Stabilisation of desert sands using cement and cement dust

Desert sands cover vast areas in Oman, and create major problems for the construction of infrastructure. The low bearing capacity of the desert sands, and their susceptibility to collapse on wetting, preclude the support of structures on them. This paper presents experimental results on the use of different additives to stabilise desert sands for possible use as a foundation-bearing soil. Stabilising agents included Portland cement and cement by-pass dust (or cement kiln dust), and were added in amounts of 2, 4, 8, 10 and 12 by dry weight of soil. Laboratory tests such as compaction, unconfined compression and shear box tests were performed to measure the engineering characteristics of the stabilised material. The results showed substantial improvements in maximum dry density, unconfined compressive strength, and shear strength parameters (c and φ). Thus cement and cement by-pass dust can be used to improve the compressibility and shear strength characteristics of desert sands.