Experimental investigation of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of a pulverulent soil treated with lime and/or cement

BELMANA, ADEL (2025) Experimental investigation of the mechanical and hydraulic behavior of a pulverulent soil treated with lime and/or cement. Doctoral thesis, Faculté des Sciences et de la technologie.

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Abstract

Hydraulic structures utilized for irrigation, electricity generation, and navigation are susceptible to deterioration from water exposure and erosion, resulting in alterations to the soil's mechanical and hydraulic properties over time. Numerous extracted soils are unsuitable for direct application due to the risk of erosion, necessitating the utilization of substituted soils from remote areas. This results in deadline overruns and increased execution costs, leading to waste and additional transportation and storage expenses. This also adversely affects sustainable development by increasing environmental impact. The primary aim of the thesis is to examine the enhancements in the application of lime or cement treatment to stabilize a granular soil with a specific clay content deemed unsuitable against erosion. To attain this goal, certain some obstacles must be overcome: The initial issue pertains to the deficiency of experimental data regarding erosion in this specific soil type. No research has been performed on soil exhibiting a broad grain size spectrum, ranging from a few microns to several millimetres. The second is related to the insufficient understanding of the efficacy of lime or cement treatment on soil with a low clay content. The removal of these various barriers requires the implementation of a multi-criteria approach to understand and estimate the improvements brought by lime or cement treatment on this type of soil. Initially, the soil's sensitivity is evaluated by the HET and Crumb tests. A treatment using lime or cement was applied to the analyzed soil, utilizing various percentages and curing durations, during which erosion tests are performed to assess the treatment's efficacy, optimal dosage and curing time. In parallel, a study on the mechanical behavior was performed utilizing triaxial tests to assess the shear strength and cohesiveness of the treated soil. This investigation was supplemented by tests determining the evolution of soil mineralogy throughout treatment, as well as its porosity, including X-Ray, SEM, TGA, and mercury porosimetry analyses

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