Lime treatment of Interior and South-Central Alaskan soils

Abstract

Lime treatment of soil is the practice of introducing lime to soil to improve subgrade conditions or to improve a soil's properties to meet construction aggregate qualifications. Lime treated soils commonly exhibit improvements in moisture-density, strength, and thaw performance. Although lime treatment has been practiced in many regions of the United States and Canada for several decades, it is not practiced in Alaska. The purpose of this study was to determine potential of improving commonly encountered Alaskan soils with lime treatment. The two soils analyzed during this study were a silt from the Fairbanks area and a silty gravel from the Anchorage area. These soils were analyzed due to their similarity with soils encountered within regions of Alaska that are currently developed, and have potential for future development. Several laboratory tests were conducted to analyze the effect lime has on the engineering properties of both studied soils. The properties analyzed included moisture-density, strength, frost susceptibility, and thaw strength. The results of this study show lime treatment has potential to improve the engineering properties of commonly encountered Alaskan soils. The results of this study also show potential to improve Alaskan soil with low concentrations of lime during cool and short construction seasons.