ARID ZONE JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT
AZOJETE March 2020. Vol. 16(1):109-119

Published by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Print ISSN: 1596-2490, Electronic ISSN: 2545-5818

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

ASSESSMENT OF CALCIUM CARBIDE WASTE AND CALCINED CLAY AS STABILIZER IN
FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION

H. A. Quadri1*, O. S. Abiola1, S. O. Odunfa1 and J. O. Azeez2
(1Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

2Department of Soil Science and Land Management, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria)
*Corresponding author’s email address: dejiquadry@gmail.com

1.0 Introduction
Construction of roadways over soft subgrade is one of the most frequent problems for highway
construction in many parts of the world (Antonia, 2016). Stabilization of soft subgrades with
costly stronger materials like crushed rock is widely used, hence the need for cheaper alternative
construction methods on soft subgrades (Cetin et al., 2010; Consoli et al., 2016; Quadri et al.,
2019a; Quadri et al., 2019b). Clay stabilization using low-cost materials such as cement, lime,
rice husk ash, cement kiln dust, calcined clay, steel slag or fly ash are better compared to

ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT

Stabilization techniques have often been used globally to enhance
properties of weak subgrade materials for flexible pavement
construction. This study assessed the blend of calcium carbide waste
(CCW) and calcined clay (CC) to serve as an effective stabilizer of
Subgrade material (S) sourced from a section along Ota-Idiroko road.
Subgrade material was initially modified with CCW in different
percentage replacements by weight (0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20%) and the
resulting blends were subjected to Atterberg’s limits test to determine
the blend with optimum plasticity index reduction which would be
tagged optimum subgrade lime blend (OSLB). The blend of S + 8%
CCW was tagged OSLB because it exhibited optimum plasticity index
reduction. The OSLB was thereafter blended by weight with CC in the
following percentage replacements 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18% in order to
activate the pozzolanic potentials of CC for strength enhancement. The
resulting blends were subjected to Atterberg’s limits, Compaction,
California bearing ratio (CBR) and Unconfined compressive strength
(UCS) tests with the strength specimens cured for 0, 3, 7, 28, 56 and 90
days. The results showed that OSLB-CC blends reduced the Plasticity
index from14.8 to 8.4 %, Maximum dry density from 1.82 to 1.54
Mg/m3, Optimum moisture content, 23.7 to 17.9 % and increased
soaked CBR, 0 to 418.2% and UCS, 201.59 to 5660.84 kPa of natural
subgrade respectively. Furthermore, the blends showed great
improvement with reduction in PI less than standard value of 10% and
increment in standard CBR and UCS values of 180% and 1700 kPa
respectively for base course material. Therefore, stabilized blends at 7
days curing period could improve the natural subgrade to subbase and
base for pavement construction.

© 2020 Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. All rights reserved.

Submitted 15 June, 2019
Revised 27 November, 2019
Accepted 02 December, 2019

Keywords:
Weak subgrade soil
flexible pavement
calcium carbide waste
calcined clay.

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crushed rock (Antonia, 2016). Steel slag, calcined clay, fly ash, rice husk ash amongst others are
useful in many construction applications because they are pozzolanas (Quadri et al., 2019b).
Calcium carbide waste (CCW) is another form of industrial waste being used by researchers to
improve properties of expansive soils (Krammart et al., 2004; Du et al., 2011; Quadri et al.,
2019a). It is a by-product obtained from the acetylene gas (C2H2) production process, as shown
in Equation 1 (Quadri et al., 2019b).

CaC2 +2H2O C2H2 + Ca (OH)2 (1)
CCW when mixed with certain pozzolans, which have high silicon dioxide (SiO2) or aluminum
oxide (Al2O3) content, could yield pozzolanic reactions, resulting in final products that are
similar to those obtained from the cement hydration process (Wang et al., 2013).

Literature studies indicated that CCW can be reused as construction materials (Du et al., 2011).
Jaturapitakkul et al. (2003) indicated that the compressive strength of mixture of CCW and rice
husk ash was so high that the mixture could be used as cementitious material in mortar
production. Krammart et al. (2004) used CCW as part of cement raw material, and found that
the compressive strength of CCW cement mortars was close to that of the control cement. Fu
and Fang (2004) investigated the potential use of mixture of CCW and fly ash as construction
material for sub-base of municipal roads. It was concluded that CCW blends have the merits of
low cost with high strength developed.

Agbede and Joel (2011) conducted a study on the effect of carbide CCW on the properties of
Makurdi shale blended with 0 to 8% of CCW for use in brick production. Their study revealed
that 4% CCW mix was suitable to stabilize the shale. It was concluded that the utilization of CCW
to improve Makurdi shale has advantage of preventing the pollution of air and ground water.
Du et al., (2011) used CCW and lime as binders to treat over-wetted clays being used as
embankment filling material. It was concluded from their tests that CCW treated soils have
better performance than that of lime treated soils and can be adopted as an alternative binder
to treat over-wetted soils being used as highway embankment.

Joel and Edeh (2014) stabilized Ikpayongo laterite with cement and CCW. From the results, the
use of mixture of 8% cement plus 10% CCW, 10% cement plus 10% CCW was recommended as
best treatment for Ikpayongo laterite for use as base material. It was concluded that the use of
CCW in the stabilization of soil will ensure economy in road construction, while providing an
effective way of disposing CCW.

Darikandeh (2017) stabilized expansive soil by CCW-fly ash columns and reported that a
significant reduction in the swell potential and swell pressure was observed at 62% (CCW:
FA=20:80) and 68% (CCW: FA=20:80) respectively. Akinwumi et al. (2019) investigated CCW as a
stabilizer for tropical sand used as pavement material. It was observed that increasing
application of CCW generally reduced the soil’s specific gravity, plasticity index and maximum
dry unit weight. The authors concluded that the soil became more workable and its strength
properties were improved by stabilization with an optimal application of 4% CCW. The subgrade
characteristics of soil for use as earthwork materials for road construction were improved.
Horpibulsuk et al. (2013) worked on strength development in silty clay stabilized with CCW and
fly ash and observed that the soaked and unsoaked strengths depended mainly on the CCW
and FA contents. The authors added that most of the ratios of soaked strength to unsoaked
strength varied between 0.45 and 0.65 and proved that a mixture of CCW and FA could be used
for soil stabilization instead of ordinary Portland cement.

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Vichan and Rachan (2013) stabilized soft Bangkok clay using the blend of CCW and biomass ash
with binders’ contents ranging from 5 to 30%. The authors concluded that strength
development ratio of stabilized clay with a CCW and BA mixture exceeded those of cemented
clay and FA and BA blended cement admixtured clay after 28 days of curing due to the progress
of the pozzolanic reaction. Bandyopadhyay et al. (2016) worked on stabilization of soil using
ground granulated blast furnace (GGBS) and CCW. It was concluded that with increase of CBR
(0.5, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8 and 1.0% of the weight of the soil), optimum moisture content (OMC)
increased and maximum dry density (MDD) decreased which was due to the water absorbing
nature of CCW. The UCS value increased when CCW percentage changed from 0.5 to 0.7% but
decreased at 0.8 to 1.0%, hence it was tested for 0.75% and found that the value of UCS was
3.042 Kg/cm3 which was maximum. Also, maximum CBR in unsoaked condition was found to be
4.18% when soil sample was added with 0.75% CCW by weight. This study assessed CCW and
calcined clay blend as an effective stabilizer for flexible pavement construction via Atterberg’s
limits, California bearing ratio and Unconfined compressive strength tests.

2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Sample Preparation
Subgrade material (S) was obtained from a section along Ota-Idiroko road (Latitude 60 40’
53.082” N and Longitude 30 9’ 11.172” E) while CCW and raw clay were obtained from
automobile workshops and Owode-Ketu in Ogun State respectively. The samples were air dried
under the sun to remove moisture contents, ground to fineness using grinding machine and
sieved through 425 µm sieve size. Particles with large surface area that would be very reactive
to aid hydration or pozzolanic reaction after the raw clay had been calcined in a Kiln for 2 hours
at a temperature of 700°C was used. These materials were subjected to Specific gravity, Particle
size distribution and X-ray fluorescence tests according to BS 1377 (1990) to determine their
properties.

2.1.1 Specific Gravity Test
A constant volume method was used by employing a 50cm3 constant volume conical flask
bottle with distilled water. 20g of dry mass each of these materials (Subgrade, CCW, and CC)
was used as specified in BS 1377 (1990) using Equation 1.

G = Ms
M1w

= M2−M1
M4−M1 −( M3−M2)

(1)
where:
M1 (g) = mass of empty bottle
M2 (g) = mass of bottle + dry soil
M3 (g) = mass of bottle + soil + water
M4 (g) = mass of bottle + water

2.1.2 Particle Size Distribution Test
The subgrade sample was subjected to both wet sieving (sedimentation test) and dry sieving to
evaluate percentages passing using different assemblage of sieves, percentage passing sieve No.
200 (75µm) as specified in BS 1377 (1990).

However, CCW and CC after being ground to fineness, were subjected to dry sieving to evaluate
percentages passing different assemblage of sieves, most especially 425µm as specified in BS
1377 (1990).

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2.1.3 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Test
Firstly, the samples (Subgrade, CCW and CC) were crushed using an agate pestle and mortar,
finely ground and sieved with a mesh size of 75µm to achieve homogeneity.
Afterwards, 15 to 20 g (this quantity makes up the thickness) and each sample was placed in a
plastic sample holder with replaceable plastic support film for each sample analysed. This plastic
support film was attached to the bottom of the sample holder, keeping the sample in the holder
which served as a screen over the X-ray window for direct analysis of the sample and also
provided a flat surface for the sample as rough surfaces could cause scattering of X-rays. An
EDX3600B X-Ray fluorescence Spectrometer (Skyray Instruments, U.S.A) was used to determine
the oxide compositions of materials (subgrade and additives) for classification.

2.2 Experimental Procedure
Firstly, subgrade was modified with calcium carbide waste (CCW) by weight using the following
percentage 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20%. The resulting blends were subjected to Atterberg’s limits in
order to determine the liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL) and plasticity index (PI) values of the
blends. The LL and PI values alongside percentage of soil particles passing sieve No. 200 were
used to classify subgrade according to American Association of Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) system and Unified soil classification system. Also, from the PI values of the
blends, the blend with the optimum PI reduction, tagged optimum subgrade lime blend (OSLB)
was determined. The blend of S + 8% CCW which exhibited the optimum PI reduction (14.8 to
8.7%). The OSLB (S + 8% CCW) was thereafter blended by weight with CC using the following
percentage; 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18% respectively in order to activate the pozzolanic potentials of
CC for strength enhancement. The blends were subjected to Atterberg’s limits test to majorly
determine their PI values, Compaction test to determine their optimum moisture contents (OMC)
and maximum dry densities (MDD), Soaked and Unsoaked California bearing ratio (CBR) tests to
determine their bearing capacities both in wet and dry states and Unconfined compressive
strength (UCS) test to determine their compressive strengths. However, the specimens for
strength test were moist cured for 0, 3, 7, 28, 56 and 90 days respectively in order to aid
hydration or pozzolanic reaction which will in turn enhance strength developments of the
blends. All tests were conducted according to BS 1377 (1990).

2.2.1 Atterberg’s Limits Test
Subgrade sample was pulverized, sieved through sieve 425µm and consequently stabilized with
CCW by weight of soil using the following percentage (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20%) respectively. The
blend of subgrade with 8% CCW (S + 8% CCW) which was singled out as the appropriate
subgrade – lime (CCW) blend (OSLB) was blended with CC in the following percentage (3, 6, 9,
12, 15 and 18%) by mass of subgrade soil. The samples were subjected to Atterberg’s limits test
as specified in BS 1377 (1990) to evaluate PL and LL from where PI of each blend was derived
using Equation 2.

PI = LL – PL (2)
where:
PI = plasticity index (%)
LL = liquid limit (%)
PL = plastic limit (%)

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2.2.2 Compaction Test
3000g each of the aforementioned blends was employed at varying moisture contents ranging
from 100 to 500 ml at 100 ml interval using Proctol type of Compaction in accordance to BS
1377 (1990) where 27 blows were applied to sample at each layer of the mould to evaluate
MDD and OMC of each blend.

2.2.3 California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test
5000g each of the blends was produced at MDD and OMC applying 56 blows to sample per
layer of CBR mould after which bearing capacity was determined with the aid of CBR machine in
accordance to BS 1377 (1990).

2.2.4 Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) Test
Equation 3 was employed to determine the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of each of
the abovementioned blends in cylindrical shape of 120 mm x 100 mm after being produced at
MDD and OMC and crushed with the aid of compression machine in accordance to BS 1377
(1990).

qu = P ( 1− ɛ)
A

(3)
where:
qu = Unconfined compressive strength (kN/m2 or kPa)
P = Load that crushes cylindrical specimen to failure (kN)
ɛ = calculated strain from ratio of difference between length of cylindrical specimen before
failure and length after failure to original length of cylindrical specimen before failure to
A = area of cylindrical specimen before failure (mm2)

3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Physical and Index Properties
The Subgrade material as shown in Table 1 was classified as A-7-5 (fair to poor subgrade) and
ML or OL (inorganic silts and very fine sands, rock flour, silty or clayey fine sands with slight
plasticity) according to AASHTO classification and Unified soil classification system (USCS)
respectively. The classifications were based on its LL, PI and percentage passing sieve No. 200 of
46, 14.8 and 64.21% respectively. Similarly, the fraction of silt-clay of Owode - Ketu raw clay with
more than 35% passing sieve No. 200. According to USCS, the clay would be regarded as
inorganic clay of low, medium and high plasticity (CL) since there are more than half of its
material contents smaller than No. 200 sieve size. The Owode - Ketu material (raw clay) was
regarded as a clayey soil according to USCS. It was observed that the percentages of particles
passing sieve 425 µm of CCW and CC were 50.23 and 60.98% respectively.
CCW was found to be the least dense material with specific gravity of 1.81 as against 2.5 for CC
and subgrade.

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Table 1: Physical and Index Properties of Individual Materials
Property Subgrade CCW Owode - Ketu Raw clay CC
Plastic limit (%) 31.2 - 21 -
Liquid limit (%) 46 - 46 -
Plasticity index (%) 14.8 - 25 -
Clay content (<0.002mm)(%) - - 44.35 -
Silt content (0.002-0.06mm)(%) - - 35.84 -
Percentage passing sieve 425μm (%) 87.5 50.23 - 60.98
Percentage passing sieve 75μm (%) 61.21 - 80.19 -
AASHTO Classification A-7-5 - - -
USCS Classification ML or OL - CL -
Specific gravity 2.5 1.81 - 2.5
Colour Reddish

brown
White Darkish-grey Darkish

brown

3.2 X-Ray Fluorescence Test
The subgrade and CC were found to be pozzolanic materials and they belong to Class F
according to ASTM: C618-08 standard. The standard stipulates that material whose aggregation
of the main oxides (SiO2 + Al2O3+ Fe2O3) is in excess of 70% and having Loss on Ignition (LOI)
of maximum of 6% is a class F pozzolana.; However, the aggregation of the three (3) main
oxides for subgrade and CC are 94.01 and 85.2% respectively; while their LOI are 3.10 and 2.20%
respectively (Table 2).

However, from Table 2, the CCW contains 93.74% mass fraction of clincker or quick lime (CaO)
which makes it a potent binding material/binder with tendency to undergoing hydration
reaction when mixed with water just as in the case of cement.

Table 2: The oxide compositions of individual materials according to XRF test
Oxides Percentage Oxide Contents of Materials

Subgrade CC CCW
SiO2 49.57 58.86 0.83
Al2O3 28.86 16.23 0.71
Fe2O3 15.58 10.11 0.20
CaO 0.53 3.25 93.74
MgO 0.00 0.00 0.0
SO3 0.41 7.81 0.7
Na2O 0.00 0.0 0.0
K2O 0.16 0.35 0.0
LOI 3.10 2.20 1.04

3.3 Atterberg’s Limits Test
Figure 1 shows that the addition of CCW reduced the plasticity index of Subgrade from 14.8 to
8.7% with optimum reduction obtained at 8% CCW. Thus, referred to as optimum subgrade
OSLB due to reduction in plasticity index and swell potential. This might be attributed to
available calcium cation exchange to take place or the ionic exchange between lime and clay

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minerals of the soil which led to flocculation and agglomeration of clay particles similar to
Ghobadi et al. (2014).

Figure 1: Plasticity Index values of Subgrade - CCW blend

The addition of CC at different variations (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18%) to blend of 8% CCW-
Subgrade (OSLB) increased its PI from 8.7 to 13.5% up to 15% CC while a sudden reduction was
experienced at 18% CC (8.4%). However, all blends including OSLB reduced PI of Subgrade from
14.8 to 8.4% with optimum reduction at 18% CC (8.4%) as shown in Figure 2. According to
Ghobadi et al. (2014), the addition of additives which led to reduction in PI might be attributed
according to cation exchange that might have taken place or the ionic exchange between CCW
and subgrade which resulted to flocculation and agglomeration of subgrade particles; hence
reduction in swell potential and PI.

Figure 2: Plasticity index results of Subgrade-OSLB/CC Blends

3.4 Compaction Test
Figure 3 shows the addition of CC at different variations (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18%) to blend of 8%
CCW- Subgrade OSLB reduced its maximum dry density (MDD) from 1.6 to 1.54 Mg/m3 except
for 3% CC (1.66 Mg/m3) where a slight increment was observed. However, all blends reduced
MDD of subgrade from 1.82 to 1.54 Mg/m3 with optimum reduction obtained at 18% CC.

This behavior in terms of reduction in MDD could be adduced to the fact that when a lime or
pozzolan is added or mixed with a highly plastic soil in the presence of water, hydration reaction
takes place leading to flocculation and agglomeration of particles where the number of free clay
and silt present in the soil would be reduced leading to formation of coarser particles which
occupy less place, hence the reduction in density (Eberemu et al., 2013). The decrease in density
could also be adduced to the specific gravity of CCW (1.81) which is less to that of Subgrade
(2.50), a trend noted by Amadi (2010), Okonta and Govender (2011), Amadi (2013) and Eberemu
et al. (2013).

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Figure 3: Maximum dry density results of Subgrade-OSLB/CC Blends

From Figure 4, the addition of CC at different variations (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18%) to blend of 8%
CCW - Subgrade (OSLB) increased its optimum moisture content (OMC) from 17.2 to 21.9%.
However, all blends inclusive of OSLB reduced OMC of Subgrade from 23.7 to 17.2% with
optimum reduction experienced at S + 8% CCW (OSLB). According to Osinubi (1998) and Al-
Homidy et al. (2017), the addition of additives which led to reduction in OMC might be
attributed to insufficiency of water in the mixtures, resulting in self-desiccation and
consequently lower hydration.

Figure 4: Optimum moisture content of Subgrade-OSLB/CC Blends

3.5 California Bearing Ratio Test
The CBR results of OSLB – CC blends (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18% CC) addition to natural subgrade
ranged from 1.12 to 530.3% and 0 to 418.2% for both unsoaked and soaked conditions for
varying curing periods (0, 3, 7, 28, 56 and 90 days) as captured in Figures 5 and 6 respectively.
The blends of S (0%) and OSLB + 18% CC at 90 days curing period exhibited the least and
highest CBR values for both unsoaked and soaked conditions respectively. However, for the
purpose of pavement design, the soaked CBR results after 7 days moist curing ranged from 0 to
101.9% with the blends of S (0%) and OSLB + 18% CC exhibiting least and highest values
respectively. All blends except OSLB + 3% CC (74.7% CBR) and OSLB + 6% CC (71.3% CBR) can
be used as base course materials for lime-treated roads according to Nigerian General
Specification for Roads and Bridges. The standard specifies a minimum conventional CBR
values of 40, 80 and 100% to be met by soil materials for purposes of subbase, base course
(for lightly trafficked roads) and base course (for heavily trafficked roads) respectively for lime-
treated soils

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Figure 5: Unsoaked CBR Results of OSLB (Subgrade + 8% CCW) - CC Blends at varying Curing
periods.

Figure 6: Soaked CBR Results of OSLB (Subgrade + 8% CCW) - CC Blends at varying Curing
periods.

3.6 Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS) Test
Figure 7 shows the UCS results of OSLB – CC blends (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18% CC) addition to
subgrade which ranged from 201.59 to 5660.84 kPa for varying curing periods (0, 3, 7, 28, 56
and 90 days) with the blends of S (0%) at 0 day moist curing and OSLB + 15% CC at 90 days
moist curing exhibiting the least and highest values respectively. However, for the purpose of
pavement design, the UCS results after 7 days moist curing ranged from 1934.32 to 3084.18 kPa
with the blends of S (0%) and OSLB + 6% CC having the least and highest values respectively.
However, all blends can be used as subbase and base courses for lime-treated and cement
stabilized roads according to Nigerian General Specifications for Roads and Bridges. The
standard specifies minimum conventional UCS values of 700, 1003 and 1700 kPa to be met by
soil materials for purposes subbase, base course (for lime-treated roads) and base course (for
cement stabilized roads) respectively.

Figure 7: UCS Results of OSLB (Subgrade + 8% CCW) - CC Blends at varying Curing periods.

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4.0 Conclusion
This study assessed Blend of Calcium Carbide Waste and Calcined Clay as Stabilizer in Flexible
Pavement Construction. The blend of S + 8% CCW exhibited optimum PI reduction and was
tagged OSLB when CCW was initially used to modify natural subgrade. All blends of OSLB-CC
reduced PI, MDD and OMC of natural subgrade. Also, blends of OSLB-CC increased CBR (soaked
and unsoaked) and UCS of natural subgrade with increase in curing period and increase in
material addition; hence they can be used as subbase and base course materials for lime treated
roads.

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Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment, March, 2020; Vol. 16(1) 109-119. ISSN 1596-2490;
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Corresponding author’s e-mail address: dejiquadry@gmail.com 119

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