Interaction of Curing and Soaking on Collapse Potential of Nanoclay-Treated Soil

Abstract

This study examines the combined impact of pre-test curing and soaking periods on the soil's resistance to collapse those results from treating gypseous sand with varying amounts of nanoclay. The soil comes from the Iraqi city of Najaf. The soil sample is mainly sand. The nanoclay named "Montmorillonite K10" is used, and it is non-toxic. The tests are performed with a computerized Oedometer. The collapse potential is estimated according to a single Oedometer test (SOT), where the specimens are initially dry and then soaked under a stress level of 200 kPa. Four data sets related to the percentages of 0, 3, 6, and 12% nanoclay are used. Each data set comprises three groups of pre-tests for curing duration and different soaking durations. All experiments have a constant initial dry density of 1.64 g/cm3, water moisture of 3%, and gypsum content of 29%. The findings of this study show that the collapse potential (CP) of natural soil specimens decreases as the pre-test curing time increases. Generally, there is a decrease in CP due to adding the nanoclay and 6% of the nanoclay exhibited the highest reduction in CP. Also, there is an increase in the pre-test curing for the nanoclay-treated soil specimens, which leads to an increase in the CP related to the no-curing state.