Effect of Lime and Rice Husk Ash on Horizontal Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Sandy Loam Soils

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) of soil is one of the most frequently used parameters in geotechnical studies especially in the case of structures in permanent contact with water. This property is significantly influenced by pore distribution and surface characteristics of soil particles. In this study, a physical model was utilized to investigate the effect of varying amounts (2, 4 and 6% of weight) of hydrated Lime and hydrated Lime-Rice husk ash mixture (LRHA) with 1:1 ratio on the horizontal hydraulic conductivity (ksat-h) of a compacted sandy loam soil. The horizontal saturated permeability of samples was tested after 28 days of curing. Results indicated that a soil mixture including 4% hydrated lime, increased the initial hydraulic conductivity significantly. While adding greater amounts of lime reduced the Ksat due to the lime filling the pores of the sandy soil. It is also shown that adding 2% of LRHA had a slight …