Effect of freezing and thawing on strength and permeability of lime-stabilized clays

In this study, the effect of freezing and thawing on the strength and permeability of two clayey soils (high and low plasticity), which had been stabilized with lime, were investigated. Before and after stabilization, the permeability and strength of the specimens were determined with various freeze-thaw cycles. Results of this study indicated that for both clays, 6% lime addition increased the hydraulic conductivity of the specimens 1000 times. However, the hydraulic conductivity of clay with 6% lime increased 10–20 times after only 3 freeze-thaw cycles. The results of strength tests exhibited different trends. The strength of stabilized high plasticity clay increased approximately 15 times at the end of 28 day curing, whereas the strength of stabilized low plasticity clay increased about 3 times only. The strength of both stabilized clays decreased 10–15% at the end of the freeze-thaw cycles.