The Effects of Freezing and Thawing Cycles on Mechanical Properties of Fine-grained Soils Stabilized with Lime and Reinforced with Polypropylene Fiber

Due to the positive effects of adding lime in fine-grained soils and reinforcing these soils with polypropylene fiber, durability evaluation of stabilized or reinforced soils especially in cold regions where are more exposed to periodical freezing and thawing cycles is still necessary. In this research, 12 different treatments were prepared by using three levels of lime (0, 2 and 4 percent by weight of dry soil) and four levels of polypropylene fiber (0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 percent by weight of dry soil). Each treatments with three replications has been cured for 28 days and undergoes numerous cycles of freezing and thawing including 0, 1, 4, 7 and 10 cycles, then unconfined compressive strength of the specimens were determined. According to results of various tests, it was found that using 4% lime with 0.5% polypropylene fibre is the most appropriate combination for making strongest and most durable mixture, as unconfined shear strength of test samples do not change after taking numerous cycles of freezing and thawing.