Effect of wetting - Drying condition in soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) for lime-treated laterite.

Natural soil often undergoes several drying and wetting cycles due to the variability of climatic conditions, which can change the hydro-mechanical properties of soil. The Soil Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) is profoundly influenced due to multiple wetting-drying. The pressure plate test was used to further investigate the impact of multiple wetting-drying cycles on the SWCC for untreated laterite and lime-treated laterite. Lime is applied to the soil at 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9% by weight, with seven (7) days of curing time for optimal results. Furthermore, all the obtained results from laboratory test were fitted in Fredlund and Xing model to get a suitable curve. The results indicated that lime content has a substantial impact on the air entry value (AEV) of SWCCs. With the increase of lime content, the Air Entry Value (AEV) increased. Overall, SWCC results reveal that, the air entry value (AEV) reduced as the wetting-drying cycles were extended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]