Triaxial test behaviour of silty sands treated with agar biopolymer

Abstract

In the current research, the study of undrained behaviour of agar biopolymer treated natural silty sand obtained from Kalpetta, Kerala was done. An experimental investigation was carried out to study the undrained behaviour of silty sand and biopolymer treated silty sand for examining the efficiency of agar biopolymer additive on undrained shear strength improvement. The practical implications of biopolymer treatment have also been evaluated. A series of consolidated undrained monotonic triaxial tests were performed at varying confining pressure (50 kPa, 100 kPa and 150 kPa), agar dosages (0.5%, 1% and 2%) and curing time periods (5 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days and 28 days) to evaluate the efficiency of treatment. The treatment method displayed a considerable enhancement in shear strength behaviour (about 106% increase) mainly due to the significant amount of cohesion developed in the cohesionless soil under study.