The impact of Neem Seed Ash (NSA) on the geotechnical properties of three clay soil samples classified as MH and CH by the Unified Soil Classification System is investigated in this study. The results of preliminary testing indicated moderate plasticity and load-bearing capacity, with natural moisture levels ranging from 7.2% to 9.38%, specific gravities from 2.66 to 2.75, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values from 13.42% to 19.8%. According to ASTM C618’s Class C classification, NSA's pozzolanic content of 52.01% was determined by chemical analysis. The engineering properties of the soils were significantly improved by NSA integration. As the NSA content rose, the specific gravity decreased, demonstrating the admixture's decreased density. Indicating improved soil workability and decreased plasticity, Atterberg limits showed a significant decline: liquid limits decreased from 37% to 12%, plastic limits from 27% to 11%, and the plasticity index from 14% to 2%. The maximum dry density increased to 2.37 g/cm3 at 6% NSA substitution, according to compaction tests, and the optimal moisture content decreased from 16% to 9.6%, indicating increased compaction efficiency. With 8% NSA replacement, the CBR values increased dramatically, reaching 44.1%, indicating a notable improvement in strength. These findings confirm that NSA is an effective stabilizing agent for difficult clay soils, enhancing their mechanical properties and potentially reducing environmental impacts and building costs. The study supports the use of NSA as an economical and environmentally friendly additive for stabilizing geotechnical soil.
| Published in | Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (Volume 10, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11 |
| Page(s) | 207-215 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Neem Seed Ash, Lateritic Soils, California Bearing Ratio, Maximum Dry Density, Fly-ash
Properties | Soil 1 | Soil 2 | Soil 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
Natural Moisture Content | 8.4 | 9.38 | 7.2 |
Grain Specific Gravity, Gs | 2.66 | 2.71 | 2.75 |
Liquid Limit (LL)% | 33 | 37 | 35 |
Plastic Limit (PL)% | 27 | 27 | 21 |
Plasticity Index (PI)% | 6 | 10 | 14 |
Sand | 34.29% | 36.79% | 17.12% |
Silt | 58.49% | 44.23% | 60.34% |
Clay | 7.2% | 18.98% | 22.54% |
Effective Diameter, (D10) mm | 0.054 | 0.023 | 0.019 |
Coefficient of Uniformity (Cu) | 20 | 15 | 18 |
UCSC Soil Classification | MH | MH | CH |
AASHTOSoil Classification | A-6 | A-6 | A-7-6 |
Maximum Dry Density (g/cm3) | 2.33 | 2.39 | 1.40 |
Optimum Moisture Content (%l) | 16 | 13.5 | 7.1 |
California Bearing Ratio (%) | 19.8 | 17.1 | 13.42 |
Chemical Constitutients | Neem Seed Ash (NSA) (%) |
|---|---|
SiO2 | 36.5 |
Al2O3 | 3.37 |
Fe2O3 | 12.14 |
CaO | 18.08 |
MgO | 3.2 |
K2O | 9.45 |
Na2O | 0.05 |
SO3 | 2.09 |
Loss on Ignition (LOI) | 7.50 |
Test | Specific Gravity (Gs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% NSA Replacement | 0% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% |
Sample 1 | 2.66 | 2.61 | 2.63 | 2.59 | 2.53 |
Sample 2 | 2.71 | 2.65 | 2.62 | 2.58 | 2.55 |
Sample 3 | 2.75 | 2.79 | 2.68 | 2.72 | 2.63 |
Test | Atterberg Limit (%) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sample | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||
% Replacement | 0% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 0% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 0% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% |
Liquid Limit | 33 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 12 | 37 | 29 | 25 | 23 | 12 | 35 | 21 | 21 | 26 | 18 |
Plastic limit | 27 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 27 | 24 | 16 | 19 | 11 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 16 |
Plasticity index | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
Sample | Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% Neem Seed Ash (NSA) Replacement | MDD (g/cm3) | OMC (g/cm3) | MDD (g/cm3) | OMC (g/cm3) | MDD (g/cm3) | OMC (g/cm3) |
0% | 2.33 | 16 | 2.39 | 13.5 | 1.40 | 8.2 |
2% | 2.34 | 11.0 | 2.43 | 11 | 1.48 | 7.9 |
4% | 2.35 | 11.5 | 2.21 | 13 | 1.58 | 7.6 |
6% | 2.37 | 9.6 | 2.37 | 9.8 | 2.13 | 7.1 |
8% | 1.53 | 11.0 | 2.10 | 7.1 | 1.58 | 7.2 |
1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
% NSA Replacement | CBR Value (%) | CBR Value (%) | CBR Value (%) |
0% | 19.8 | 17.1 | 13.42 |
2% | 29.4 | 26.6 | 22.5 |
4% | 32.5 | 34.0 | 34.2 |
6% | 34.6 | 35.2 | 36.4 |
8% | 38.3 | 44.1 | 36.9 |
MH | Silty Clay |
CH | High Plasticity Clay |
CBR | California Bearing Ratio |
NSA | Neem SeedAsh |
ASTM | American Society for Testing and Materials |
MDD | Maximum Dry Density |
OMC | Optimum Moisture Content |
FMWH | Federal Ministry of Works and Housing |
BS | Bristish Standard |
Gs | Specific Gravity |
LL | Liquid Limit |
PL | Plastic Limit |
PI | Plasticity Index |
D10 | Effective Diameter |
Cu | Coefficient of Uniformity |
UCSC | Unified Soil Classification System |
AASHTO | American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |
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APA Style
Adebayo, T. S., Kabir, A. (2025). Effect of Neem Seed Ash on the Geotechnical Properties of Lateritic Soil. Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, 10(6), 207-215. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11
ACS Style
Adebayo, T. S.; Kabir, A. Effect of Neem Seed Ash on the Geotechnical Properties of Lateritic Soil. J. Civ. Constr. Environ. Eng. 2025, 10(6), 207-215. doi: 10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11
@article{10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11,
author = {Tijanee Sharifdeen Adebayo and Abdulrauf Kabir},
title = {Effect of Neem Seed Ash on the Geotechnical Properties of Lateritic Soil
},
journal = {Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering},
volume = {10},
number = {6},
pages = {207-215},
doi = {10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jccee.20251006.11},
abstract = {The impact of Neem Seed Ash (NSA) on the geotechnical properties of three clay soil samples classified as MH and CH by the Unified Soil Classification System is investigated in this study. The results of preliminary testing indicated moderate plasticity and load-bearing capacity, with natural moisture levels ranging from 7.2% to 9.38%, specific gravities from 2.66 to 2.75, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values from 13.42% to 19.8%. According to ASTM C618’s Class C classification, NSA's pozzolanic content of 52.01% was determined by chemical analysis. The engineering properties of the soils were significantly improved by NSA integration. As the NSA content rose, the specific gravity decreased, demonstrating the admixture's decreased density. Indicating improved soil workability and decreased plasticity, Atterberg limits showed a significant decline: liquid limits decreased from 37% to 12%, plastic limits from 27% to 11%, and the plasticity index from 14% to 2%. The maximum dry density increased to 2.37 g/cm3 at 6% NSA substitution, according to compaction tests, and the optimal moisture content decreased from 16% to 9.6%, indicating increased compaction efficiency. With 8% NSA replacement, the CBR values increased dramatically, reaching 44.1%, indicating a notable improvement in strength. These findings confirm that NSA is an effective stabilizing agent for difficult clay soils, enhancing their mechanical properties and potentially reducing environmental impacts and building costs. The study supports the use of NSA as an economical and environmentally friendly additive for stabilizing geotechnical soil.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Neem Seed Ash on the Geotechnical Properties of Lateritic Soil AU - Tijanee Sharifdeen Adebayo AU - Abdulrauf Kabir Y1 - 2025/11/05 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11 DO - 10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11 T2 - Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering JF - Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering JO - Journal of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering SP - 207 EP - 215 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2637-3890 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jccee.20251006.11 AB - The impact of Neem Seed Ash (NSA) on the geotechnical properties of three clay soil samples classified as MH and CH by the Unified Soil Classification System is investigated in this study. The results of preliminary testing indicated moderate plasticity and load-bearing capacity, with natural moisture levels ranging from 7.2% to 9.38%, specific gravities from 2.66 to 2.75, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values from 13.42% to 19.8%. According to ASTM C618’s Class C classification, NSA's pozzolanic content of 52.01% was determined by chemical analysis. The engineering properties of the soils were significantly improved by NSA integration. As the NSA content rose, the specific gravity decreased, demonstrating the admixture's decreased density. Indicating improved soil workability and decreased plasticity, Atterberg limits showed a significant decline: liquid limits decreased from 37% to 12%, plastic limits from 27% to 11%, and the plasticity index from 14% to 2%. The maximum dry density increased to 2.37 g/cm3 at 6% NSA substitution, according to compaction tests, and the optimal moisture content decreased from 16% to 9.6%, indicating increased compaction efficiency. With 8% NSA replacement, the CBR values increased dramatically, reaching 44.1%, indicating a notable improvement in strength. These findings confirm that NSA is an effective stabilizing agent for difficult clay soils, enhancing their mechanical properties and potentially reducing environmental impacts and building costs. The study supports the use of NSA as an economical and environmentally friendly additive for stabilizing geotechnical soil. VL - 10 IS - 6 ER -