Frost Heave of Clayey Soils Treated with Cement or Lime

The objective of this research was to measure and compare the effects of portland cement and lime at low, medium, and high concentrations on the frost-heave susceptibility of clayey soils with varying plasticity indices. The scope of work included laboratory frost-heave testing of three clayey soils, which exhibited medium, high, and very high plasticity. Each soil was tested with two stabilizers, cement or lime, at concentrations of 4%, 6%, and 8%, as well as with no treatment. Two replicate specimens were prepared for each combination, for a total of 42 specimens. Regarding frost heave, the use of cement resulted in decreased frost heave compared to the untreated soil for all soils except for Soil 3 at a concentration of 4%, while the use of lime resulted in decreased frost heave compared to the untreated soil only for Soil 1 at all three concentrations and Soil 2 at concentrations of 6% and 8%, respectively. Regarding water ingress, the use of cement resulted in decreased water ingress compared to the untreated soil for all soils except for Soil 2 at a concentration of 4% and Soil 3 at a concentration of 4%, while the use of lime resulted in decreased water ingress compared to the untreated soil only for Soil 1 at all three concentrations. With no exceptions, the use of cement resulted in decreased frost heave and decreased water ingress compared to the use of lime for all three soils at all three concentrations. For the concentrations of cement and lime utilized in this study, cement was clearly more effective at decreasing frost heave and water ingress than lime for all three of the tested soils.