International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Application

Volume 3, Issue 7

• Author(s)Anand B. Deshmukh
• AffiliationDepartment of Civil Engineering, Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology, Nanded, Maharashtra, India
• Page No.65-70
• Volume, Issue & YearVolume 3, Issue 7, July 2026
• Published On2026/07/07
• JournalInternational Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Application (IJAMA)
• ISSN No.3048-9350

Abstract

Expansive black cotton soil (BCS), covering approximately 7.2 lakh km² of the Deccan Plateau region of peninsular India, presents a severe geotechnical hazard to road pavements, canal embankments, and shallow foundations owing to its high montmorillonite clay mineral content, extreme volumetric swell-shrink response (free swell index 42–86%), very low California Bearing Ratio (CBR 2–5%), and poor trafficability during monsoon seasons. Chemical stabilisation with hydrated lime exploits cation exchange, flocculation-agglomeration, and long-term pozzolanic reactions to reduce plasticity, control swell, and improve strength; however, lime alone at dosages above 6% shows diminishing strength returns and increased material cost. Rice Husk Ash (RHA), a reactive siliceous agro-industrial pozzolan available at negligible cost from rice mills across Maharashtra and Telangana, can supplement lime's calcium hydroxide with additional silica for secondary calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) formation, potentially exceeding the performance of lime-only stabilisation at lower total additive dosage. This study systematically investigates the effect of lime addition (2%, 4%, 6%, 8% by dry weight of soil) and binary lime–RHA blends (4% lime + 5% RHA; 4% lime + 10% RHA) on BCS collected from Nanded district, Maharashtra. Parameters evaluated include Modified Proctor compaction (MDD, OMC), soaked CBR, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) at 28-day cure, free swell, hydraulic conductivity by falling-head permeameter at cure ages 0–90 days, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) phase analysis at 28 days. The 4% lime + 10% RHA binary blend achieves the highest UCS (384.2 kPa, 461% above virgin soil), soaked CBR of 38.6%, free swell reduction to 0.94% (87.3% below untreated soil), and hydraulic conductivity of 1.6×10⁻⁸ m/s at 28 days — a three-order-of-magnitude improvement. XRD confirms progressive montmorillonite peak suppression and emergence of C-S-H and C-A-S-H phases with increasing RHA content and curing age.

Keywords: black cotton soil, expansive soil, lime stabilisation, rice husk ash, CBR, UCS, free swell, hydraulic conductivity, XRD, Deccan Plateau, pavement subgrade

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