Improvement of California Bearing Ratio of Fine Grained Soil Treated with Bagasse Ash, US

The increasing price of old stabilizing agents and the necessity for the efficient application of industrial and agricultural waste for engineering purposes has encouraged a study into the stabilizing potential of sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) in fine gained soil. The grain size analysis (GSA) indicate that the soil in the study has 53% silt, 11% clay, 34% sand and 2% gravel and therefore is classified as fine sandy silt. The maximum dry density (MDD) and the optimum moisture content (OMC) of the natural soil were 1.640Mg/m3 and 19.5% respectively. The top and bottom California bearing ratio (CBR) values of the natural soil were 3% and 2.9% respectively. LL and PI increase with increasing SCBA content while PL decreases with increasing SCBA content. The MDD decreases while the OMC increases with increasing SCBA content. Peak top and bottom CBR values of 18% and 20% were attained by treating the soil with 2% SCBA content. These values fell short of the requirement of the CBR value for sub-base or sub-grade material. However, for very less traffic roads, the values can be considered good for sub-grade material.