An experimental programme was performed on raw sediments
and sediments mixed with various percentages of
cement or lime to evaluate the changes in engineering
properties and the potential use of the sediments in road construction.
Atterberg limit tests were carried out on the mixes,
based on natural fine sediments sieved in a 400μm diameter
sieve [14]. The percentages of lime or cement mixed
with fine sediments were fixed at 3%, 6% and 9% of the dry
mass of raw sediments. The water content corresponding
to 25 drops of the cup, read off from the curve representing
the relationship between water content as ordinates on
the arithmetic scale and the corresponding number of drops
as abscissas on the logarithmic scale, is taken as the liquid
limit of the sediments using Casagrande apparatus [14].
The plastic limit of the sediments is the water content at
which the soil will just begin to crumble when rolled into a
thread of 3 mm diameter using a ground glass plate or other
acceptable surface [14].