Journal of Student Research Fourth Middle East College Student Research Conference, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Stabilization of clayey soil using Gypsum Bussa Reethu MIDDLE EAST COLLEGE Mankala Sumanth Kumar Middle East College Gunde Sharath Middle East College Batchu Ramanjaneyulu Middle East College Dr. Ram Kishore Manchiryal Middle East College The poor soil properties result in foundation failures of the structure which further causes in cracks of structural elements and walls. To avoid this, it is essential to enhance the soil properties. Soil stabilization is one of the processes to improve the engineering properties of the soil and thus making it more stable. It is required when the soil available for construction is not appropriate for the intended purpose. In this research, for stabilizing clayey soil and to achieve higher strength in minimum time period, gypsum (CaSO 4 .2H 2 O) is used as one of the soil stabilizing agents. Experiments were planned to evaluate the properties of clayey soil on the addition of different percentages of Gypsum i.e., 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% to the existing soil. Tests conducted on clayey soil mixed with Gypsum included are, Atterberg’s Limits, Specific Gravity and Standard Proctor Test. A comparison between the properties of clayey soil, clayey soil mixed with Gypsum is done to understand the effect of Gypsum addition on soil properties. It was observed that the soil properties were enhanced for 6% of Gypsum addition to the soil. Introduction Soil is the mixture of rocks, crystals, biological matter and water. It is generally made of pieces of rock battered by air, water flow, heat, etc., and varying amounts of dirt. The soil type is based on the quantity of dirt it holds and on the size of the rock pieces. The grains may be minor and even, like clay, or they can be bigger, like sand or a piece of stone. Soil plays a crucial role in the ecosystem as it is the place where animals, human beings, small organism live and plants grow, soil is the barrier for velocity of water, soil recycles minerals from inorganic materials. Figure 1. Plant origin From the engineering point of view, soils are either occurred naturally or it is artificially made (Barnes, 2010). On this basis, soil is classified, and many types of soil can be found now. Amongst all of them, Black cotton soil is taken now for research purpose, as it is found to be the most troublesome soil for engineers. This soil occupies about 3% of the world land area. These soils are 1 / 19