ISSN: 2319-7293
E. Nyankson, B. Agyei-Tuffou, E. Annan , D. Dodoo-Arhin , A. Yaya, L. D. Brefo , E. S. Okpoti & E. Odai
Shrink-swell soils expand and heave or contract and crack during periods of high and low moisture contents. The expansion and contraction cause the lifting and or sinking of structures, crack development and eventual collapse of engineering structures. The need to stabilize such plastic soils to improve their load carrying capacities cannot be overemphasized. Therefore in this article, the effect of lime contained in eggshell and its application in the stabilization of shrink-swell soils have been explored. 4wt% and 8wt% of eggshell powder were mixed with equal masses of two different soil samples from Dodowa (DD) and Adalekope (AD) in Ghana. The samples were characterized with x-ray florescence (XRF), Plasticity Index analysis (PI), Free Swell Index (FSI), pH test and grading test. The x-ray florescence results showed that eggshell contains about 52wt% of CaO, which is largely responsible for the soil stabilization. The sample mixed with 8wt% eggshell powder show a decrease PI, FSI and a high silt/clay fraction. The results obtained have been discussed and can influence the application of eggshells powders for large scale stabilization of expansive soils.