Abstract: Fly-ash is a major by-product of thermal plants. Fly-ash often causes environmental pollution and disposal problems.
Black cotton soil derived from basaltic formation is present in major zone of India such as Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Black cotton soil creates many problems in infrastructural use due to its swelling and shrinkage behavior and the plasticity. So,
to becomes inevitable to treat this soil using some mixtures to enhance its properties in view to use in civil engineering
developments, more specifically in transportation engineering. Present study demonstrates the use of fly ash and cement to mix
with black cotton soil and its performance enhancement through California Bearing Ratio (CBR) experimental tests. The main
objective of the study is to evaluate the performance of the black cotton soil when mixed with the fly ash and cement. Detailed
laboratory investigations were carried out on black cotton soil mixed with various proportions (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 12%)
of cement and Fly-ash. California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests were conducted on untreated soil and then compared with the
CBR of the mixture of fly ash, cement and Black cotton soil. A significant performance enhancement was observed in black
cotton soil when mixed with fly ash and cement. It was concluded that the use of fly ash and cement to mix with black cotton
soil provides necessary improvements in black cotton soils performance and thus facilitates its use in civil engineering
developments.
Keywords: Fly-ash; cement, California Bearing Ratio, Black cotton soil