Nanoclay Performance on Resistance of Clay under Freezing Cycles

This study aims to investigate effect of nanoclay on resistance of the exposed clay soils in freezing in vitro conditions. The clay sample was selected from the considered land. Then they were mixed on water in 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 percents as well as without nanoclay. There were prepared cylinders with 3.81 cm diameter and 7.62 cm height, which they have been placed in conditions without freezing, one cycle, two cycles and three cycles of freezing. Then they were tested under uniaxial experiment. Then they were analyzed by SPSS software. The results show that adding nanoclay with 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 percents will reduce soil strength during freezing cycles. It can be occurred because adding nanoclay will result to increase special surface of the samples; consequently, increasing electrical load increases water absorption, which it can be partly cause of non-effective increasing nanoclay in soil resistance. There is also a significant difference between pressure strength of soils with lower humidity and those with higher humidity. It confirms that increasing humidity decreases strength level, which increasing water absorption of samples by nanoclay is reason of decreasing strength. There is an inverse significant relationship between increasing nano and soil water absorption, which its reason may be that adding nanoclay because of increasing samples special surface and consequently, increasing electricity load will increase water absorption and samples’ plasticity. It can be expected that samples’ permeability will decline by increasing their plasticity. There is also a significant relationship between increasing nano and soil liquid and doughiness limit that its reason can be increasing rate of water absorption in samples due to presence of nanoclay.