ABSTRACT
The paper presents a novel approach to simulate the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test in finite element software Plaxis-2D. A finite element model was developed in Plaxis-2D to replicate the experimental CBR test conditions. The laboratory CBR tests were performed on Black cotton soil (BCS) treated with Rice husk ash (RHA) at 3,6,9,12, and 15% dosages by oven dried weight of the composite mixtures. The samples were compacted at optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) obtained from heavy compaction test and an improvement of 115% was observed at 6% RHA content during the heavy compaction analysis. The study showed close agreement between Plaxis 2D and experimental failure loads at 2.5 mm penetration. The CBR values calculated at 2.5 mm penetration, showed a penetration resistance of 1506 N (from experimental analysis) and 1489 N (from numerical analysis) at optimum RHA concentration of 6%.
