Fall-cone testing of different size/shape sands treated with a biopolymer

This paper presents a study on the undrained shear strength (su) of various sands treated with a biopolymer by employing an extensive series of laboratory fall-cone penetration values covered a range of about 15 mm to 25 mm. In the tests, two sizes (0.15 mm-0.30 mm, and 1.0 mm-2.0 mm) and shapes (rounded, angular) of sand grains, Xanthan gum (XG), and distilled water were used. The XG biopolymer in 0.0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0% by dry weight were mixed separately with four different sands, and water. The tests results obtained at the same water content revealed an increase in the su values at different levels with an increase in the XG content. Treating the sands with the XG biopolymer addition was concluded to have a greater efficacy on finer and more angular grains than coarser and more rounded grains in the samples. Overall, the present study indicates that different amount of the XG biopolymer has an important potential to be utilized for increasing the su values of samples with various size/shape of sand grains and water content.