STRENGTH AND FREEZE-THAWING PROPERTIES OF WHEAT-STRAW-ADDED CLAY

Different methods are used to improve the geotechnical properties of clay soils. One of these methods is the improvement of the properties of soil such as swelling, settlement, permeability and strength by adding various additives to clay soil. The additives included in the clay for the improvement can be waste materials such as silica fume, fly ash or red mud, as well as cement, lime or chemicals. In addition, natural or synthetic fibers are also used to improve the engineering characteristics of clays. In this study, the consistency, compaction, unconfined compression and freezing-thawing properties of wheat-straw-added-clay samples obtained by adding wheat straw to a clay in different percentages (0.5 %, 1 %, 1.5 %) and with different lengths (2 mm, 5 mm) were investigated. The tests showed that the unconfined compressive strength of the clay increased with an increase in the percentage of straw. Unconfined compression tests performed after the samples were subjected to four cycles of freezing-thawing tests revealed that the straw had a positive effect on the unconfined compression strength of the clay after freezing-thawing. The overall evaluation of the test results revealed that wheat-straw fiber can be used as an additive for the stabilization of high-plasticity clays.