Application of cement kiln dust for the stabilization of expansive soils in the region of Murcia (Spain)

Abstract

The increasing demand for the recovery of different waste materials, such as by-product materials from different industries, due to the necessity for reduction of carbon print emission, have found its usage in geotechnical engineering by its application for soil stabilization, among other applications. This study proposes the recovery of two cement kiln dust (CKD) types for the stabilization of an expansive clay with high swelling potential thus also classified as inadequate for its use as building material and discarded for construction of geotechnical structures. The mineralogical and chemical analysis of raw materials is performed for their identification prior to performance of different geotechnical laboratory tests, as well as on different mixtures of soil and CKD after the performance of tests. The study of compaction and deformational parameters for soil mixtures with different CKD content is presented to evaluate its compaction conditions, the reduction in swelling potential and improvement of deformational properties. It is confirmed that the reduction of index properties through limit liquid and plasticity index, reduction of swelling potential and reduction of compressibility by improvement of deformation properties can be achieved by the addition of 10 % of cement kiln dust of different mineralogical compositions.