Abstract
Laboratory determination of design lime content to be applied in the field involve preparing soil-lime specimens with different lime contents to evaluate their swelling potential and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) after curing for 7 or 28 days. Curing of specimens is typically conducted under the conditions of ambient temperature and relative humidity greater than 95%. During field application, lime-treated expansive soils may be subjected to cases of increase moisture. This paper investigates the effect of wetting during curing period on the UCS of lime-treated expansive clay. An experimental program was devised where lime-treated specimens were subjected to different wetting schemes (whether a single wetting event or multiple wetting events) and the UCS at the end of the curing period is evaluated. Other parameters investigated included lime content (2%, 4% and 6% on dry weight basis) and curing period (7, 14 and 28 days). Results of the tests indicated that wetting schemes had a detrimental effect on the UCS of lime-treated specimens; especially at low lime content (i.e., 2%). Furthermore, as the lime content increased, the percentage reduction in UCS decreased.