Research

Engineering Sciences

Title :

Influence of Bentonite and Biopolymer as Stabilizers on Micro-Mechanical Performance of Pre-crushed Micaceous Sand at Different Degree of Mica Particle Breakage under Varying Cyclic Loading Conditions

Area of research :

Engineering Sciences

Principal Investigator :

Dr. Seethalakshmi P, National Institute Of Technology Calicut (NITC), Kerala

Timeline Start Year :

2023

Timeline End Year :

2026

Contact info :

Equipments :

Details

Executive Summary :

Micaceous soils are often avoided in pavements or embankments due to their high compressibility and low compactability. Mica particles, which are platy, elastic, and resilient, tend to form larger non-uniform void spaces when added with sand particles. They also deform under loading and rebound back upon unloading, leading to mica particle breakage due to their low hardness. Micaceous soils with more than 10% mica are considered unsafe due to their resilience and crushing nature. The response of micaceous soil under earthquake loading shows trends from liquefaction to stable behavior under increased mica content, which are not in accordance with traffic loading conditions. The presence of mica may affect the dynamic behavior of micaceous sand, affecting pore pressure accumulation and stiffness degradation under earthquake loading conditions, which influences the stability of structures. Previous studies have focused on conventional shear strength behavior of micaceous soil for different mica content under static and dynamic loading. However, few researchers have examined the stabilization of micaceous sand with conventional stabilizers, which were ineffective when mica was greater than 30%. The current study aims to determine the geotechnical behavior of micaceous sand under three different loading conditions: repeated cyclic loading in CBR testing, cyclic loading in resilient modulus testing using haversine wave, and cyclic loading in cyclic triaxial testing apparatus using sinusoidal waves.

Total Budget (INR):

15,72,076

Organizations involved