Abstract:
Research studies show that fungal-based microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP)
extensively enhances the strength behaviour of concrete materials. However, fungal-based
MICP's effectiveness in silty clay has not been investigated yet. This study examines fungalbased MICP's influences in stabilisation of silty clay during wetting and drying cycles. The
Fusarium oxysporum fungal inoculum, in combination with a calcium chloride cementitious
solution, was used to stabilise the soil. The laboratory tests, including Atterberg limits,
unconfined compressive strength (UCS), specific gravity, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning
electron microscopy (SEM), etc., were carried out to attain the study objectives. The test results
show that the soil specimens treated with 0.25 M cementitious solution in combination with
fungal inoculum provide peak strength. The soil strength reduces from 2549.20 to 1108 kPa
giving 130.07% decrease between 1st and 9
th wetting and drying cycles, Comparatively, the
strength of untreated soil changes from 1215.40 to 429.70 kPa,showing a reduction of 182.85%
between 1
st and 7
th cycle. The untreated samples of soil show less stability than the treated soil
and collapsed after the 7
th cycle. The study findings conclude that the fungal-based MICP
technique can effectively strengthen the clayey soil due to changes in the structure of treated
soil.
