Journal of GeoEngineering, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp.

081-090, September 2021 81

http://dx.doi.org/10.6310/jog.202109_16(3).1

THE BEHAVIOR OF THE CLAY SHALE STABILIZED BY DRY AND

WET CEMENT MIXING METHOD

Edi Hartono 1, Sri Prabandiyani R. Wardani 2, and Agus Setyo Muntohar 3∗

ABSTRACT
Cement stabilization has been found to improve the problematic soil effectively. Durability is an important aspect of clay
shale stability. Measurement for the durability of stabilized soil has been developed for many years. This paper proposes the
investigation of clay shale durability stabilized with cement by dry and sprayed pulverizing and tested by the wetting-drying cycle
in the slaking test. The specimen was made according to ASTM standard weight for slaking test. The sample was molded with two
types of mold in this study: compacted cylinders (CCS) measuring 1.35 inches in diameter and 1.35 inches in height, and compacted
cylinders then broken into 40 ~ 60 g weight fragments (CBF). The cement content was varied from 2 to 10 percent by weight of the
dry soil. The results conclude that the CBF specimen shows a higher durability value. In general, the dynamic slake durability index
is about 85% lower than the static slake durability index for Id ≤ 60. This study has identified that the dry and spray pulverizing
mixing methods result in soil stabilization. Dry cement mixing exhibits a higher slake durability index but has a lower unconfined
compressive strength than spray mixing.

Key words: Clay shale, durability, slaking, cement stabilization, dry and spray mixing.

1. INTRODUCTION

Toll road project in Java island has been built along 615 km
at the north of Java from 2011 to 2018. Road construction was
often found over the problematic soil, such as soft soil near the
marine area, red residual soil, clay shale at a mountainous area,
and expansive clay. The subgrade's durability is the most im-
portant consideration during the road pavement's service period.
A prior researcher reported a construction problem in the clay
shale area (Alatas et al. 2015; Muhrozi and Wardani 2011).
Shotcrete protection and nailing help to prevent clay shale disin-
tegration caused by the weathering process. On the other hand,
weathering reduces the stability's endurance method (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Shotcrete cracks and failure at Bawen toll road
Cement stabilization significantly improves and effectively
increases the durability of soil (Basha et al. 2005; Prusinski and
Bhattacharja 1999; Yoobanpot et al. 2017). Among other calci- in higher soil strength than the dry mixing. Cement-slurry mixing
um-rich-stabilizers such as lime, fly ash, or rice husk ash, only results in an earlier hydration process and a rapid strength gained
cement has a hydration reaction, resulting in a quick stabilization of the stabilized soil. Limited research provides a comparative
process (Sariosseiri and Muhunthan 2009). Recently, dry-mixing study on the wet-mixing method. In addition, researchers have
is the standard method to prepare the specimen for stabilization, never compared dry and spray pulverizing mixing processes.
while cement slurry is used for the wet-mixing method. Dixon et Furthermore, the specimen shape also plays a role in durability
al. (2012) showed that soil stabilizing using cement slurry indi- index development. According to the research conducted by An-
cates lower strength than the dry-mixing method. Meanwhile, kara et al. (2015) and Agustawijaya (2004), further investigation
Pakbaz and Farzi (2015) found that the wet mixing method results is needed to assess the durability index for different specimen
preparation and stabilizing methods.
This paper investigates the slake durability index of cement
stabilized clay shale using dry and spray pulverized mixing
Manuscript received January 2, 2021; revised July 30, 2021;
methods. The main objective of the research is to investigate the
accepted August 1, 2021.
1 Assistant Professor, Department Civil Engineering, Universitas Mu- slaking durability of cement-stabilized clay shale with different
hammadiyah Yogyakarta, 55183, Indonesia. specimen preparation. The effect of cement on the unconfined
2 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Diponegoro University, compressive strength and permeability of the compacted clay
Semarang, 50241, Indonesia. shale is also evaluated in this study. Furthermore, since the
3* Professor (corresponding author), Department Civil Engineering, available standard for slaking test is for a natural fragment, this
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, 55183, Indonesia (e-mail: paper proposes preparing the specimen to determine the slaking
[email protected]). durability. This study evaluated two different preparation meth-
82 Journal of GeoEngineering, Vol. 16, No. 3, September 2021

ods, namely compacted specimen cylinders (CCS) and bro- 2.2 Cement and Cement Slurry
ken-compacted cylinders (CBF).
According to the PCA (Portland Cement Association, 1992),
cement can be added up to 11% by weight for compaction tests
2. MATERIALS and wetting-drying tests on sedimentary rock (shell, limestone, red
dog, shale, caliche, chert, and chat). Type I cement was used in this
2.1 Clay Shale study. The available cement in Indonesia is a typical portland ce-
ment composite (PCC). The cement met the requirement of Indo-
Clay shale is one type of mudrock. Shale clay is in a harsh nesia Standard SNI-15-7064-2004 (SNI 2004). The standard re-
condition like the general sedimentary rocks when it is not exposed quired that the cement should not crystallize and harden before use
to the environment and atmosphere. Clay shale is in harsh condi- due to hydration in a humid environment. The cement was stored
tions like most sedimentary rocks. But if it has been weathered, it in a dry and airtight container to prevent early hydration. The ce-
will look like soil that is easily crushed. Clay shale used in this ment slurry is a semiliquid mixture of cement and water. This
study has weathered more than 85%. According to the classifica- slurry was used in the spraying method. The cement slurry was
tion by Sadisun et al. (2005), this weathering is categorized as ex- required to be able to flow through the nozzles of the sprayer. Thus
tremely high. Block samples (see Fig. 2) were collected from a the cement and water ratio was determined by flow cone test as
slope-side of the toll road Semarang-Bawen at km. 441 + 800 in ASTM C939-10 (ASTM 2010a). Figure 5 shows the result of the
Central Java. The soil sample was dominated by Smectite clay
minerals followed by Illite, Kaolinite, and Chlorite as indicated by
XRD analysis in Fig. 3. The grain size distribution of the soil sam-
ple is shown in Fig. 4. The figure shows that the soil consisted of
6.7% sand and 93.3% silt or clay. The index properties of the soil
sample are summarized in Table 1. The Atterberg limits defined
the soil as high plasticity (LL > 50, PI > 7) and classified as CH
according to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS).

Fig. 4 Grain size distribution of the soil sample

Table 1 Geotechnical properties of clay shale

Soil properties Quantity
Specific gravity, Gs 2.65
Sand (%) 6.7
Silt/clay (%) 93.3
Liquid limit, LL 57.9
Plastic limit, PL 28.4
Shrinkage limit, SL 10.6
Plasticity index, PI 29.5
Optimum moisture content, OMC (%) 19.0
Maximum dry density, MDD (kN/m3) 16.3
Fig. 2 Semarang-Bawen clay shale

Quartz 33.9%
Smectite 34.3%
Calcite 24.2%
Plagioclase 0.8%
Chlorite 1.8%
Illite 3%
Kaolinite 1%

Position 2θ (°)
Fig. 5 Determination of the viscosity of cement-water ratio for
Fig. 3 Clay shale mineralogical composition (Hartono, 2020) spray method using flow cone test
 Hartono et al.: The Behavior of the Clay Shale Stabilized by Dry and Wet Cement Mixing Method 83

flow cone test for cement slurry with various water-cement ratios
(w.c.r). Efflux is the time needed for 1725 ml cement slurry to
flow through a 0.5-inch discharge tube. Figure 5 indicates that
the cement slurry with 0.7 w.c.r is the closest efflux value to wa-
ter efflux.

3. EXPERIMENT METHOD

3.1 Testing Program

(a) CCS specimens (b) CBF specimens
The primary investigation in this research was slaking dura- Fig. 6 Test specimens
bility and strength tests. The slaking test was carried out on two
types of specimens: compacted specimen cylinders (CCS) and 3.3 Slaking Test
broken-compacted cylinders (CBF). There are two types of soil
mixing methods: dry mixing and spray mixing. All specimens Slaking test was done to assess the resistance of clay shale
were made to the same density, corresponding to the clay shale's to weathering process. Static and dynamic slaking tests were
optimum moisture content (OMC). Permeability of the stabilized selected to compare the effect of the weathering process on clay
soil was also investigated. The testing program of this study is shale disintegration. The static slaking procedure was modified
presented in Table 2. from the test carried out by Sadisun et al. (2005), while the dy-
namic slaking test was conducted according to ASTM D4644-08
Table 2 Quantity of specimen for each test (ASTM 2008) for slake durability shales. For each sample, the
test was carried out twice, and the average result was recorded.
Test Type
Specimens Code Static Test Dynamic Test
PERM UCS 3.3.1 Static Slaking Test
CCS CBF CCS CBF
    
Clay shale CS  The static slaking test was consisted of two main procedures:
    
     (1) wetting by immersing the specimens in tap water, (2) and dry-
98% CS + 2% PC CS2 
     ing the specimens in an oven at 105°C. The specimens consisted of
    
95% CS + 5% PC CS5  10 fragments of stabilized clay shale, 450 ~ 550 g weight (see Fig.
    
     6). The test was initiated by drying the specimens in the oven for
93% CS + 7% PC CS7 
     16 ~ 24 hours. After drying, the specimens were immersed in water
     for 16 hours. The water level was kept about 0.5 inches above the
90% CS + 10% PC CS10 
    
specimens. After the wetting process, the specimens were
Notes: PC = Portland cement; CS = clay shale; UCS = unconfined compressive wash-sieved on No.200 sieve size. The remaining fragments were
strength; PERM = permeability test; CCS = compacted cylinder
specimen; CBF = broken fragment specimen;  = total number of
dried to determine grain size distribution using sieve analysis. This
tested dry mixing specimen;  = total number of tested spray mixing procedure was defined as one cycle of wetting-drying. At the end
specimen of the cycle, the retained specimens on No.10 sieve size were taken
in the bowl for the second cycle of wetting-drying.
3.2 Specimen Preparation The slake index was defined as the percentage of loose
specimen mass after the cycle (Wd(n)) to initial oven-dried mass
The dry pulverizing method mixed the soil and cement in (B). The slake index (Is(n)) was determined by Eq. (1). Then, the
dry conditions. An amount of cement was prepared before the slake durability index corresponding cycle (Id(n)) was calculated
mixing and then mixed with soil thoroughly in a batch mixer for by Eq. (2).
about 10 minutes at a slow rate to produce a uniform mixture.
The desired water was added gradually to the soil-cement mix to  W d (n) 
have a homogenous soil-cement slurry. Meanwhile, the spray I s(n) =   × 100% (1)
pulverizing method used cement paste. The total amount of water  B 
in the spray mixing was determined at the OMC to control the
water content of the specimen. In this method, soil and water I d (n ) = 100 − I s (n ) (2)
were mixed firstly, and then cement paste was sprayed during the
where Wd(n) = mass of bowl with the retained oven-dried speci-
mixing. The water-cement ratio for spray method according to
men (g),
the result flow cone test.
B = mass of bowl with the initial oven-dried specimen
Two identical specimens were prepared as CCS (Fig. 6(a))
(g).
and CBF (Fig. 6(b)). The soil-cement mixtures were transferred
in a steel cylindrical mold of 34.29 mm × 34.29 mm and pressed
3.3.2 Dynamic Slaking Test
statically using a piston to obtain a CCS specimen. The CBF was
fragments of the soil-cement mixture compacted in steel mold According to ASTM D4644-08 (ASTM 2008), the dynamic
69.85 mm diameter and 139.70 mm height, then broken into 40 ~ slaking test was conducted for the slake durability of shales. The
60 g weight fragments. All specimens were kept in an air-tight slake durability device is shown in Fig. 7. The test determines the
plastic bag and cured for seven days. slake durability index of clay shale after the wetting-drying cycle
84 Journal of GeoEngineering, Vol. 16, No. 3, September 2021

and abrasion. The specimens consisted of ten fragments of about where ΔQ = quantity of flow for given time interval Δt, taken as
450 ~ 550 g weight for each drum. After being mounted on the the average of inflow and outflow (m3),
slaking device, the samples were then immersed in water. The a = cross-sectional area of the reservoir containing the
water level was set 0.8 inches below the drum axis. The drum influent liquid (m2),
was then rotated with a speed of 20 rpm for 10 minutes. The L = length of specimen (m),
specimens retained in the drums were removed and dried in the A = cross-sectional area of specimen (m2),
oven for 24 hours. The particle passing through the meshes or Δt = t2 − t1 = interval of time (s) over which the flow ΔQ
smaller than sieve No. 10 were wash-sieved on No. 200 sieve occurs,
size. Sieving analysis was performed for all the retained particles t1 = time at start of permeation trial (hr:min:sec),
and remaining fragments. The second cycle was continued by t2 = time at end of permeation trial (hr:min:sec),
slaking the retained specimen on the No. 10 sieve. Also, each h = average head loss across the permeameter/specimen
specimen underwent five wetting-drying cycles. The slake dura- [(h1+ h2)/2] (m),
bility index is then calculated by Eq. (3). h1 = head loss across the permeameter/specimen at t1 (m),
h2 = head loss across the permeameter/specimen at t2 (m).
Wf −C
Id = × 100% (3) 3.5 Unconfined Compressive Strength Test
B −C
where Id = slake durability index (%), Unconfined compression strength test carried out according
Wf = mass of drum with the retained oven-dried specimen to the ASTM D1663 (ASTM 2000). The cylindrical compacted
(g), soil-cement was prepared in 38 mm in diameter and 76 mm in
B = mass of drum with the initial oven-dried specimen (g), height (see Fig. 8). Three specimens were tested to confirm the
C = mass of drum (g). results. The compression test was performed after seven days of
curing. The load was applied continuously on the specimen with
a shearing rate of 0.76 mm/min. The unconfined compressive
3.4 Permeability Test
strength of the specimen (qu) was determined by dividing the
Soil permeability test was conducted using a flexible wall maximum load by the cross-sectional area as given in Eq. (5).
permeameter based on ASTM D5084 (ASTM 2010b). The com-
Fmax
pacted soil-cement mixture was used in this test. The specimen qu = (5)
size was 38 mm in diameter and 76 mm in height (see Fig 7). The A
test was conducted by applying confining pressure to the speci- where Fmax is maximum axial load (N), and A is cross section
men as the beginning. The sample was then saturated until the of the specimen (mm2).
B-value reaches a higher value than 0.95. The consolidation pro-
cess started once the specimen reached the desired condition.
Permeation test was continued by determining the value of hy-
draulic gradient; commonly, 1 to 5 can be applied for general
field conditions. A constant head test was performed with a con-
stant tailwater (Method A). The tailwater was maintained at the
same level along the process once the headwater pressure in-
creased. The hydraulic conductivity (k) was calculated as in Eq.
(4). The test was terminated if the k value showed no significant
changes, considered at the minimal value of 25%.
Fig. 8 Specimen for UCS and permeability test
ΔQ ⋅ L
k= (4)
A ⋅ h ⋅ Δt 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Effect of the Slaking Method on the Slake

Durability Index
Two slake durability methods had been done in this study to
assess the durability due to weathering process involving the wet-
ting-drying cycle. The slake durability index test results are pre-
sented in Table 3. The slake durability index was measured after
the first (Id(1)), second (Id(2)), and fifth (Id(5)) wetting-dying cycle.
ASTM D4644-08 (ASTM 2008) required the second cycle as the
slake durability index (Id(2)) for a natural shale or weak rock. How-
ever, to evaluate the lasting durability of the stabilized clay shale, it
is necessary to measure up to the fifth or more cycles. Some re-
search suggested evaluating high durability rocks with more than
three cycles (Cano and Tomás 2016; Fuenkajorn 2011; Yagiz
2010). Hartono et al. (2019) assessed slake durability index with
more than three cycles for the compacted and stabilized weak rock
Fig. 7 Slake durability apparatus and recommend Id(5) as the slaking durability index instead of Id(2).
 Hartono et al.: The Behavior of the Clay Shale Stabilized by Dry and Wet Cement Mixing Method 85

Table 3 Slake durability (Id) after first, second, and fifth cycle
Testing method Id (1) Id (2) Id (5)
0% 2% 5% 7% 10% 0% 2% 5% 7% 10% 0% 2% 5% 7% 10%
Cement:
Static slake – Dry method:
CCS 2.1% 3.12% 16.9% 49.77% 68.25% 0.37% 2.16% 8.57% 37.93% 58.86% 0.22% 1.81% 3.19% 19.22% 34.08%
CBF 1.51% 7.57% 81.13% 85.34% 91.15% 0.68% 0.8% 60.34% 61.28% 83.35% 0.54% 0.21% 21.27% 33.71% 62.79%
Static slake – Spray method:
CCS 2.1% 3.2% 12.28% 76.98% 92.19% 0.37% 2.06% 7.18% 51.64% 74.87% 0.22% 1.04% 3.15% 22.15% 42.7%
CBF 1.51% 1.53% 27.86% 85.46% 97.14% 0.68% 0.63% 20.07% 60.85% 93.55% 0.54% 0.17% 25.24% 35.53% 81.46%
Dynamic slake – Dry method:
CCS 0.77% 2.34% 3.84% 10.7% 20.81% 0.13% 1.86% 1.98% 4.58% 15.45% 0% 1.51% 1.17% 1.19% 8.93%
CBF 1.76% 3.49% 11.81% 50.02% 93.44% 1.35% 2.7% 3.9% 18.69% 81.87% 0.57% 1.58% 1.31% 6.11% 57.29%
Dynamic slake – Spray method:
CCS 0.77% 2.82% 6.86% 21.98% 29.61% 0.13% 1.45% 2.35% 6.85% 17.9% 0% 0.66% 0.7% 2.29% 6.96%
CBF 1.76% 1.97% 2.08% 5.23% 79.6% 1.35% 1.53% 1.7% 2.97% 54.87% 0.57% 0.77% 0.9% 1.07% 15.26%

The results in Table 3 show that the unstabilized clay shale 4.2 Effects of Cement Mixing Method and Specimen
exhibited a low slaking durability index after the first, second, Shape on the Slake Durability
and fifth cycles if compared to the stabilized clay shale. After the
fifth cycle, the compacted clay shale, CCS or CBF, totally de- The mixing method and specimen shape were evaluated in
grades, which is indicated by the zero value of Id(5). In general, this study. The mixing method and specimen shape on the slake
for the unstabilized and stabilized specimens, the dynamic slak- durability index Id(5), and others can be studied from the correla-
ing method resulted in the worst durability index compared to the tion analysis as shown in Fig. 10. The correlation between two
static slaking test. Figure 9 presents the correlation of the slake variables was measured by correlation coefficient (r) that varied
durability index between the static and dynamic slaking methods. from − 1 to 1. A value of ±1 indicates a strong correlation be-
A bilinear line approaches the correlation. The analysis showed tween two variables, whereas the r-value approaching 0 (zero)
that the dynamic slake durability index was about 85% lower indicates no correlation (Baecher and Christian 2005). The cor-
than the static slake durability index for Id ≤ 60. However, the relation should be completed by further ANOVA test to evaluate
dynamic slake durability index was about 30 to 80% lower than the influenced-variable to slaking durability index. The analysis
the static slake durability index for Id > 60. The Pearson correla- presented the r and p-values of the models. In the interaction
tion between two slaking methods is presented in Fig. 10. The model, if the p-value is less than the significance level (α = 0.05),
correlation coefficient (r) was about 0.652, which indicates a then the model provides a better fit, and the factors are statisti-
strong correlation between the slaking methods. cally significant. Otherwise, the interaction is less significant
(Baecher and Christian 2005).
Figure 9 shows that if the cement content is higher, the du-
rability index of the dynamic method will increase closer to the
durability index of the static method. According to the ANOVA
result, the dynamic slake durability index, Id(5) dynamic, was signifi-
cantly influenced by the method of cement mixing (drying and
spraying). The dry mixing had more effect (p < 0.0001, r =
0.669) than spraying mixing (p > 0.05, r = 0.267) on durability
under the dynamic slaking test. The specimen shape (CCS and
CBF) seemed statistically insignificant to affect the Id(5) dynamic (p
> 0.05, r = 0.220 and 0.230). In contrast, the static slake durabil-
ity index, Id(5) static, was significantly influenced by the cement
mixing method and the specimen shape, as shown in Figs. 10(c),
10(e), 10(h), and 10(l), the p-value was smaller than 0.001. In
general, the analysis indicated that the cement mixing method
was the most influential factor on the slake durability index,
which is indicated by the strong correlation.

4.3 Effect of Cement Addition on Unconfined

Compressive Strength
The effect of cement content on the unconfined compressive
strength (qu) is shown in Fig. 11(a). The qu values provided in Fig.
11(a) are the average values of three specimens for each cement
Fig. 9 Slake durability index Id correlation between static and mixture. In general, the compressive strength increased with the
dynamic method cement content. The unconfined compressive strength increased
86 Journal of GeoEngineering, Vol. 16, No. 3, September 2021

Fig. 10 Correlation analysis on the slake durability index (Id(5))

about six times from 160 kPa to 958 kPa by the addition of 10%
cement. Figure 10 shows different strengths gained by the dry
and spray cement mixing method. The addition of 2% cement to
the clay shale resulted in a slight difference between the dry and
sprayed mixing methods. Further increase in cement content to
5% and 7% resulted in a difference qu, in which the spray cement
mixing was higher than the dry cement mixing. However, the
addition of 10% cement resulted in almost similar qu for both dry
(qu = 957 kPa) and spray (qu = 958 kPa) cement mixing.
Deformability of the stabilized soil is defined by a modulus of
deformation describing the relationship between the applied load
and strain (Fig. 12). Table 4 presents the peak stress, residual stress,
and its corresponding strain. The effect of cement content and mix-
ing method on the modulus of deformation (E50) is shown in Fig.
11(b). As the cement content increased, the modulus of deformation
increased. However, the addition of 2% cement did not interfere
with the E50 value of clay shale. In contrast to the qu characteristics,
(a) (b) the dry cement mixing resulted in a higher E50 than the spray ce-
ment mixing method by adding 5% cement and more. The highest
Fig. 11 Effect of cement content and cement mixing method on E50 is about 81 MPa, which is obtained by the addition of 10% ce-
the (a) unconfined compressive strength; (b) modulus of ment. A lower E50 obtained by the spray cement mixing was at-
deformation tributable to a larger strain at failure (see Figs. 12(b) and 12(d)).
 Hartono et al.: The Behavior of the Clay Shale Stabilized by Dry and Wet Cement Mixing Method 87

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Fig. 12 Typical stress-strain curves (a) unstabilized soil; (b) 2% cement; (c) 5% cement; (d) 7% cement; (e) 10% cement

Table 4 Stress and strain characteristics and brittleness index

Peak stress Ultimate stress
Cement (%) Mixing method Brittleness index, IB
Stress, qu (kPa) Strain, εu (%) Stress, qr (kPa) Strain, εr (%)
0 − 181.82 1.69 71.49 4.16 0.61
Dry 263.70 2.69 127.49 4.64 0.52
2
Spray 196.26 1.94 87.87 4.32 0.55
Dry 497.10 1.54 192.41 2.33 0.61
5
Spray 654.15 2.11 341.47 2.93 0.58
Dry 618.16 1.46 147.22 3.39 0.76
7
Spray 677.49 1.70 185.10 3.88 0.73
Dry 957.08 1.46 287.14 2.94 0.69
10
Spray 958.94 2.27 343.15 4.62 0.64

The brittleness index (IB) is also used to measure ductility to Table 5 Coefficient of permeability of stabilized soil
investigate the effect of cement treatment on the mode of failure.
Cement content (%) Coefficient of permeability, k (m/s)
The IB is defined firstly by (Bishop 1971) as the difference be- 0 9.70 × 10−5
tween the peak (qu) and ultimate strengths (qr), normalized by the 2 1.40 × 10−3
peak strength (IB = (qu – qr)/qu). The index ranges from 0 to 1, 5 1.27 × 10−3
where IB = 1 indicates brittle and IB = 0 occurs in ductile behavior. 7 2.90 × 10−4
The IB of the compacted specimen is 0.61, which tends to behave 10 9.00 × 10−5
like a brittle failure. In general, the IB of the cement-stabilized
clay shale ranges from 0.52 to 0.76 for dry mixing and 0.55 to
Further increase in cement content resulted in a decrease in
0.73 for the spray mixing method, as presented in Table 4. Table
the coefficient of permeability. The k value decreased signifi-
4 and Fig. 11(b) show that the brittleness index and the defor-
cantly to 1.27 × 10−3 and 2.90 × 10−4 by adding 5% and 7% ce-
mation modulus of dry mixing are higher than that of spray mix-
ment, respectively. The decrease in the coefficient of permeabil-
ing if the cement content is 5% or more. Spray mixing with at
ity continued for 10% cement mixing, in which the k value was
least 5% cement has higher compressive strength (qu) than dry
closer to the unstabilized clay shale. At this condition, the stabi-
mixing. Thus, spray mixing above 5% increases strength and
lized clay shale behaves impermeable. Therefore, this study
ductility. On the other hand, spray mixing has lower compressive
showed a certain amount of cement to increase the permeability
strength and is more brittle than dry mixing at 2% cement content.
of clay shale.
A higher IB and E50, more brittle behavior will be observed.
4.5 Discussion
4.4 Effect of Cement Addition on the Coefficient of
Permeability It should be noted that in the dynamic slaking test, abrasion
takes place while rotating the drum. During rotation, the speci-
Table 5 shows the variation of the coefficient of permeabil- mens collided, and some of the fragments were broken into small
ity (k) with the cement content. The k value of the unstabilized pieces that passed through the drum’s 2 mm wire mesh. As a
clay shale was 9.7 × 10−5 m/s. In general, the stabilized clay shale result, the specimen with the dynamic slaking test experienced
had a higher k value than the unstabilized clay shale. The highest disintegration caused by sliding inside the drum during rotating.
k value was obtained by adding 2% cement, which was 1.40 × Moreover, the shear stress acting on the specimen due to sliding
10−3 m/s. This result indicates that the clay shale was more per- was more destructive and contribute more to the particle deterio-
meable by the addition of 2% cement. ration (Erguler and Shakoor 2009). The static slaking induced
88 Journal of GeoEngineering, Vol. 16, No. 3, September 2021

swelling-shrinking process. A small crack triggered the disinte- from the unconfined compressive strength test can be treated as a
gration at the beginning of drying. Slaking reduced the contact process of elastic energy accumulated or absorption and release or
bond of particles; the specimens deformed, and cracks appeared. dissipation (Jiang et al. 2019; Tan et al. 2019).
The deformation extended at the final stage of slaking cycles, Even though dry cement mixing shows a higher IB than the
causing extensive disintegration. This mechanism was confirmed spray mixing method, dry cement mixing has a lower energy dis-
by Fukumoto and Ohtsuka (2019). The results indicated that the sipation than spray cement mixing. Hartono et al. (2020) used the
selection of slaking method is essential to evaluate the degree of damage properties (DP) curve to explain the stress-strain character-
disintegration of stabilized soil. During the wetting process, the istics. In general, the spray mixing specimen attained the peak DP
water penetrated to the subsurface of soil particles. The permea- curve at a higher strain than the dry pulverized specimen. Other
bility controlled the water penetration. The addition of the ce- sections of the curve in the spray mixing specimen tend to be
ment will modify the texture of clay shale, which induces the steady before experiencing a considerable increase in energy dis-
coefficient of permeability (see Table 5). Yi et al. (2014) ex- sipation. At this stage, the specimen was still in elastic mode. The
plained that the product of cement during the hydration stage transition from elastic to plastic states occurred very quickly in
would fill soil pores and flocculated. Thus, the macropore in the spray mixing specimens with a cement content of 7%, indicating
stabilized clay shale decreased as the cement increased and re- that the collapse occurred suddenly due to the specimen being too
duced the permeability. A lower permeability (Table 5) and a brittle (Hartono et al. 2020). However, increasing the cement con-
higher strength (Fig. 10) due to cement mixing resulted in higher tent to 10% cement results in a lower brittleness index than the 7%
durability of clay shale. cement content (Table 4). Ma et al. (2018) explained that energy
Table 3 shows that the Id(5) of the CBF specimens was always dissipation reflects the evolution of the internal crack, which leads
higher than the CCS specimens. The surface of the CBF specimens to the weakening of rock due to dynamic freeze-thaw cycles. It is a
is more angular and rougher than that of the CCS specimens (see possible reason that spray cement mixing exhibits a lower slake
Figs. 6(a) and 6(b)). Kolay and Kayabali (2006) stated that surface durability index.
roughness correlated with the angular surface would increase the Previous studies do not show a coherent conclusion on the ef-
abrasion rate while the specimen collided with the inner part of the fect of cement or a chemical on the coefficient of permeability.
drum. Agustawijaya (2004) added, while being rotated, an irregular Wang and Tanttu (2018) concluded that the effect of the chemical
specimen with angular surface bumps to each other, leading to the on the coefficient of permeability is modest, and no significant
disintegration of the angular surface and break away from the main change in the permeability. A reduction in the coefficient of per-
fragments. The shape of broken fragments is usually similar to meability with an increase in cement content was concluded by
small grains which pass the drum mesh. The angular surfaces re- Bahar et al. (2004). In contrast, Nalbantoglu and Tuncer (2001)
moved from CBF specimens after broken into fragments will make showed an increase in hydraulic conductivity, increasing the per-
the specimen more spherical and reduce the specimen surface con- centage of chemicals added to the soils. In this study, the increase
tact with water. These results are also supported by Aksoy et al. in the coefficient of permeability with 2% cement is caused by the
(2019). The Id value will be easier to determine by using a spheri- agglomeration of the soil due to cement modification. The ag-
cal specimen or at least the irregular specimen of which the angular glomeration produces macropores. As a result, it is easier for water
or squared part is already removed. The angular parts of a speci- to flow into soil particles, thus reducing the slaking durability.
men that collide with each other are easier to broke into smaller Horpibulsuk et al. (2010) found that an inadequate amount of ce-
pieces. In this study, the specimen shape has only a significant ment addition was not enough to produce cementitious material.
effect on the dry mixing method. Thus, the pores will not flocculate due to the insignificant cement
The dry cement mixing method is preferred to produce a content compared to the soil mass. When the percentage of cement
higher dynamic slake durability index of the stabilized clay shale added increases, the macropores in the specimen could be filled by
(see also result in Table 3). In contrast, the spray mixing method cementitious product from hydration and pozzolanic reaction. Thus,
shows an effective treatment on the static slake durability index for the permeability of stabilized soil decreased (Sasanian and Newson
both CCS and CBF specimens (Figs. 10(i) and 10(n)). Spray mix- 2014). Furthermore, Yi et al. (2014) show that the cementitious
ing resulted in an early hydration reaction in soil-cement slurry and product could also cause cracks on the specimen due to the exces-
produced an early strength gain than the dry cement mixing. The sive hydration and pozzolanic reaction. It can reduce the slake
chemical reaction continued to increase the strength with time and durability of stabilized clay shale.
resulted in a higher strength than the dry cement mixing, as shown The method of stabilization with soil mixing that is mostly
in Fig. 11(a). The finding is affirmed by Pakbaz and Farzi (2015), used in Indonesia is dry mixing. This study suggests that the soil
and Dixon et al. (2012). Yagiz (2010) mentioned a strong rela- strength with the spray mixing method is better than dry mixing
tionship between slake durability index, unconfined compressive at cement content above 5%. The spray method is also more en-
strength, and modulus of deformation of the rock specimen. A vironmentally friendly because it produces less air pollution than
higher compressive strength caused the specimen to retain its in- the dry method. As expected, these findings will contribute for
tegrity from the wetting and drying cycles. This condition is shown improving the stabilization design or methods.
by spray cement mixing, which had a high static slaking durability
index. A stiffer soil structure can resist its stability during colliding,
tumbling, and abrasion in the drum. As shown in Fig. 11(b), the E50
5. CONCLUSIONS
value of the dry cement mixing was higher than that of the spray The current research has investigated the effect of the dry
cement mixing. This condition is the reason that dry cement mix- and spray mixing method on slake durability of the cement stabi-
ing behaves more durable than spray mixing. According to the law lized clay shale. Two methods for the determination slake dura-
of energy conservation, the stress-strain curve (Fig. 12) obtained bility test has been introduced. The method used two shapes of
 Hartono et al.: The Behavior of the Clay Shale Stabilized by Dry and Wet Cement Mixing Method 89

compacted specimens, namely CCS and CBF. Based on the re- https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02254-1
sults and discussion of the study, unstabilized clay shale exhibits Alatas, I.M., Kamaruddin, S.A., Nazir, R., Irsyam, M., and
a lower slaking durability index after the first, second, and fifth Himawan, A. (2015). “Shear strength degradation of Sema-
cycles compared to the stabilized clay shale. After the fifth cycle, rang Bawen clay shale due to weathering process.” Jurnal
the compacted clay shale, CCS or CBF, totally degrades, indi- Teknologi, 77(11), 109-118.
cated by the zero value of Id(5). Moreover, CBF specimen showed https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v77.6429
a higher durability value. In general, the dynamic slake durability Ankara, H., Kandemir, S.Y., and Çiçek, F. (2015). “Compression
index is about 85% lower than the static slake durability index of Slake Durability Index (SDI) values of sphere and rounded
marl samples.” Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, 15,
for Id ≤ 60%. But the dynamic slake durability index is about 30
93-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2015.08.024
to 80% lower than the static slake durability index for Id > 60%.
ASTM (2000). D1633-00 Standard Test Methods for Compres-
This study has identified that higher cement content increasing sive Strength of Molded Soil-Cement Cylinders. West Con-
durability. The spray mixing method and specimen shape better shohocken, Pennsylvania, USA: ASTM International.
affect the static durability index of clay shale. Meanwhile, dry https://doi.org/10.1520/D1633-00
cement mixing specimen with a higher slake durability index in ASTM (2008). D4644-08 Standard Test Method for Slake Dura-
the dynamic test has a lower unconfined compressive strength bility of Shales and Similar Weak Rocks. West Con-
than spray mixing. This study shows that the soil strength and shohocken, Pennsylvania, USA: ASTM International.
ductility of the spray mixing method are better than dry mixing at https://doi.org/10.1520/D4644-08
cement content above 5%. Increasing the permeability coefficient ASTM (2010a). C939-10 Standard Test Method for Flow of Grout
with 2% cement made it easier for water to flow to the soil parti- for Preplaced-Aggregate Concrete (Flow Cone Method). West
cles, thus reducing the strength and durability. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA: ASTM International.
https://doi.org/10.1520/C0939-10
ASTM (2010b). D5084-10 Standard Test Methods for Measure-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ment of Hydraulic Conductivity of Saturated Porous Mate-
rials Using a Flexible Wall Permeameter. West Con-
The research described in this paper was financially supported shohocken, Pennsylvania, USA: ASTM International.
by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education https://doi.org/10.1520/D5084-10
(Ristekdikti, the Republic of Inodesia) from 2017 to 2020. The Baecher, G.B. and Christian, J.T. (2005). Reliability and Statis-
authors would like to thank Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogya- tics in Geotechnical Engineering. John Wiley & Sons.
karta for the counterpart funding, facilities, and equipment provid- Bahar, R., Benazzoug, M., and Kenai, S. (2004). “Performance of
ed. Acknowledgment also goes to Kartika Wulandari, Renita compacted cement-stabilised soil.” Cement and Concrete
Husna, and Nurza Purwa Abiyoga to assist in a series of laboratory Composites, 26(7), 811-820.
experiments. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2004.01.003
Basha, E.A., Hashim, R., Mahmud, H.B., and Muntohar, A.S.
(2005). “Stabilization of residual soil with rice husk ash and
FUNDING cement.” Construction and Building Materials, 19(6),
448-453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2004.08.001
The Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Educa- Bishop, A.W. (1971). “The influence of progressive failure on
tion, the Republic of Indonesia (Grant No. 2903.9/D3/PG/2017), the choice of the method of stability analysis.” Géotechnique,
and Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (Grant No. 21(2), 168-172. https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1971.21.2.168
239/SK-UMY/XI/2017). Cano, M. and Tomás, R. (2016). “Proposal of a new parameter
for the weathering characterization of carbonate flysch-like
rock masses: The Potential Degradation Index (PDI).” Rock
DATA AVAILABILITY Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 49(7), 2623-2640.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0915-2
This study does not generate new data and/or new computer
Dixon, P.A., Guthrie, W.S., and Eggett, D.L. (2012). “Factors
codes. affecting strength of road base stabilized with cement slurry
or dry cement in conjunction with full-depth reclamation.”
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT Transportation Research Record, 2310(1), 113-120.
https://doi.org/10.3141/2310-12
The authors state that there are no financial interests or per- Erguler, Z.A. and Shakoor, A. (2009). “Relative contribution of
sonal relationships that might influence the work reported in this various climatic processes in disintegration of clay-bearing
paper. rocks.” Engineering Geology, 108(1-2), 36-42.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2009.06.002
Fuenkajorn, K. (2011). “Experimental assessment of long-term
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