ABSTRACT
Only few studies were conducted to evaluate the durability – or permanence of these geotechnical improvements and therefore of the physico-chemical processes – of lime stabilized soils exposed to water circulation. A study by De Bel et al. (2005) shows that water circulations lead to a decrease of the unconfined compression strength of a lime-treated loam. However, this study does not conclude whether the decrease can be attributed to an increase of the specimens water content (i.e. saturation) or to a detrimental effect of the water circulations on the pozzolanic activity and therefore on the cementations bounds. In addition, a study of McCallister (1990) on three different clayey soils suggests that the extent of the decrease in unconfined compression strength entailed by water circulations is highly related to the added lime content. The general trend being the more lime used, the less decrease
in unconfined strength. The hypothesis given by the author to explain this result is that, when present in sufficient amount, the pozzolanic compounds are relatively stable to water circulations. Finally, the lack of studies in the literature on the behavior of limetreated soil under percolation conditions does not allow concluding on their physico-chemical behavior and more precisely on the stability of the cementation compounds.
