Dead Sea salt, a benign chemical material vastly available in Jordan, could be used to improve the characteristics of expansive subgrade soil and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions resulting from traditional stabilizers such as cement. To achieve this purpose, expansive clayey soil obtained from Al-Azraq Basin in the eastern part of Jordan was treated by mixing it with a Dead Sea salt solution. Results showed that using Dead Sea salt as a solution additive, the plasticity index (PI), free swell (FS), and optimum moisture content (OMC) decreased. On the other hand, the maximum dry density (MDD) and the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) noticeably increased, continuing to strengthen with increased curing time. Additionally, with wetting-drying cycles to OMC, FS was reduced, reaching equilibrium value with fewer cycles. However, with the wetting-drying cycles to shrinkage limit, FS slightly increased. In conclusion, using Dead Sea salt as a stabilization additive markedly enhanced the engineering properties of the expansive clay used as subgrade soil.

中文翻译：

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死海盐溶液对膨胀性路基黏土工程特性的影响

死海盐是约旦广泛使用的一种良性化学物质，可用于改善膨胀路基土壤的特性并减少由传统稳定剂（例如水泥）产生的二氧化碳排放。为了达到这个目的，将约旦东部的Al-Azraq盆地获得的膨胀黏土与死海盐溶液混合处理。结果表明，使用死海盐作为溶液添加剂，可塑性指数（PI），自由溶胀（FS）和最佳水分含量（OMC）降低。另一方面，最大干密度（MDD）和无侧限抗压强度（UCS）明显增加，并随着固化时间的增加而不断增强。此外，随着至OMC的干湿循环，FS减少，循环次数减少，达到平衡值。然而，随着干湿循环达到收缩极限，FS略有增加。总之，使用死海盐作为稳定添加剂可以显着提高用作路基土壤的膨胀黏土的工程性能。