Investigation of Strengths and Swelling Pressures in Freeze-Thaw Effect of Clay Soils Improved by Guar Gum

Abstract

Nowadays, the areas of use of organic and environmentally friendly materials such as biopolymers have been increasing rapidly due to environmental concerns. The improvement of a cohesive soil using Guar Gum (GG) was investigated in this research. For this purpose, samples were prepared by adding GG to cohesive soil in some proportions (1%, 2%, and 3%). Specimens exposed to different numbers of freeze-thaw cycles (1, 3, 5, and 10) were cured for different times. Unconfined compression strength (UCS) and swelling pressure tests were carried out on the prepared samples. As a result, it was seen that the addition of biopolymer to the clay soils has a positive effect on strength values and swelling pressures. In addition, curing time and freeze-thaw conditions were thought to play an important role in soil improvement with the use of biopolymer.