Treatment of dispersive clay soil by ZELIAC

- ZELIAC is a non-hazardous material made of naturally existing, low-cost ingredients.
- Maximum reduction in dispersivity occurred at 8% ZELIAC, which is the fixation point.
- Curing time was significant; after 28 days the dispersive soil became non-dispersive.
- UCS has increased 7.3 times through the addition of 8% ZELIAC and 90 days of curing.
- ZELIAC not only improved the properties of dispersive clay, but also is non-hazardous.

Dispersive clays are prone to erosion and could cause significant problems in geotechnical and geo-environmental projects. In this research, a new additive - the ZELIAC - was investigated for treating a Malaysian dispersive clay soil where an appreciable decrease in dispersivity was achieved due to treatment with 8% ZELIAC. The curing time was found to be significant that after 28 days, the initially dispersive samples became non-dispersive. Furthermore, due to the treatment, the samples had increased unconfined compressive strength (UCS), permeability, and optimum moisture content; and decreased fines content, plasticity index, maximum dry density, and compressibility index. The UCS increased nearly 7.3 times for sample treated with 8% ZELIAC and cured for 90 days. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) results showed a cementitious structure with calcium content 10.8 times more in the treated sample than in the untreated one, reflecting the constructive cation exchange reaction taking place during the curing process. The sodium ion was noticeably replaced by calcium ion which resulted in a decreased thickness of the diffused double layer and the subsequent reduction in the dispersivity of the sample. These results were also reflected by the lower peak intensity as measured by the X-ray diffraction test (XRD) for the treated sample, as compared to the higher peak intensity for the un-treated sample. Finally, the SEM images indicate that the flocculated structures of the treated dispersive clay were surrounded by the ZELIAC particles. Thus, the ZELIAC was proven to be effective in improving the studied Malaysian dispersive clay.