Prediction of shear strength parameters in soil–lime mixture design – part 1: quicklime

Lime stabilisation is a widely used technique, however, in practical applications, it is not unusual to encounter cases of failure due to a lack of consideration of all the steps involved and incomplete account of the variables to produce a successful mix design. This paper, part 1 of two companion papers, presents useful correlations between the shear strength parameters of compacted soil–quicklime (QL) mixtures and the main variables of lime treatment. In part 2, shear strength data of compacted soil–hydrated lime mixtures are processed for the same purpose. The correlations for QL treatment were derived from 26 triaxial compression and direct shear tests by multiple regression analysis. The database was constructed with experimental results concerning five soils with different plasticity characteristics and CFs. QL was added to the soils in different proportions. Tests were carried out at different curing times on soil–lime samples compacted at different water contents. Very good correlations were obtained and validated with data from the literature. Thanks to these correlations, the optimum lime amount can be preliminarily identified, knowing the characteristics of the soil to be treated and the required design shear strength parameters.