Front. Struct. Civ. Eng.

2012, 6(2): 153–165

DOI 10.1007/s11709-012-0153-y

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Effect of environment change on the strength of cement/

lime treated clays
Takenori HINOa, Rui JIAa* , Seiji SUEYOSHIb, Tri HARIANTOc
a
Institute of Lowland and Marine Research, Saga University, Saga 840-8502, Japan
b
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga 840-8502,
Japan
c
Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: jiarui@ilt.saga-u.ac.jp

© Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

ABSTRACT The field strengths of cement/lime treated clays were investigated in the Ariake Sea costal lowlands. The
deposition environment of the investigation location is reconstructed and compared to the present ground environment.
The mechanism of the ground environment change and its effect on the strength of cement/lime treated soil are discussed.
The strength development of improved soil using cement and lime in different curing environments was investigated in
the laboratory for studying the effect of environment change on the strength also. It has been found that the strength
deterioration of improved soil in deep mixing method is due to 1) the ground environment change due to the secondary
oxidation which results in low pH value and high organic content, and 2) the formations of the porous structures result
from the elution of the calcium ions. Also, it has been found that the initial strength increase of the improved soil is related
to the dissolved silica and that the dissolution of the silica in clay minerals needs long time. When examining the long-
term strength for preventing strength degradation, the effect of environmental change has to be considered. The
importance of measuring pH and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the ground for cement/lime solidification method
is explained.

KEYWORDS soil solidification, ground environment, strength deterioration, pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), silica

1 Introduction Ariake Sea costal lowlands, and the reason of solidification

In the Ariake Sea coastal lowlands, a thick, highly sensitive
and compressible soft clay layer was deposited during the
Holocene series (from 10000 years ago to the present) [1].
This soft clay layer requires the measures to improve its
mechanical properties for engineering use. The stabiliza-
tion is mainly chemical solidification/stabilization and
promotion of physical consolidation which have been used
in Japan for 50 and 70 years [2]. However, many
unsatisfactory results have been reported.
In this paper, the field strength of cement/lime treated
clays in deep mixing method was investigated in the
Article history: Received Feb. 17, 2012; Accepted Mar. 28, 2012
failure is interpreted based on the results of the environ-
mental change in Quaternary period. The ground environ-
ment of the investigation location during the early
formative period is reconstructed and compared to the
present ground environment, and the mechanism of the
ground environment change is discussed. Then the strength
development of improved soil using cement and lime in
different curing environments was investigated in the
laboratory for studying the effect of environment change
on the strength in deep mixing solidification. Assuming
pozzolanic reaction of the improved soil depends on the
clay minerals, the strength properties and the elution
characteristics were examined. Based on the in situ
investigation and laboratory test results, the mechanism
of environment change on the strength deterioration of
cement/lime treated clays is discussed, and the long-term
strength change of the improved soil is also discussed.
154 Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 2012, 6(2): 153–165
2 Field strength of cement/lime treated
clays and geoenvironment
2.1 Field strength of improved soil in deep mixing method
Figure 1 shows the investigation locations of the core
samples in this study [1]. Figure 2 shows the result of deep
mixing solidification method using a lime-based admixture
in the Ashikari Town of Ogi City, Saga Prefecture. In Fig.
2, the dash line looped area (depths from 11 to 12 m) have
low shear strengths, which means that strength develop-
ment is not satisfactory at this depth and additional
solidification is required. To clarify the cause of partial
failure of the solidification, the physico-chemical proper-
ties of soil at the site were examined. The results are shown
in the right column of Fig. 2. At the depth where have low
strengths, the pH value of 5.45 indicates acidity and the
organic content shows a high value of 5.77%. The cause of
low shear strengths was identified as low pH and high
organic content [3].
2.2 The original and present geoenvironment
Figure 3 shows the physico-chemical properties of the core
sample from the Ashikari Town of Ogi City, Saga
Prefecture (Fig. 1). The core sample was obtained as a
part of the Ariake Sea Coastal Road Project by the Saga
Prefectural Government [4]. The pH values of the Ariake
Clay Formation (aAc) in the Holocene series are basic, and
the pH values of Hasuike Formations (aHu and aHl) are
Fig. 1 Investigation locations
neutral to acidic (aHu is particularly acidic). The values of
oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) are generally nega-
tive, which means that the general environment is a
reducing environment (anaerobic).
Figure 4 shows the physico-chemical properties of
the core sample from the Yakabe district of Yanagawa
City, Fukuoka Prefecture (Fig. 1). The pH values show
that the ground environment of the Ariake Clay Formation
from the depth of 8 m up to the surface layer is neutral or
acidic. The ORP values for the depths from 8 m up to the
ground surface layer are mostly positive, which means
that the ground environment of the layers is oxidative
(aerobic).
The early environment of the Hasuike Formation
(particularly the upper members) is based on the clay
deposits called “Gata Soil” along the river and the
accumulation of such layers [5]. The Ashikari core
shows that the ground environment of the sampled area
has not changed from the reconstructed early environment,
and the AIST-Yanagawa core shows that there are
considerable secondary changes in the ground environ-
ment of the sampled area. As shown in Fig. 5, a rust-
colored layer existed in the Mitagawa Formation (dM) of
the AIST-Yanagawa core, which confirmed a highly acidic
formative environment. A layer that once was at the
ground surface and was exposed to the air usually loses its
contact with air after it was buried under other layers. The
properties of the layer that has lost its oxygen supply
generally change. The marked oxidative environment of
the Mitagawa Formation (Fig. 5) may due to the secondary