Effects of lime treatment on the geotechnical properties of dredged mud

The preloading method has been widely applied in land reclamation as a green and economical approach to ground improvement. To improve the consolidation behavior, the addition of lime generally improves soil performance. In this article, a modified oedometer equipped with a tactile pressure sensor and a bender?extender element is employed. The effects of lime treatment on the geotechnical properties of dredged mud are investigated; these properties include the coefficient of the earth pressure at rest (K-0), settlement, drainage behavior, and evolution of the elastic wave velocity. The results reveal that the addition of lime not only influences the specimen?s deformation behavior but also influences its shear strength during and after loading. Combined with the evolution of the elastic wave velocity, the microstructural evolution of the specimen could be described and explained. It is concluded that a compressional wave is more sensitive to the change in the specimen?s void ratio and saturation. For K-0, initially (<25?kPa), the higher the lime content is, the greater the K-0 fluctuation is. Afterwards, the higher the lime content is, the smaller the K-0 fluctuation is, and finally K-0 slowly approaches approximately 0.2.