Soil Stabilization against Internal Erosion Using Cement and Fiber-Cement Mixture

Abstract

Internal erosion of soil is the main cause of failure in many engineering hydraulic structures especially embankment dams. Understanding the internal erosion behavior and stabilizing the soil against this phenomenon is a major goal of geotechnical engineers. This work includes the results of a comprehensive experimental testing program to study the internal erosion behavior and to stabilize two types of soils (sand and clay) using cement and fiber- cement mixture. The sand and clayey soils were mixed with different percentages of cement and fiber-cement mixture by the dry weight of the soil and tested against internal erosion at different curing time. The Hole Erosion Test (HET) was employed to evaluate the erosion behavior and erosion index of the used soils. The results showed that the treatment of sandy soils with 4% cement by dry weight of sand caused a significant reduction in the internal erosion and substantial increase in the shear stress and erosion rate index. Similarly, the treatment of clayey soil, with up to 1% fiber-cement mixture by the dry weight of the soil, resulted in significant increases in the shear stress and the erosion rate index. Additionally, this study presents the effect of curing time of cement on the erosion index of the soils.