Field and laboratory behaviour of fine-grained soil stabilized with lime

Fine-grained soils, due to their high plasticity, possess great shrinkage potential and high compressibility and are responsible for very substantial maintenance costs during the service life of the associated infrastructures. Stabilization of such soils with lime is one of the most effective procedures to mitigate these undesirable characteristics and, at the same time, to enhance their mechanical properties. Current research seeks, through field and laboratory tests, to quantify the influence of calcitic hydrated lime on the strength and deflection characteristics clayey soil from the Paraguayan region of Chaco. The influence of different dry unit weights, lime amounts, and curing periods on the strength and deflection of a Paraguayan clay stabilized with lime was assessed. The present work shows, for the first time ever, that the porosity/lime index is the proper parameter to be used in the field when dealing with the strength of clay–lime bases of pavements. Hence, the results presented herein are a contribution to understanding the conditions in which these soils can be stabilized to be used in infrastructural applications.