Investigation of the Strength Properties of Clayey Soils Stabilized with Rice Husk Ash Lime and Cement

Abstract

This study investigates the improvement of a highly plastic clay soil using lime, cement, and rice husk ash, as well as the effects of these additives on the soil’s strength properties. In the experimental program, a clay sample obtained from Asilbeyli Village in Kırklareli Province was used. After determining the engineering properties of the natural soil, lime, cement, and rice husk ash were added to the soil in different proportions, both individually and in various combinations. Subsequently, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test specimens were prepared. The specimens were cured for 1, 7, 28, and 90 days, after which UCS and CBR tests were conducted. The results indicated that lime and cement significantly improved the soil strength, while rice husk ash, owing to its pozzolanic properties, further enhanced the effectiveness of these additives. In particular, for the lime–rice husk ash combination, the unconfined compressive strength increased approximately sevenfold, and the CBR value increased fivefold after 90 days of curing. The use of rice husk ash provides a sustainable approach to soil improvement from both economic and environmental perspectives. Therefore, the combination of rice husk ash with lime and cement emerges as an effective and eco-friendly alternative for enhancing the bearing capacity of weak soils.

Keywords

• Soil stabilization
• rice husk ash
• lime
• cement
• unconfined compressive strength.

Pirinç Kabuğu Külü, Kireç ve Çimento ile İyileştirilen Killi Zeminlerin Dayanım Özelliklerinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, yüksek plastisiteli killi bir zeminin kireç, çimento ve pirinç kabuğu külü ile iyileştirilmesi ve bu iyileştirmelerin zeminin dayanım özelliklerine etkileri araştırılmıştır. Deneysel çalışmalarda, Kırklareli İli Asilbeyli Köyü’nden temin edilen bir kil numunesi kullanılmıştır. Doğal zeminin mühendislik özellikleri belirlendikten sonra, zemine farklı oranlarda kireç, çimento ve pirinç kabuğu külü katkıları hem tek başına hem de çeşitli kombinasyonlar hâlinde ilave edilmiştir. Daha sonra serbest basınç ve California Taşıma Oranı (CBR) deney numuneleri hazırlanmıştır. Numuneler 1, 7, 28 ve 90 günlük kür sürelerine tabi tutularak serbest basınç mukavemeti ve CBR deneyleri gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, kireç ve çimento katkılarının zeminin dayanımını önemli ölçüde artırdığını, pirinç kabuğu külünün ise puzolanik özellikleri sayesinde bu katkıların etkinliğini belirgin biçimde yükselttiğini göstermiştir. Özellikle kireç–pirinç kabuğu külü kombinasyonunda, 90 günlük kür sonunda serbest basınç dayanımının yaklaşık yedi kat, CBR değerinin ise beş kat arttığı belirlenmiştir. Pirinç kabuğu külü kullanımı hem ekonomik hem de çevresel açıdan sürdürülebilir bir zemin iyileştirme yaklaşımı sunmaktadır. Bu nedenle, kireç ve çimento ile birlikte pirinç kabuğu külü kullanımı, zayıf zeminlerin taşıma gücünü artırmada etkili ve çevre dostu bir alternatif olarak öne çıkmaktadır.

Keywords

• Zemin iyileştirilmesi
• pirinç kabuğu külü
• kireç
• çimento
• serbest basınç mukavemeti.

References

1. T. S. Amhadi and G. J. Assaf, ‘Overview of Soil Stabilization Methods in Road Construction’, in Sustainable Solutions for Railways and Transportation Engineering, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019, pp. 21–33. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-01911-2_3.
2. J. G. W. Tom and T. A. LongJohn, ‘Utilization of Laterite Soil Stabilized With Quarry Dust and Lime As Subgrade Material’, Journal of Architecture and Civil Engineering, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 18–22, 2022.
3. K. Piechowicz, S. Szymanek, J. Kowalski, and M. Lendo-Siwicka, ‘Stabilization of Loose Soils as Part of Sustainable Development of Road Infrastructure’, Sustainability, vol. 16, no. 9, p. 3592, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.3390/su16093592.
4. M. M. Bessaim, A. Bessaim, H. Missoum, and K. Bendani, ‘Effect of quick lime on physicochemical properties of clay soil’, in MATEC Web of Conferences, EDP Sciences, 2018, p. 02065.
5. C. J. E. Denayer, A. Kumar, and L. C. Soporan, ‘Soil Treatment with Lime for Earthworks: An Economical and Sustainable Solution’, in Geotechnics for Transportation Infrastructure, vol. 28, Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2019, pp. 203–215.
6. V. K. Pandey, S. Dhiman, and K. Bharti, ‘A Review on the Use of Lime in Soil Stabilization’, Latest Trends in Engineering and Technology, pp. 414–421, 2024.
7. B. S. Chun, S. S. Kim, and K. H. Koh, ‘Soil improvement by quick lime mixing’, The KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 17, pp. 589–596, 1997.
8. L. C. Soporan, ‘Soil Treatment with Lime for Earthworks: An Economical and Sustainable Solution’, in Geotechnics for Transportation Infrastructure, vol. 28, Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2019, pp. 203–215.

9. A. Zivari, M. Siavoshnia, and H. Rezaei, ‘Effect of lime-rice husk ash on geotechnical properties of loess soil in Golestan province, Iran’, Geo-Engineering, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 20, Nov. 2023, doi: 10.1186/s40703-023-00199-6.
10. F. Tarhuni, M. Uddin, and Z. Hossain, ‘Sustainable Soil Stabilization Approach Utilizing Rice Husk Ash and Hydrated Lime for Enhancing Poor Subgrade Soil in Arkansas’, Advances in Civil Engineering, vol. 2024, no. 1, p. 8205679, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.1155/2024/8205679.
11. B. H. J. Pushpakumara and W. S. W. Mendis, ‘Suitability of Rice Husk Ash (RHA) with lime as a soil stabilizer in geotechnical applications’, Geo-Engineering, vol. 13, no. 1, p. 4, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1186/s40703-021-00169-w.
12. B. Jayo and G. Durán, ‘Mechanical behavior of low plasticity clay soil stabilized with rice husk ash’, in Materials Science Forum, Trans Tech Publ, 2022, pp. 195–199.
13. P. Malathi, K. Preetha, D. Selvi, E. Parameswari, S. P. Thamaraiselvi, and K. M. Sellamuthu, ‘Eco-friendly utilization of rice husk ash for amending acid soils’, 2025.
14. Z. Eliaslankaran, N. N. N. Daud, Z. M. Yusoff, and V. Rostami, ‘Evaluation of the Effects of Cement and Lime with Rice Husk Ash as an Additive on Strength Behavior of Coastal Soil. Materials 2021, 14, 1140’. 2021.
15. X. Jiang, Z. Huang, F. Ma, and X. Luo, ‘Analysis of Strength Development and Soil–Water Characteristics of Rice Husk Ash–Lime Stabilized Soft Soil’, Materials, vol. 12, no. 23, p. 3873, Jan. 2019, doi: 10.3390/ma12233873.
16. K. I. Keshani, N. M. N. T. Narasinghe, and K. H. S. M. Sampath, ‘The Effect of Lime and Cement on Rice Husk Ash-Based Peat Stabilization: A Sustainable Ground Improvement Technique’, Indian Geotech J, June 2025, doi: 10.1007/s40098-025-01308-1.
17. Y. Liu et al., ‘Stabilization of expansive soil using cementing material from rice husk ash and calcium carbide residue’, Construction and Building Materials, vol. 221, pp. 1–11, 2019.
18. K. I. Keshani, N. M. N. T. Narasinghe, and K. H. S. M. Sampath, ‘The Effect of Lime and Cement on Rice Husk Ash-Based Peat Stabilization: A Sustainable Ground Improvement Technique’, Indian Geotech J, June 2025, doi: 10.1007/s40098-025-01308-1.
19. M. R. Asgari, A. Baghebanzadeh Dezfuli, and M. Bayat, ‘Experimental study on stabilization of a low plasticity clayey soil with cement/lime’, Arab J Geosci, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 1439–1452, Mar. 2015, doi: 10.1007/s12517-013-1173-1.
20. A. A. M. Adam, I. A. Ibrahim, A. J. Alhardllo, A. M. Hadi, and M. Y. Ibrahim, ‘Effect of Hydrated Lime on Behavior of Expansive Soil as Subgrade of Flexible Pavement Structural System’, in Sustainable Construction Materials 2012, Wuhan, China: American Society of Civil Engineers, Dec. 2012, pp. 64–76. doi: 10.1061/9780784412671.0006.
21. J. Zeng, Z.-B. Deng, X. Lan, and Q. Sheng, ‘Experimental study on properties of high liquid limit soil and red clay of Zhucheng Highway.’, Rock and Soil Mechanics, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 89–92, 2006.
22. S. R. Salih and Q. S. M. Shafiqu, ‘Effect of treating expansive soil with lime’, Al-Nahrain Journal for Engineering Sciences, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 226–233, 2024.
23. Y. Yudiawati and N. Fitriah, ‘Peningkatan Parameter Mekanis Tanah Lempung Plastisitas Tinggi sebagai Bahan Timbunan dengan Penambahan Kapur’, Jurnal Serambi Engineering, vol. 7, no. 4, 2022.
24. K. Sharma and A. Kumar, ‘Influence of rice husk ash, lime and cement on compaction and strength properties of copper slag’, Transportation Geotechnics, vol. 27, p. 100464, 2021.
25. M. Y. Fattah, F. H. Rahil, and K. Y. Al-Soudany, ‘Improvement of clayey soil characteristics using rice husk ash’, Journal of Civil Engineering and Urbanism, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 12–18, 2013.
26. H. Phai and A. Eisazadeh, ‘Compaction properties of rice husk ash-lime-Bangkok clay mixtures’, Key Engineering Materials, vol. 803, pp. 331–337, 2019.
27. N. Nahar, S. K. Khan, and Z. Hossain, ‘Impact of Rice Husk Ash on the Compaction Characteristics of Soil’, Jagannath University Journal of Science, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 87–93, 2023.
28. J. Ma, Y. Su, Y. Liu, and X. Tao, ‘Strength and Microfabric of Expansive Soil Improved with Rice Husk Ash and Lime’, Advances in Civil Engineering, vol. 2020, no. 1, p. 9646205, Jan. 2020, doi: 10.1155/2020/9646205.
29. M. Alhassan and M. M. Alhaji, ‘Effect of rice husk ash on cement stabilized laterite’, Leonardo Electronic Journal of Practices and Technologies, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 47–58, 2007.
30. A. Roy, ‘Soil stabilization using rice husk ash and cement’, International journal of civil engineering research, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 49–54, 2014.
31. B. Kanddulna, N. Kisku, K. Murari, and J. P. Singh, ‘Experimental study of clayey soil with lime and rice husk ash’, International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT), vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 365–372, 2016.
32. M. Alhassan, ‘Permeability of lateritic soil treated with lime and rice husk ash’, Assumption University Journal of Technology, vol. 12, 2008.
33. S. Dhar and M. Hussain, ‘Experimental Investigation on Strength and Bearing Capacity Improvement of a High Plasticity Clayey Subgrade Soil Using Lime’, Key Engineering Materials, vol. 803, pp. 200–206, 2019.
34. S. Naseer, M. W. Alam, I. Haider, and M. S. Faiz, ‘Evaluation of Engineering Properties of Clayey Soils using Lime’, in 2nd International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering, Management and Sciences” December, 2016, pp. 28–30.
35. Y. Zaika and E. A. Suryo, ‘The durability of lime and rice husk ash improved expansive soil’, GEOMATE Journal, vol. 18, no. 65, pp. 171–178, 2020.
36. J. Bindu and A. Ramabhadran, ‘Study on cement stabilized Kuttanad clay’, in Proc., Indian Geotechnical Conf, 2011, pp. 465–468.
37. N. J. Ogbuagua, E. A. Echiegub, and U. J. Jenice Chiwetalua, ‘Evaluation of rice husk ash and Portland cement reinforced clay for use as road subgrade using the CBR test’, Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 65–70, 2018.