Evaluation of the In-Situ Behaviour of a Lime-Treated Clay in a Real-Scale Experimental Embankment

Abstract

The international commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in the next few decades has oriented infrastructure construction towards the preservation of natural and non-renewable resources. In this context, lime treatment of clayey soils involved in earthworks can be considered among the main sustainable options in the field of infrastructure construction. Lime stabilization technique has been extensively tested and validated through laboratory tests, however, the literature is lacking in full-scale tests, where the volumes of soils treated are large and many variables are involved in the execution process. This paper discusses the mechanical response of clayey soil after lime treatment in a trial embankment specifically designed and built for the full-scale evaluation of the stabilisation technique to be used in road construction works for widening an existing roadway to four lanes in Sicily. To this aim, in-situ tests, including plate load tests, in-place density via cone-sand tests, dynamic penetrometer tests and pressure meter tests, were conducted on the different layers of the embankment. The experimental results are useful not only for evaluating the lime stabilisation technique used, but also for understanding how and to what extent the execution processes for embankment construction with large volumes of treated clayey soils can affect the expected mechanical behaviour.