Stiffness Module and Compression Strength of Polymer-Treated Sand

Ab s t r a c t According to the increasing demand of suitable soils under different types of foundation in the geotechnical engineering projects, many researchers try to find the best type of additives that improve the mechanical properties of soils. In addition, the small-strain stiffness is an important parameter for various geotechnical design applications. Therefore, I aim from this research to study the availability of Free–Free Resonant frequency method (FFR) in measuring the Young’s modulus and Poisson ratio for epoxy treated sand (ETS). Moreover, detecting the effect of the additives on the strength of treated sand by applying compression test on both types of treated specimens: cement treated sand (CTS) and (ETS), and then comparing between the results. Next, the results have been analyzed and then Young modulus and Poisson ratio have been calculated. There was reversal relations between the both parameters according to the additives percentages, where E increased, Poisson ratio decreased. Then, the compression tests were applied on cylindrical specimens, the more additive percentages was the higher maximum load. The treated sand with epoxy percentage from 2% up to 5% was stronger than the treated sand with 50% cement.