Tag Archives: Soil stabilizers

Tips for mixing lime in the soil with a caterpillar SS250 Mixer

Lime has been used widely as a key ingredient in construction for centuries. It has been used for many purposes like lime wash at building construction, site preparation, calcium silicate brick, insulation materials and many more. With fine design and good techniques of construction, lime can be mixed with soil chemically and make the unstable soil stable. For construction purposes lime is mixed with soil using a caterpillar mixer to different degrees to modify the soils. This kind of mixing along with proper design, testing and construction techniques gives the soil a stabilised form permanently.

Use of Caterpillar SS250 Mixer in Mixing Lime with Soil

The lime should be mixed with soil in a definite proportion so as to ensure its strength. That’s why the engineers have designed Caterpillar SS250 mixer to do this task perfectly. This mixer, at first blends the poorly graded soil into fine and tiny particles. Then it mixes hydrated lime or quick lime in accurate measurement with the soil that is already present in the mixer. By doing this, the mixer increases the capacity and friability of the soil. This kind of mixing lime with soil minimises shrinkage. It is generally done with cohesive soils which are wet. The wet soil is dried in the process. Caterpillar SS250 mixer can also mix lime and fly ash into the fine soil particles. But this mixture contains low strength as compared to the previous method. It contains duck feet. This mixer increases the compacted density and shear strength of impermeability of the mixture. Some of its other uses are cited below:

  • Improves workability
  • Increases the stiffness
  • Reduces plasticity
  • Enhances durability and potentiality.

How Caterpillar SS250 mixer works?

  • Drying:- It immediately hydrates the water present in the quicklime and gives out heat. This hydrated lime reacts with the particles of clay. These reactions add to the drying process. In return, it gains stability.
  • Modification:- After the initial mixing stage, the mixer enables the hydrated lime’s calcium ions to move to the clay particles’ surface to displace the water. This process helps in increasing the compactness. During this process, plasticity of the soil reaches its minimum and hence it minimises swelling and shrinking too.

Features of Caterpillar SS250Mixer

Mixing of lime with soil using a Caterpillar SS250 mixer has really some advantages. It has the following features which make it to stand out among other mixers used at construction sites:-

  • Auto-lube pulvimixer
  • Rear steer and down-cut mixer which can be changed quickly
  • Open operator station and soil rotor
  • 28L X 26 front tires
  • Water system
  • And lastly it has spade teeth.

To sum up, we can say that in mixing lime with soil, Caterpillar SS250 Mixer is economical and accessible in the long run. It can make heavy mixing work at construction site easier and smoother. Then, why wait? Just turn on steam and buy this wonderful mixer today to get your work done in seconds.

 

Soil stabilizers can make the soil stronger and effective for construction purposes

Soil is one of main construction materials, without which, almost no construction work can be implemented. However, seasonal moisture makes the soil plagued and contaminated, causing cracks on the constructions. Therefore, to remove the moisture and to make the soil stronger, external stabilizers are incorporated within the soil through the heavy equipment namely soil stabilizers. For removing and replacing the poor quality soil with a very good quality soil, soil stabilizers are the only equipment that we need. It incorporates engineering properties into the soil.

What are the additives that a soil stabilizer incorporates into the soil?

Normally a soil stabilizer stabilizes the soil in two ways: 1) by adding mechanical additives, 2) by adding chemical additives. The mechanical stabilizers or additives are cement, bituminous and lime. On the other hand, Portland cement, Quicklime, Fly Ash, Calcium Chloride, Bitumen etc. are the chemical stabilizers or additives.

How does a soil stabilizer work?

The first thing before stabilizing the soil is to determine what are the properties that re missing in the soil that need to be incorporated. As soon as the engineers determine the additives or the stabilizing agents for the soil, the stabilizing technique is determined. If mechanical stabilizing method is chosen for the process, then all the additives will be mixed properly, as per their required proportion. The soil stabilizer spreads the additive mixture into the soil as soon as it is mixed; this is taken care of in the mechanical method as some of the additives that are used in this technique have a tendency to settle fast. If the additives are not mixed in proper proportions, then they will destroy the soil. Other than mixing, compaction equipment are also used for soil stabilizing, as it provides pressure from above and increases the density of the soil. Soil is also reinforced in the mechanical technique by adding gravels, sands and stones, boulders etc. to prevent the migration of the soil. In the chemical stabilizing method, the stability of the soil is increased by using Calcium Chloride; the soil’s resistance power is increased by the Bitumen and other products. Chemical soil stabilizers efficiently add these stabilizing agents to the soil.

Types of soil stabilizers:

  • Tractor-towed soil stabilizers:

This heavy equipment or soil stabilizer has a mixing and milling motor that is driven mechanically. The additives or binding agents for the soil stabilization are mixed in this motor and spread on the soil across the ground, along the full width of the machine.

  • Bigger Tractor-towed soil stabilizers:

This soil stabilizer can cut the ground with a 6 foot, 7 inch or even an 8 foot cutter that can cut 20 inch deep into the ground and put the additive mixture into the soil.

  • Very Large Soil stabilizers:

This soil stabilizer has the capability of controlling or rather preventing the formation of the dust clouds and thus the stabilizing agent or additives are saved from going out into the atmosphere.