Unconfined Compressive Strength Development in an Expansive Black Cotton Soil Treated with Nano-Silica, Lime and Fly Ash

Authors

  • Deepak Mishra Department of Civil Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal; 462003, MP, INDIA
  • Utkarsh Department of Civil Engineering, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, INDIA
  • Sphurty Raman Department of Civil Engineering, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201310, INDIA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.icaces.16

Keywords:

unconfined compressive strength, expansive soil, nano-silica, lime, fly ash, pozzolanic reaction, curing

Abstract

The most direct laboratory test for the cementation that a cement can provide to a clay is unconfined compressive strength (UCS). The present study investigates the development of UCS under various treatment conditions such as seven nano-silica–lime–fly ash combinations and curing periods ranging from 7 to 90 days in a black cotton soil from Wardha district in Maharashtra. The untreated soil's strength increased only slightly over time (182 - 389 kPa), which indicates that no cementing agent was present. By contrast, each stabilised blend exhibited significant and steady strengths at both the time and the 90-day mark: the strongest blend (M7) had an early-age strength of 770 kPa and exceeded the 90-day strength of the untreated soil by nine times and more than four times that of the untreated soil's 90-day strength. As the dosage of the reagent increased, and as curing time increased, strength increased, which indicates that the time dependence is greatest for the pozzolanic reaction. The distribution of UCS was very closely linked to the triaxial cohesion intercept and confirmed that the extra strength is added in the form of inter-particle bonding, and not in the form of frictional resistance. The results indicate that nano-silica (in addition to lime and fly ash) can transform a weak expansive clay into a firm and cemented material for use as a structural fill and treated subgrade with nano-silica content as low as 10%.

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References

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Published

2026-06-12

How to Cite

Mishra, D., Utkarsh, & Raman, S. (2026). Unconfined Compressive Strength Development in an Expansive Black Cotton Soil Treated with Nano-Silica, Lime and Fly Ash. Journal for Research in Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, 5(1), 135–139. https://doi.org/10.55544/jrasb.icaces.16

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2026): Special Issue : ICACES 2025

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Deepak Mishra, Utkarsh, Sphurty Raman

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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