizer than the volcanic ash for stabilizing the expansive soils of the study area due to the high concentration of calcium in the waste marble dusts. In the process, a base exchange occurs with the calcium ions of waste marble dust replacing sodium on the surface of the expansive clay particle.