Influence of freeze-thaw on strength of clayey soil stabilized with lime and perlite

Stabilization of clayey soil has been studied from past to present by mixing different additives to the soil to increase its strength and durability. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in stabilization of soils with natural pozzolans. Despite this, very few studies have investigated the impact of pozzolanic additives under freeze-thaw cycling. This paper presents the results of an experimental research study on the durability behavior of clayey soils treated with lime and perlite. For this purpose, soil was stabilized with 6% lime content by weight of dry soil (optimum lime ratio of the the soil), perlite was mixed with it in 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 25% and 30% proportions. Test specimens were compacted in the laboratory and cured for 7, 28 and 84 days, after which they were tested for unconfined compression tests. In addition to this, they were subjected to 12 closed system freeze-thaw cycles after curing for 28 days. The results show that the addition of perlite as a pozzolanic additive to lime stabilized soil improves the strength and durability. Unconfined compressive strength increases with increased perlite content. The findings indicate that using natural pozzolan which is cheaper than lime, has positive effect in strength and durability of soils and can result cost reduction of stabilization.