Fabric changes induced by lime addition on a compacted alluvial soil

Experimental work on remoulded natural and lime-stabilised samples of an alluvial silty soil has been conducted. Microstructure analyses were performed by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) on stabilised soil compacted at different initial water contents and cured for different times. Some results are reported, and interpreted referring to different microstructure levels. The stabilised samples showed an aggregate fabric evolving with curing time as a function of the initial water content. From the constricted pore size distributions, investigated by means of cycles of intrusion, two main fabric changes were observed after lime addition - dimensional growth of the aggregates in the short term and the formation of stable bonding compounds in the smaller pore range for longer curing times.