Impact of Silica on Geotechnical Properties of Clayey Soil Present in Edfu- Aswan, Egypt

It may be necessary to improve the engineering properties of clayey soils to make them suitable for construction by using some kind of stabilization methods. Treatment with lime, cement or waste materials such as silica fume (SF) has traditionally been used for the stabilization of clayey soils. The soil chosen in this research was extracted from a site in Edfu- Aswan, Egypt. Investigating the effect of properties of cohesive soils when mixed with SF is the main objective of this study. Silica fume is a mineral made up of ultra-fine solid, amorphous silicon dioxide glass spheres (SiO2) from the metallurgical industries company (E.JS.C) in Edfu. A series of laboratory experiments for samples prepared with different percentages were implemented of SF 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%,8%, and 10%. The results show that the blend will increase the maximum dry density of clayey soils. Their Plasticity Index and the liquid limit would increase, the permeability of clayey soil decreases, the unconfined compression strength will increase. All of these results can be summarized to say that the engineering properties of cohesive soils can be improved by combining Silica Fume and clayey soils together.