Effects of Cement on the Compaction Properties of Lateritic Soil

Abstract Lateritic soils at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai, Malaysia was investigated subjected to their geotechnical properties and their suitability to be used as construction materials. The soil samples were collected and tested for various basic soil properties tests such as Atterberg Limit, Specific Gravity (SG), Sieve Analysis, and Compaction test. Atterberg’s consistency limit test shows that the liquid limit (LL) is 70.3%, the plastic limit (PL) is 42.0%, and the plasticity index (PI) is 28.3%. The specific gravity (SG) value for laterite is 2.74. For the compaction test, the optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) obtained are 28% and 1.39 g/cm 3. A laboratory study was performed to compare and evaluate the stabilization efficiency of different percentages (3%, 6%, 9%, 12%) of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) when applied to the available laterite soil; a major soil group in the tropical areas. Analysis of laboratory data is assessed from a soil compaction test through the standard proctor method by using the automatic compactor. The soil mixtures were compacted at optimum moisture content in accordance with the British Standard (BS) of BS 1377-4:1990. From the preceding results, it was found that the OMC increase from 28% to 34% while the MDD increase from 1.39 g/cm³ to 1.47 g/cm³ with the rise in the percentage of cement.