MODERN SOIL STABILIZATION TECHNIQUES
The stabilization of
naturally-occurring or native soil has been performed by millennia. The Mesopotamians
and Romans separately discovered that it was possible to improve the ability of
pathways to carry traffic by mixing the weak soils with a stabilizing agent
like pulverized lime stone or calcium. This was the first chemical
stabilization of weak soils to improve their load-carrying ability.
Successful
modern soil stabilization techniques are necessary to assure adequate subgrade
stability, especially for weaker and wetter soils. It is widely recognized that
selection between cementitious stabilizing agents cement and lime is based on
the Plasticity Index (P I) of the primary soil type being improved.
