The Suitability Of Tarsand As A Stabilizing Agent For Lateritic Soils

Abstract

The suitability of tarsand as a stabilizing agent for lateritic soils was investigated in this study. This is to find a rather cheaper means of stabilizing lateritic soils that has become very important for the construction industry.
The soil samples were subjected to the general classification and strength tests. The strength tests are: the compaction, unconfined compression and California Bearing Ratio (CBR). Tarsand was introduced as stabilizer in 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 percentages.
The CBR, Maximum Dry Density (MDD) and unconfined compression values all decreased with increasing tarsand contents. For example, MDD reduced gradually from 1919 kgm-3 at 0% tarsand content to 1765 kgm-3 at 10% tarsand content, while CBR also reduced gradually from 21.0% at 0% tarsand content to 3.40% at 10% tarsand content. These results showed that tarsand is not a suitable stabilizing agent for lateritic soils, especially in the strength assessments.


IFE Journal of Science Vol. 9 (2) 2007 pp. 215-218