Improving Expansive Soil Properties by Adding Fuel Oil

Abstract

Expansive soils are the an un constant volume soil, because, they distend or swell when wetting & shrink when they are dried, therefore they affect the stability of the structures that are rested on it, such as light weight buildings & pavements and, then, damages appear because of the developments of heave and swelling which depend, mainly, on the clay content (less than 0.002mm particles size) which the soil has. The problem discussed her on an expansive soil area at the Iraqi west desert that the new [Wild Hajj] road passes over it, named AL-Bussita area. Stability tests such as maximum dry density, CBR, unconfined and triaxial shear test besides other tests such as swelling tests, (one dimensional oedometer tests), were performed on soil shales taken from this area. The study was continued with a sample from a same soil mixed with the fuel oil. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the (8% by weight) was the optimum percent of the fuel oil to minimize the swelling potential, and to get a good engineering soil property and the mixed soil became acceptable to use in earth works of roads.