Expansive Soil Remediation Treatment
Expansive soils are some of the most widely distributed and costly geologic hazards. They have been called the “Hidden Disaster” in the construction world, and result in millions of dollars in ongoing treatment, and repair of homes, commercial structures, roads, and underground infrastructure throughout the country each year.
To mitigate expansive soils CST uses AGSS-ICS, a state of the art Ionic Clay Soil Stabilizer that has been developed to treat swelling clays. The product works in two ways. It reduces the swell potential of the clay soil and, because it dramatically reduces the capillary action of the clay particles, minimizes the shrinkage potential. When treated with the AGSS-ICS chemical, an irreversible change occurs in the molecular structure of the clay particles, and they no longer attract or hold on to water as they did before treatment. Treatment of pre-construction sites as well as existing structures is available. For preconstruction sites, the chemical is mixed or injected into native soils. For remedial/post-construction problems, the chemical is injected into the soil, beneath and around the existing structure through small injection probes. The process alleviates swell and can sometimes even relax existing heaving.
Treatment for Expansive Clay Soils with AGSS-ICS Ionic Clay Soil Stabilizer
- Swell potential reductions are permanent
- No Excavation required for existing structures
- Allows for use of onsite soils
- Reduces emissions and fuel usage by reducing trucking of large quantities of waste and fill soil
- Will not produce sulfate heave caused by lime injection
- Environmentally safe
- Proven, verified results
Damage and Problems Associated with Expansive Soils
Expansive soil is characterized by clayey material. Treating expansive soil is necessary because clay soil particles attract moisture and hold on to it, producing a swelling mass of soil and water. When the moisture dissipates from the soil, the particles come back together, causing a shrinking action of the soil mass. Think of how a sponge swells when it’s wet and shrinks when it dries out. This swelling and shrinking of the clay and the associated movement it causes can result in severe damage to structures built on or in this type of soil. Cracked building foundations
- Heaving and cracking of floor slabs, walls, sidewalks, driveways, and patios
- Heaving and cracking of paved surfaces
- Jammed doors, sticky or hard to open windows
- Ruptured pipelines and underground infrastructure
Traditional methods of dealing with Expansive Soil do not provide a permanent fix!
Traditionally, ineffective & costly methods have been utilized in treating expansive soil. Methods such as removing it completely and replacing it with fill dirt, pre-wetting and pre-swelling the soil and injecting or mixing of lime or other solutions into existing soils. These methods of trying to minimize the swell potential of the clay are costly, destructive, and disruptive to the environment. And, most importantly, are band-aids that do not permanently fix the problem.