IJSTE - International Journal of Science Technology & Engineering | Volume 2 | Issue 12 | June 2016

ISSN (online): 2349-784X

Impact of Micro Silica Fume on Engineering

Properties of Expansive Soil
Shivangi Bharadwaj
PG Student
Department of Civil Engineering
Madhav Institute of Technology and Science

Dr. M. K. Trivedi
Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Madhav Institute of Technology and Science

Abstract
Black cotton soil deposits in India are a boon to farmers but are problematic to civil engineers. Civil engineering structures
experience large scale damage due to heaving accompanied by loss of strength of these soils during rainy seasons and shrinkage
during summer. Buildings crack, canal linings slide, beds of canals heave, roads get rutted and retaining structures etc.
Stabilization of such soils has been traditionally relied on treatment with lime, cement and waste materials such as fly ash. Micro
silica is waste material obtained from electric arc furnaces. This paper presents an experimental investigation, carried out to
study the effects of Micro Silica Fume on index properties of black cotton soil. A series of laboratory experiments have been
conducted on samples with 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% of Silica Fume by weight of dry soil. The test results showed a significant
change in consistency limits of samples containing Silica fume. The Liquid limit would increase by 50% to 67% and Plasticity
Index would increase from 24% to 31%. The shrinkage limit would increase from 10.44% to 13.01% and specific gravity would
decreased by 2.69% to 2.59%. Also the Differential Free Swell decreased from 48.46% to 9% showing appreciable decrease in
swelling behaviour. The investigation showed that the Silica fume is a valuable material to modify the index properties of black
cotton soil to make it suitable for different construction activities.
Keywords: Black Cotton Soil, Free Swell Index, Index Properties, Micro-Silica Fume, Standard Proctor Test
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I.

INTRODUCTION

The design foundation on black cotton soil (expansive soil) has always been a difficult task for the engineers as the structure
resting on black cotton soil cracks without any warning. Black cotton soil is found in M.P., Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh in our country. Soil proportion changes depending upon their constituents, i.e. water content, density, bulk density, angle
of friction, shear strength etc. In terms of geotechnical Engineering, Black Cotton soil is one which when associated with an
engineering structure and in presence of water will show a tendency to swell or shrink causing the structure to experience
moments which are largely unrelated to the direct effect of loading by the structure. The properties of black cotton soil can be
modified by stabilizing the soil with the use of additives or by mechanical means. Soil stabilization techniques are used to
improve shear strength, CBR, reducing expansive characteristics, etc. Silica fume also referred as micro-silica is a product
resulting reduction of high purity quartz with coal in an electric arc furnace in the manufacture of silicon or Ferro-silicon alloy.
Silica fume rises as an oxidized vapour. It cools, condenses and is collected. It is fine grey coloured powder sometime similar to
Portland cement or some flashes. Condensed silica fume is essentially silicon-dioxide (more than 90%) in non-crystalline form.
Since it is an air borne material line fly ash it has spherical shape. It is extremely fine with a particle size less than 0.1 micron and
specific surface area of about 20,000m/kg. Silica fume is used as an artificial pozzolanic admixture in concrete. As far as the
production of silica fume is concerned nearly 100,000 tons of micro silica is produced each year world wide.Iron also has a
large amount of micro silica production. Steel Authority of India has provided necessary facilities to produce more than 3000
tons of Silica fume annually. Many waste materials are used to modify the characteristics of soft soils. Traditionally the soils are
stabilized by lime, cement, etc. In recent year the uses of waste materials like fly ash,plastic, rice- husk ash, slag,etc for soil
stabilization is gaining importance. In this study attempts are made to find the effect of silica fume on engineering characteristics
of black cotton soil.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
The engineering properties of clayey subgrade soils may need to be improved to make them suitable for construction using some
sort of stabilization methods. Stabilization of pavement subgrade soils has traditionally relied on treatment with lime, cement, or
waste materials such as fly ash, slag, Silica Fume etc. Many researchers are looking for alternative materials for soil stabilization,
fly ash is an effective agent for chemical and mechanical stabilization of soil.[1-2]
Biswas et al.(2012) studied the utilization of rice husk with lime in subgrade soil for a rural road; they concluded that a very
little amount of lime (3%) added to the clayey soil with RHA, improve the CBR value and compaction characteristics to a great
extent.[3]

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Impact of Micro Silica Fume on Engineering Properties of Expansive Soil

(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 12 / 079)

Saranjeet Rajesh Soniet. al. concluded that solid waste disposal is an economical and effective way to achieve improvement in
engineering performance of black cotton soils. The stability of soil using fly ash and rice husk powder can be increased .[4]
Abd.El-Aziz M.et al.(2004), examined the effect of lime-silica fume stabilizers on engineering properties of clayey subgrades.
They summarised that the plasticity index and swell potential decreases and CBR value increases significantly. There is
improvement in shear strength parameter also. [5].
Azzawi et al.(2012) studied effect of silica fume addition on behaviour of silty clayey soils, they investigated that there is
significant important on swelling pressure and compressive strength of composite samples with silica fume. The permeability of
soil increased with increase in silica fume content. It is observed that the addition of silica fume decreases the development of
cracks on the surface of compacted clay samples reducing the cracks width by 75%.[6]
VenuGopal N., studied the soil properties with silica fume as stabilizer and comparing the same with other materials. The
laboratory investigations indicate that soil samples possessing low strength can be treated with varying silica fume of 5% to 20%
by weight of dry soil. The treated soil samples showed significant improvement in the strength characteristics.[7]
Kalkan and Addulut (2004) examined the suitability of silica fume for the construction of hydraulic barrier in landfill. They
concluded that clay mixed with silica fume in different proportions, has higher binding strength, low swelling pressure, and high
compressive and shear strength.[8]
III. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
A series of laboratory tests were conducted on BC Soil mixed with Silica fume in various percentages i.e. 0%, 5%, 10% and 15%
by weight of dry soil. The following tests were conducted on BC soil and Silica Fume mixes; as per relevant IS Code. The tests
are:
Grain size distribution
Liquid limit
Plastic limit
Plasticity index
Shrinkage limit
Specific Gravity
Standard Proctor test
Differential free swell (DFS)
Micro Silica
The stabilizer materials used in this study was Elkem Micro silica Grade 920 is a dry silica fume powder. The composition of SF
is presented in table 1.
Table 1
Chemical and Physical properties
Property
Specified Value (ASTM C1240-14)
SiO2
Minimum 85%
H2O
Maximum 3%
Loss of ignition
Maximum 6%
Specific Surface Area
Minimum 15 m2/g
Pozzolanic Activity Index,7 days
Minimum 105 % of control
Retained on 45 micron sieve
Maximum 10%
Bulk Density
500-700 Kg/m3

Analysis
87.64
0.28
1.20
18.5
124
0.25
625

Black Cotton Soil

The black cotton soil has been used as a base material in this study. It has been replaced partially by silica fume by weight of dry
soil. The clayey soil involved in this research was collected from Tekanpur Area, Gwalior (M.P.). The soil sample was disturbed.
The soil is classified as clay of high plasticity (Gs = 2.69 with 90% fines) with expansive behaviour. The engineering
characteristics of clay sample are presented in Table-2.
S.N.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Table - 2
Properties of Black cotton soil
Particulars
Test Results
Grain Size distribution:
Sand (%)
10%
Silt + clay(%)
90%
Liquid Limit (%)
50%
Plastic Limit (%)
26%
Plasticity Index (%)
24%
Shrinkage Limit (%)
10.44 %
Specific Gravity
2.69
Optimum moisture content (%)
18%

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Impact of Micro Silica Fume on Engineering Properties of Expansive Soil

(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 12 / 079)

8.
9.

Maximum Dry Density

Differential Free Swell (%)

1.687 gm/cm3
48.46

The grain size distribution curve of BC soil is shown in figure 1

Fig. 1: Grain Size Distribution of BC soil

IV. TEST RESULTS

Various tests were conducted on black cotton soil mixed with silica fume in different proportion as per the relevant IS code of
practice. The test results obtained from various laboratory investigations are summarized in table-3.
Table - 3
Summary of results
Sr. No.

Particulars of tests

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Soil Classification
Liquid Limit (%)
Plastic Limit (%)
Plasticity Index (%)
Shrinkage Limit (%)
Specific Gravity
Optimum moisture content (%)
Maximum Dry Density
Differential Free Swell (%)

RESULTS
CS0
CH
50%
26%
24%
10.44%
2.69
18%
1.675gm/cm3
48.46

CS5

CS10

CS15

56%
30%
26%
11.77%
2.66
19%
1.66 gm/cm3
31.5

62%
33%
29%
12.62%
2.61
22%
1.64 gm/cm3
16.66

67%
36%
31%
13.01%
2.59
24%
1.62 gm/cm3
9

Where,
CS0 = Clay + 0% Silica Fume.
CS5 = Clay + 5% Silica Fume.
CS10 = Clay + 10% Silica Fume.
CS15 = Clay + 15% Silica Fume.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The test results obtained from the experimental work are briefly discussed below. The variation of Liquid Limit, Plasticity Index,
Shrinkage limit, specific gravity, standard proctor test (OMC, MDD) and differential free swell are shown in figure 2 to figure 7.
The Liquid limit increased from 50% to 67% as silica fume content is increased from 0% to 15%.Similarly the plasticity index of
BC soil increases from 24% to 31% with the increase of silica fume content in the black cotton soil. The shrinkage limit
increases from 10.44% to 13.01% and specific gravity decreases from 2.69 to 2.59 with the increase of micro silica.
The compaction tests have been carried out on virgin soil and soil-silica fume mixtures. The proctor tests were conducted as
per IS 2720 (Part-VIII). The variation of optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) are shown in
figure 6. Both the OMC and MDD decrease with increase in silica fume content. However this decrease is not much as compare
to the initial values. The swelling behaviour of the soil is also checked to a great extent. The differential free swell (DFS) values
are decrease from 50% to 7% are shown in figure 8.

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Impact of Micro Silica Fume on Engineering Properties of Expansive Soil

(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 12 / 079)

Fig. 2: Variation of Liquid limit for clay-silica fume mixtures.

Fig. 3: Variation of Plasticity Index values with increase in silica fume content.

Fig. 4: Variation of Shrinkage limits for clay-silica fume mixtures.

Fig. 5: Variation of specific gravity for clay silica fume mixtures.

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Impact of Micro Silica Fume on Engineering Properties of Expansive Soil

(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 12 / 079)

Fig. 6: Effect of Silica Fume on Compaction Characteristics of Soil.

Fig. 7: Variation of differential free swell for clay silica fume mixtures.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
The waste materials such as Micro Silica Fume (SF) can also be used as non-traditional stabilizer for black cotton soils. This
paper examines the effect of adding Silica Fume (SF) on the index properties of BC soils. From the series of laboratory
experiments have been conducted on varieties of samples containing: 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% for Silica Fume, it is found that the
index properties of soil have been improved by adding different percentage of Silica Fume. The swelling properties of BC Soil
have also improved. Thus, expansive soil stabilized with micro silica fume can be used as a subgrade material for construction of
flexible pavements in rural roads with low traffic volume.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
At this moment of accomplishment, first of all I pay homage to my guide, Dr. M.k.Trivedi. This work would not have been
possible without his guidance, support and encouragement. Under his guidance I successfully overcame many difficulties and
learned a lot.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]

Fly Ash for Soil Improvement, Geotechnical Special Publication No.36, America Society of Civil Engineers, New York,New York,1993.
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Biswas, etal. (2012) .Utilization of Rice husk with Lime in Subgrade Soil for a Rural Road.International Conference on Emerging Frontier in Technology
for Rural Area.
Saranjeet Rajesh Soni *et al. Disposal of solid waste for black cotton soil stabilization,International Journal of Advanced Engineering Sciences and
Technologies Vol No. 8,Issue No. 1,113 -120.
Abd El-Aziz.,Abo-Hashema M., and El-Shourbagy M., The effect of Lime-Silica Fume Stabilizer on Engineering Properties of Clayey Subgrade,.Fourth
Mansoura International Engineering Conference (4th IEC), Faculty of Engineering ,Mansoura University,Eygpt,April 2004.
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diploma in Highway Engineering,Visvesvaraya Technological University,Belgaum.
Kalkan,E. and Akbulut,S., The Positive Effects of Silica Fume on the Permeability,Swelling Pressure and Compressive Strength of Natural Clay
Liners,Journal of Engineering Geology,Vol. 73,2004,pp. 145-156.

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Impact of Micro Silica Fume on Engineering Properties of Expansive Soil

(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 12 / 079)
Bhuvaneshwari, S., Robinson, R.G. and Gandhi, S.R., Stabilization of expansive soils using fly ash, Fly Ash India, 2005, Fly Ash Utilization Program
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[10] Bose, B. (2012), Geo engineering properties of expansive soil stabilized with fly ash, Electronic Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, Vol. 17, Bund. J.
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[12] Sabat, A.K., Nanda,R.P. (2011). Effect of marble dust on strength and durability of Rice husk ash stabilized expansive soil. International Journal of Civil
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[9]

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