%0 Journal Article %T Effects of the Persian Gulf water and fine content on the mechanical properties and microstructure of sandy soil %J Geopersia %I University of Tehran %Z 2228-7817 %A Qashqai, Omid %A Nasehi, Sayed Alireza %D 2022 %\ 11/01/2022 %V 12 %N 2 %P 353-368 %! Effects of the Persian Gulf water and fine content on the mechanical properties and microstructure of sandy soil %K Sand %K Sea/Saltwater %K Soil strength %K Soil Stabilization %K Soil structure %R 10.22059/geope.2022.343219.648660 %X Recently, many infrastructures, such as buildings, highways, petrochemical, and refinery facilities have been constructed on seaboards of the Persian Gulf region. In this area, for many geotechnical projects, the improvement of the engineering properties of soft and loose soils is necessary. In the area, the use of freshwater to obtain the required properties of soils for structures such as roads and highways is costly and not economically feasible. Therefore, the idea of using sea/saltwater instead of freshwater has significant benefits to the community, as it decreases the amount of freshwater being used which is of high importance. In this study, Saline water has replaced fresh water. Compaction, unconfined compression, and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests have been performed on sand samples with different fine contents. In addition to major changes in soil microstructure, the results showed that the stabilization of samples with saline water causes more bearing capacity and strength. The CBR and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) have been improved up to 11.3% and 12.2%, respectively. With increasing in salinity of water, the maximum dry density (MDD) of the soil samples increased up to 4.4% but optimum moisture content (OMC), liquid limit (LL), and plastic limit (PL) decreased up to 36.2%, 4.0%, and 6.6%, respectively. The results displayed that the lower the percentage of fine content, the higher the value of CBR and UCS. %U https://geopersia.ut.ac.ir/article_88275_0e97f64a579ef9e32a309483d06a390c.pdf