Use of Waste Marble Powder to Improve the Characteristics of Black Cotton Soil B. B. Patel M. E. Student Civil Engineering Department Tatva Institute of Technological Studies Modasa, Gujarat, India H. B.Thakar Prof. In Civil Engineering Department, Government Engineering College, Modasa Dr. H. R.Varia Principal Tatva Institute of Technological Studies Modasa, Gujarat, India C. B. Mishra AssociateProfessor, Dpt. of Civil Engineering, BVM Engg. College, Vallabh Vidhyanagar Abstract— Results of a laboratory study undertaken to investigate the effect of marble powder on the index properties of clay soil. The clay soil has a poor supporting capacity and large change in volume on variations of moisture content. Such expansive soils may need to be improved to make them suitable for construction activities. The objective of study is to evaluate the feasibility of industrial waste like marble dust as soil stabilization material. To investigate the effect of marble Powder on index properties of clay soil a series of laboratory experiments have been conducted on black- cotton soil samples mixed with 20% to 60% of marble Powder by weight of dry soil. The test results showed a significant change in consistency limits of samples containing marble dust. The liquid limit would decrease from 31.3% to 23.5%. The plasticity index decreased from 11.57% to 4.35%. The CBR test increases from 10.36 to 27.19. From this laboratory investigation it is concluded that the waste material like marble Powder generated from stone industries has a potential to modify the characteristics of expansive clay like clay soil. There is significant improvement in the index properties of the clay soil on addition of marble Powder into it. The expansive behavior of the clay has reduced to a great extent. Keywords— Marble dust, Black-cotton soil, Soil stabilization, CBR INTRODUCTION 1. Clay Soil In this thesis, soil is collected from Vijapur road, on the under construction from RTO junction. The soil used is the extracted waste soil which on visual test and by laboratory test known to be clay soil. The soil is intermediate plastic clayey soil i.e. CH soil. Test according to Indian Standards are performed on the soil to check the properties of untreated and treated soil with stabilizer. The Clay soil is a type of expansive soil with intermediate plasticity and can retain moisture throughout the dry season which is why they are valuable for growing crops. It exhibits low bearing capacity, low permeability and high volume change with variation in environment. The maintenance of roads not only expansive but also difficult and the pavements shows early signs of failures. Following are the problems with Clay soil.  In rainy season, these soils become very soft by filling up of water in the cracks and fissures. These soft soils reduce the bearing capacity of the soils.  In saturated conditions, these soils have high consolidation settlements.  These soils have high swelling nature. Due to this structure causes damages.  When lands are applied on these soils in wet conditions. These soils get Shrinkage. 2. Marble Powder Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of re-crystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the “marble” to refer to metamorphosed limestone, however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass un-metamorphosed limestone. Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the transformation of a pure limestone. The purity of marble is responsible for its color and appearance; it is white if the limestone is composed solely of calcite. Marble is used for construction and decoration; marble is durable, has a noble appearance, and is consequently in great demand. Chemically, marbles are crystalline rocks composed predominantly of calcite, dolomite or serpentine minerals. The other mineral constituents vary from origin to origin. Quartz, muscovite, tremolite, actinolite, micro line, talc, garnet, osterite and biotite are the major mineral impurities whereas SiO2, limonite, Fe2O3, manganese, 3H2O and FeS2 are the major chemical impurities associated with marble. The main impurities in raw limestone which can affect the properties of finished cement are magnesia, phosphate, leads, zinc, alkalis and sulfides. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 http://www.ijert.org IJERTV6IS040674 (This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.) Published by : www.ijert.org Vol. 6 Issue 04, April-2017 817