Effect of by-product steel slag on the engineering properties of clay soils

Clay soils, mainly if they contain swelling minerals such as smectite or illite, may cause severe damage to structures, especially when these soils are subjected to wetting and drying conditions. High expansion and reduction in shear strength and foundation bearing capacity will take place due to the increase in water content of these soils. The engineering properties of these kinds of soils can be improved by using additives and chemical stabilizers. In this work, by-product steel slag was used to improve the engineering properties of clay soils. Lab and field experimental programs were developed to investigate the effect of adding different percentages of steel slag on plasticity, swelling, compressibility, shear strength, compaction, and California bearing ratio (CBR) of the treated materials. The results of tests on the clay soil showed that as steel slag content increased, the soil dry density, plasticity, swelling potential, and cohesion intercept decreased and the angle of internal friction increased. For the CBR, the results of the tests showed an increase in the CBR value with the increase in slag content.