The solidification of soft soils with cement is a well established practice. The originally soils with limited strength and high compressibility can be effectively improved to serve most civil engineering applications. Nonetheless effectiveness of the solidification method depends on various factors, where the mixing quality is arguably one of the most important. Mixing quality of the soil-cement mixture is directly influenced by the cement dosage as well as mixing frequency or cycles. In this laboratory study, Kawasaki clay was treated with a range of cement contents (i.e. 8–16.5%) at the fixed water/cement (W/C) ratio of 10. The corresponding mixing water contents were 1.5–3.0 times the liquid limit of the clay. Also, cement powder was introduced in single, double or triple layers in the cylindrical specimens measuring 50 mm diameter and 100 mm height. Mixing cycles were varied at 5, 50 and 100 times of scooping motion using a spatula. In summary, it was found that the number of cement layer played limited role in the uniformity of mixing, where W/C ratio and the mixing cycles remained the dominant factors.
Strength, Mixing quality, Clay, Cement, Water-cement ratio
