Mechanical and durability properties of stabilized river drudged sediments

Large volumes of sediments are being drudged from the Euphrates River to maintain the stream of the river. These sediments are classified as loose sand with poor engineering properties such as poor grain size distribution, poor compaction, high permeability, and low shear strength. Therefore, these sediments need to be stabilized in order to be utilized as an available and cost-effective engineered fill. In this research, cement by 4, 6, and 8% was used to improve the strength and durability properties of loose sand sediments dredged from the Euphrates River. Additionally, polypropylene fibers were added by 0.5% to the cement-treated specimens. A series of laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the unconfined compressive strength and wetting-drying properties of the prepared specimens that were cured to 7 and 28 days. The results showed that adding cement led to improve the compaction process of the cement-treated soil. Furthermore, adding cement by 8% produced an unconfined compressive strength value as high as 2000 kN/m². Furthermore, when the polypropylene fibers were added, the strength was further increased by 52%. The results also showed that treatment with cement caused a significant improvement in the resistance to wetting and drying cycles, as the treated specimens passed the test with loss in weight ranging from 16 to 39% compared to the untreated specimens that collapsed in the first cycle of the test. As discussed herein, the improved sand may provide a valuable source of engineered fill that can be used for many projects such as dams, levees, and road ways.