69

Civil Engineering Dimension, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, 69-76

ISSN 1410-9530 print / ISSN 1979-570X online

Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk
Stabilization


Chan, C-M.
1
and Mokhtar, M.
2





Abstract: Cement is widely used for improvement of soft soils, but financial and environmental
concerns are causing genuine concerns to all parties, leading to the quest for alternative and
effective stabilizers. Ricehusk is an agricultural waste in Malaysia, commonly disposed of by
open burning or dumping in landfills. Considering that the ashes derived from ricehusk are
pozzolanic in nature, there is a possibility that a cement-ricehusk mixture could effectively
improve soft soils with reduced cement dosage. This study examines the mixtures effectiveness
by monitoring the settlement reduction in a clay soil. Standard oedometer tests were carried out
on a soft marine clay sample admixed with cement-ricehusk. Test specimens contained 0-10%
cement and 0-5% of ricehusk respectively, and were left to cure for either seven or 28 days. The
stabilized specimens were observed to undergo significant reduction in compressibility, verifying
the potential of cement-ricehusk as an alternative soft soil stabilizer.

Keywords: Ricehusk, settlement control, soft soil.



Introduction

In order to erect infrastructure and buildings over
soft ground, either specially designed foundation
systems or ground improvement works are required.
The former is long proven effective, but economic,
environmental as well sustainability issues are fast
making the approach undesirable. The latter,
however, show trends of practitioners seeking alter-
native materials to the already-established installa-
tion methods. This is primarily to address and
mitigate the long term negative impact of physical
development on all aspects of modern living, i.e.
sustainability.

The Deep Mixing Method (DMM), a deep in-situ soil
stabilization technique using cement and lime as a
stabilizing agent, was developed in Japan and the
Scandinavian countries independently in 1970s.
Numerous research efforts have been carried out in
the area to examine properties of the treated soil,
behavior of DMM improved ground under static and
dynamic loading conditions, design methods as well
as execution techniques [1].


1
Senior Lecturer/Research Fellow, Research Centre for Soft Soils
(RECESS), Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Parit Raja,
Batu Pahat, Johor, MALAYSIA. Email: [email protected]
2
Research Fellow, Research Centre for Soft Soils (RECESS),
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Tun
Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat,
Johor, MALAYSIA. Email: [email protected]

Note: Discussion is expected before November, 1
st
2012, and will be
published in the Civil Engineering Dimension volume 15, number
1, March 2013.

Received 19 August 2011; revised 19 May 2012; accepted 27 June
2012.
The purposes of introducing stabilizing agents to soft
soils can be summarized as strength enhancement,
deformation control, increased dynamic stiffness,
and remediation of contaminated soils. The advan-
tages of soil stabilization include being economical,
flexibility in applications, and minimal production of
spoil for disposal [2].

There are many types of stabilizing agents that
possess hardening properties, and various studies
have been published on the stabilization effects of
these stabilizing agents. According to Sing et al. [3],
the most important criterion in the selection of
suitable stabilizing agents is their capability of
achieving the desirable soil stabilizing function. With
the appropriate choice of stabilizing agents, soil
stabilization by suitable chemical admixture can
increase shear strength and bearing capacity, reduce
permeability and compressibility, and improve
swelling characteristics of soft soils.

In soil stabilization, cement and lime are the two
main materials used as stabilizing agents. However
these materials have rapidly increased in prices due
to the sharp rise in the cost of energy production as
well as the raw ingredients. Ordinary Portland
cement is chosen as the main stabilizing agent for
this study due to its availability in the country. In
addition, as suggested by Broms [4], cement is
preferable compared to lime for soft soil stabilization
in this region, as cement is cheaper and easier to
preserve in the hot and humid climate.

Referring to Romano and Rodrigues [5], Portland
cement is produced at temperatures around 1500C,
where raw materials such as calcium carbonates are
Chan, C-M. et al.. / Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk Stabilization / CED, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, pp. 6976
70
thermally decomposed, generating considerable
amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Indeed, the
production of 1000 kg of cement requires 100 kg of
fossil fuel and generates 1000 kg of CO2. Therefore,
replacing portions of Portland cement in soil
stabilization with a potentially cementitious or
reinforcing material like ricehusk (RH) can help
reducing the overall environmental impact of the soil
stabilization method.

According to Basha et al. [6], as a result of the
increase in the amount of solid waste all over the
globe, engineers and researchers are obliged to carry
out investigations to find useful applications for such
wastes. The disposal of the abundant agriculture
wastes like RH in Malaysia clearly poses a pressing
sustainability and environmental preservation issue.
Since open burning is no longer permitted due to
environmental concerns [7], various ensuing
problems caused by irresponsible disposal of RH
have arisen. This can be avoided by finding suitable
engineering applications for its afterlife, such as
being used as lightweight backfill materials in
geotechnical projects.

Notwithstanding the fact that ricehusk ash (RHA)
show desirable bonding potential due to its high of
siliceous content, such as demonstrated by Rahman
[8] and Muntohar [9-11], there remains a number of
undecided fundamental issues, such as quality
control of the ash produced, high energy consump-
tion for the conversion process as well uncertain long
term environmental impact due to chemical reac-
tions in the ground.

In an effort to reuse the large quantities of RH as
they are, this study was carried out to examine the
possibility of combining the waste material with
cement for settlement control of soft ground. The
cement-RH treated soil, prepared at a range of mix
ratios, was subjected to standard laboratory1-
dimensional compressibility test.

Materials and Methods

Clay Soil

The disturbed clay samples were collected from 1-2
m depth of the test site of RECESS (Research Centre
for Soft Soils) by using a motorized auger. The clay
was dark grey in colour with small contents of
organic matter (see Table 1 and Figure 1). The
freshly retrieved clay samples were first wrapped
with layers of cling film, then tightly bound in plastic
bags to prevent moisture loss during transportation
and storage. The clay was remolded at its natural
water content before being formed into test speci-
mens.

Table 1. Chemical Compositions for Clay, Cement and
Ricehusk
Chemical composition
Concentration (%)
Clay Cement Ricehusk
SiO2 Silica dioxide 61.40 19.00 73.30
K2O Potassium 2.21 0.83 6.45
Fe2O3 Ferric oxide 5.22 2.58 3.74
SO3 Sulfite 4.58 5.62 2.96
CaO Calcium oxide 0.15 65.10 1.65
MgO Magnesium oxide 1.27 1.47 1.20
Al2O3 Alluminium oxide 23.80 4.68 0.84
CO2 Carbon dioxide 0.10 0.10 0.10
Cl Chloride - - 1.05



Figure 1. Particle Size Distribution of Clay and RH
Chan, C-M. et al.. / Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk Stabilization / CED, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, pp. 6976
71
Ordinary Portland Cement

The ordinary Portland cement (see Table 1 and
Figure 2) was first oven-dried at 105C for 24 hours
before being stored in airtight containers to maintain
the consistency (i.e. removal of entrapped moisture
content). Cement was added to the clay in the amount
of 0, 5, and 10%, by mass, of the mass of the clay.

Ricehusk (RH)

Similar with cement, the RH was oven-dried at 105
C for 24 hours to remove any entrapped moisture
(see Table 1, Figures 1 and 2). The dried RH was
next ground and sieved, where only portions finer
than 425 m were used. The RH dosage ranged
between 0 to 5% (see Table 2), based on dry mass of
the clay soil. These percentages were selected based
on Ibrahims work [12], which focused on the
unconfined compressive strength of the same clay
soil admixed with 5% cement and 2-3% RH. The
resulting strengths (qu) were all lower than for the
specimen with 5% cement addition. This was most
likely due to the relatively large particle size of RH
used, i.e. 1-4 mm, causing segregation and prefe-
rential shear planes within the specimens. Hence the
present study adopted the same dosages (and more)
but finer RH particles in an attempt to evaluate the
settlement reduction potential of the cement-RH
mix.

Figure 2 shows the physical quantities of various
percentages of cement and RH. As clearly shown, the
physical amount of 5% cement (5C) is not much
different from that of 2% RH (2RH) due to the lower
density of RH (Gs for cement and RH are 3.12 and
1.37 respectively). Therefore a seemingly small
dosage increment of 0.5% RH translates to a
significant amount in terms of physical quantity.



Figure 2. Physical Quantities of Various Percentages of
Cement and RH


Preparation of Specimens

The remolded clay sample was mixed with the
required amount of cement and/or RH at their
natural water content. Next, the clay, cement and
RH were thoroughly mixed in a conventional food
mixer. To avoid spillage, the food mixer was run at a
low speed for the first minute, after which the
mixing process was stopped to scrape off the
materials stuck on the mixing paddle and sides of
the bowl. Mixing was then resumed for another 2-3
minutes, until a homogeneous clay-additive paste
was formed. The mixing process took approximately
5 minutes, as recommended in EuroSoilStab [2].

The mixture was compacted in the oedometer ring,
measuring 75 mm in diameter and 20 mm high, in
two layers of 75 g each. Each layer was tamped and
compacted with custom-made miniature compaction
tools in the same manner. The top of each compacted
layer was scarified before placement of the following
layer to improve bonding between the layers.
Finally, the specimen was wrapped with cling film
and kept in a tightly closed bucket partially filled
with a bleach solution, for prevention of fungal
growth on the specimen. The specimens were left to
cure for seven and 28 days before tests. Details of the
test specimens are given in Table 2. Note that the
10C specimen was meant to serve as a target
strength specimen, for comparison with the cement-
RH-stabilized specimens, which contained only 5%
cement.

Table 2. Test Specimens: Labels and Descriptions
Specimen Description
CONTROL Clay + 0 % cement + 0 % ricehusk
5C Clay + 5 % cement
10C Clay + 10 % cement
5C2RH Clay + 5 % cement + 2 % ricehusk
5C3.5RH Clay + 5 % cement + 3.5 % ricehusk
5C5RH Clay + 5 % cement + 5 % ricehusk

Oedometer Tests

The oedometer test was carried out based on the
procedure given in BS1377: 1990: Part 5 [13]. The
specimen was allowed to drain freely from the top
and bottom surfaces with the placement of porous
discs. Each specimen was loaded up to 1600 kPa
before being unloaded following the same sequence
in reverse. Each loading and unloading stage was
left for 24 hours and the vertical displacements were
automatically logged with a PC-based system. Note
that consolidation was observed to have completed
within the adopted time lapse for all specimens.



Figure 2. Physical quantities of various percentages of cement and RH.

5C 2RH 3.5RH 5RH

Figure 2. Physical quantities of various percentages of cement and RH.

5C 2RH 3.5RH 5RH
Chan, C-M. et al.. / Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk Stabilization / CED, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, pp. 6976
72
Results Analysis and Discussions

Nominal Zero of Vertical Stress

In an oedometer test, the self-weight of the top
loading cap should be taken into account as part of
the total vertical load acting on the soil specimen
[14]. This is especially important for the unstabilized
soft clay specimens that tend to deform even under
the slightest load imposed. For the present study, the
oedometer had a top cap that weighed 388 g,
equivalent to a vertical stress of about 8 kPa, which
was taken as the initial stress at the beginning of all
the tests.

Effective Yield Stress

The apparent consolidation yield stress is roughly
equivalent to the pressure at which the stabilized
specimen bonds begin to fail during compression
[15]. The yield stresses, y', obtained using the
regression line (RL) fitting method proposed by Chan
[14], is shown in Figure 3. Intersection of the normal
consolidation line (NCL) and the initial loading line
defines y'.

Figure 4 shows a plot of y' against curing time both
the unstabilized and stabilized specimens. Note that
y' increased with cement and RH contents, where
y' is found to be in the range of 58-150 kPa.
Prolonged curing also increased y', with higher RH
contributing to the reduced settlement. This strongly
indicates the cementatious potential of RH when
used in combination with cement in enhancing the
stiffness of an originally soft, weak material. Indeed,
it is apparent that 5C5RH (28d) surpassed 10C (7d)
in settlement reduction. As such, for field
implementation, the same target stiffness can be
achieved with the savings of 50% cement, on
condition a 1-month rest period is acceptable.

Compressibility

Figure 5 and Table 3 give the compression curves
and oedometer test results respectively for the 7-day
old specimens. The compression curve of the
unstabilized soil (CONTROL) is well below those of
the stabilized specimens, and generally the vertical
strain decreased with increased cement-RH content.
This points towards important role cementation
plays in reducing the settlement. It was also
observed that with increased cement-RH content as
well as the curing period, compressibility was
markedly improved. Figures 6 to 8 show the
compression curves of specimen pairs with the same
cement-RH content but different curing periods (i.e.
seven and 28 days). The settlement reduction was
found to be in the range of 6.9-9.4%. This can be
clearly attributed to the presence of RH, where the
formation of cementitious gel filled the voids in the
specimen, consequently stiffening it with an
enhanced structure for load-bearing. This was
manifested in the reduced compressibility over time
as well as with increased cement-RH dosages.


Figure 3. y' Obtained using the RL Fitting Method
Chan, C-M. et al.. / Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk Stabilization / CED, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, pp. 6976
73



Figure 4. y' - Curing Time


Table 3. Settlements at Various Effective Stresses (7-day specimens)
Effective stress (kPa)
Settlement (mm)
5C 10C 5C2RH 5C3.5RH 5C5RH
25 0.110 0.020 0.115 0.103 0.096
50 0.799 0.027 0.674 0.545 0.365
100 1.746 0.405 1.431 1.392 1.134
200 3.095 1.393 2.676 2.469 2.438
400 4.530 2.700 3.924 3.877 3.808
800 5.902 4.247 5.382 5.224 5.149
1600 7.560 5.572 6.759 6.534 6.503




Figure 5. The Compressibility Results for the Oedometer Test (seven days).
Chan, C-M. et al.. / Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk Stabilization / CED, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, pp. 6976
74


Figure 6. The Compression Curves for 5C2RH at Seven and 28 Days



Figure 7. The Compression Curves for 5C3.5RH at Seven and 28 Days



Figure 8. The Compression Curves for 5C5RH at Seven and 28 Days
Chan, C-M. et al.. / Settlement Control of Soft Ground using Cement-Ricehusk Stabilization / CED, Vol. 14, No. 2, September 2012, pp. 6976
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Coefficient of Consolidation (cv)

Determination of cv is based on two curve fitting
methods, namely the logarithm of time (Casagrande)
and square root of time (Taylor) methods. Table 4
shows the cv values determined with both methods.
As the difference for cv was small, i.e. in the range of
2.1-13.5 %, it is suggestive that the method used for
the determination of cv did not have a significant
effect on the results.

An important effect of soil stabilization with cement
is increased cv values [16], Table 4 shows that cv
values for the stabilized specimens in the pre-yield
region are almost 30 times greater than CONTROL.
On the other hand, in the post-yield region, cv values
of the stabilized specimens are 15-17 times that of
CONTROL. This implies effective settlement reduc-
tion with the introduction of cement-RH in the clay
soil. The positive effect of stabilization with cement-
RH agrees well with findings by a number of past
researchers [17,18]

Coefficient of Volume Compressibility (mv)

The high value of mv underlines the reduction of
compressibility of the soil [19]. Table 5 shows the mv
values for the stabilized and unstabilized specimens
at pre- and post-yield regions. Apparently mv for the
stabilized specimen was lower than that of the
CONTROL, again proving that the stabilized
specimens were stiffer than the untreated one.

Similar findings were reported by Rao and Shiva-
nanda [20], who studied the compressibility of lime-
treated clay. They found that mv decreased with
increased lime addition in the clay soils, where the
initially soft soil was transformed into a stronger and
stiffer material.

Table 4. cv Values for Stabilized Specimen and Unstabilized
Clay (7 days)
Specimen

Pressure
(kPa)
cv (m
2
/year)
%
Difference
Log Time
(log t)
Root Time
(t)
Clay
50 0.21 0.20 2.5
800 0.06 0.06 2.1
5C5RH
50 5.85 5.11 13.5
800 0.90 0.99 9.6

Table 5. mv Values for Stabilized Specimen and Unstabilized
Clay (7 days)
Specimen Pressure (kPa) mv (m
2
/MN)
Clay
50 1.35
800 0.22
5C5RH
50 0.54
800 0.21
In general, mv values in the pre-yield region were
lower than those in the post-yield region. At high v'
(e.g. 800 kPa), regardless of the presence and dosage
of cement-RH, the mv values tend to converge. This
is observed as the compression curves, post-yield,
gradually folding into one. A plausible explanation is
the gradual deterioration of the cemented structure
beyond y, where the continuously increased stress
damages and breaks the cemented bonds. As this
destructuring progresses, the treated clay would
revert to its normally consolidated condition, i.e.
tracing the virgin compression line.

Conclusions

From the one-dimensional compressibility test, settle-
ment was found to decrease with increased cement-
RH content. This exemplified the stiffening effect on
the initially soft clay soil. Settlement reduction
within the range of 6.9-9.4% was recorded for
specimens with the same cement-RH content but
different curing periods, i.e. seven and 28 days. This
indicates the positive effect of prolonged curing on
the reduced compressibility of cement-RH stabilized
soils.

The cv and mv values of the cement-RH specimens
were markedly improved in comparison with the
original clay specimen, i.e. 96% increase for cv and
60% decrease for mv. This shows effective settlement
reduction. It is worth noting that excessive high
loads post-yield can lead to destructuring and
eventual collapse of the stabilized material, as
demonstrated by the significant settlements beyond
y in the compression curves.

Acknowledgement

Financial support by the following three respective
parties is duly acknowledged: (1) Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation, Malaysia, (2) Ministry of
Higher Education, Malaysia and (3) UTHMs Research
and Innovation Centre. The authors also extend
their sincere thanks to the management and staff at
RECESS, UTHM.

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