Stabilization of Clay at Sunnam Cheruvu Area in Nadergul, Hyderabad Using Organic Waste

Clay soils inherit certain problems due to its properties such as plasticity, volume change, low strength, etc. To overcome these problems an attempt has been made in the present study to determine the utility of organic waste in stabilization of clay which has been obtained from Sunnam Cheruvu area of Nadergul, Hyderabad. Organic wastes have been considered due to their economical and environmental advantage. Ash of sugarcane pulp, wood, and coconut shell have been considered to investigate their potential in stabilizing the clay soil in pursuit of obtaining a cheaper and effective stabilizer. Laboratory experimentation was done to evaluate the differential free swell and unconfined compressive strength (UCC) for various percentages of ash contents. Curing of stabilized soil samples for 7 and 28 days were considered. Stabilization also required addition of lime to control swell. The results show that the swell and strength properties of samples were improved with the addition of various ash contents and also with curing period. Therefore it is concluded that sugar cane pulp ash, wood ash and coconut shell ash have a good potential in improving the properties of clay soil.