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The concept,
method and applications of thermal stabilization of soil is discussed.
It has been observed that heating or cooling shows certain marked changes in
the soil properties. Many types of research were conducted on the same and
many impressive results were observed that is found relevant for soil
stabilization.
The below figure represents the ultimate strength of three soils with temperature
as a function.
Fig.1.Compressive Strength of three soils as a function of Temperature
(After Sayles, 1966)
Concept of Thermal Stabilization of Soil
Like seepage or consolidation analysis of soil, a heat flow analysis can also be
carried out. The transfer of heat in soil occurs by conduction, convection (free,
forced, by thawing) and radiation.
The behavior of heat flow in soil is mainly governed by the latent heat of fusion of
water on freezing and heat of vaporization of water on heating above 100 C. The
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latent heat of fusion can be defined as the heat amount that must be added to
the unit mass of a substance to change it from liquid to solid or solid to liquid
without any change in the temperature.
Now, the heat of vaporization is defined as the heat required to change the
substance from liquid to vapor.
The latent heat of fusion (L) of Water to ice = 333 x 10 J/kg (143.3 BTU/lb)
3
C = 4286 (J/kg)/K
w
C = 710 (J/kg)/K
m
100 C Cause drying and a significant increase in the strength of clays. This
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Heating, therefore, would cause permanent changes in the soil making the soil
harder as well as durable. So, treatment would cause overall decrease in
Compressibility
Increase in cohesion
These effects take place at a temperature range from 300 C to over 1000 C. Soil
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melts at a temperature of 1250 to 1750 C. The melting point of the soil can be
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The amount of fuel energy that has to be generated to obtain high temperatures
is found to very costly. Ingles and Metcalf (1973) could propose an estimation
equation in order to estimate the cost of thermal stabilization by heating as
heat capacity of the fuel, where 35% is for open burning and 70% for closed
burning and F= fuel used per unit volume of the soil.
Table.1: Minimum heat requirement from different applications of
stabilization by heating
Applications of Thermal Stabilization of Soil
The usage of heating as a mode for thermal stabilization of soil is mainly
employed in U.S.S.R and eastern Europe. It is used in
Landslide stabilization
Combustion to electrical
Reference:
1. Foundation Engineering Handbook, By Hsai-Yang Fang
2. Ground Improvement Techniques (PB), By Dr. P. Purushothama Raj