Organic Enzyme-Stabilized Borrow Material As An Alternative To Improve Its Load-Bearing Capacity

Abstract

There is a problem of soils with inadequate physical and mechanical properties existing in Ecuador and the benefits of using organic enzymes as a stabilizing agent are highlighted. These types of soils are common in several regions of the country and are therefore of great interest to the field of engineering, since they are commonly used as subgrades for pavement structures. A comparison of two types of soils with different percentages of plasticity was carried out by applying the same percentage of organic enzymes, evaluating the soil parameters such as its supporting capacity with the CBR (California Bearing ratio) test, percentage of fines that pass the sieve No. 200, the samples of the two types of soil were processed in the soil mechanics laboratory of the Provincial Government of Manabí, where the physical-mechanical properties of each sample were studied. Once the results were analyzed, it was concluded that enzymes have the same influence with regard to the bearing capacity of soils with a plasticity index of 3 to 9%, reflecting an improvement in their bearing capacity with the addition of enzymes of a 3% average.