Compressibility and cracking properties of soft soils treated with a polymeric stabiliser Available to Purchase

The influence of polyacrylamide (PAM) on the mechanical and physical characteristics of two kinds of soft soils was investigated laboratory tests including consistency, standard Proctor compaction, incremental loading consolidation and desiccation tests were conducted on the untreated and treated soils. Based on results, addition of PAM caused a reduction in the soils' plasticity indices. Although adding PAM slightly increased the maximum dry density, it had a negligible impact on the optimum moisture content. An increase in PAM content reduced compressibility, initial void ratio, compression and swelling indices, coefficient of consolidation and permeability. Adding PAM caused the cracking potential of soils to decrease. Moreover, to have a better interpretation of the stabilisation mechanism as well as the microstructural changes induced by PAM, the field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses were conducted on the soils. The results demonstrated that the PAM additive enables physical bonding between soil particles rather than chemical reactions. In other words, PAM does not change the soil in terms of the atomic structure of clay particles, rather it alters the whole structure of the clay mass by accumulating particles and creating a strong connection network between them by flocculating the aggregates.