Comparative cost analysis of the sustainable technique for improving expansive soils compared to traditional methods

Abstract

The rapid growth of the Metropolitan area of Querétaro generates a constant demand for housing. This situation entails a series of problems, including the use of land unsuitable for construction; specifically expansive clays. Construction on this type of flooring generates a series of various effects on the structure of the houses such as: cracks in walls and floors, change in the ground level, damage to door and window frames, etc. These various damages are caused due to the change in soil volume in the presence or absence of moisture. There are mainly two methods used in construction to abate the expansion, both include earthmoving, so the cost is high and therefore the final cost of housing is more expensive. In turn, being light constructions, they do not generate enough weight to counteract the pushing force exerted by the ground. The implementation of a sustainable technique for the improvement of expansive soils that consists of extracting a volume of soil through its drilling has made it possible to reduce 85% of the expansion, and in addition to the efficiency of the method, it generates an economic saving of 90.77% compared to the technique that consists of the replacement of clayey material with an inert material. In this case Tepetate, also with respect to this method, there is a saving of 8.57% of the time spent on soil improvement. With respect to the soil improvement technique with 7% lime, there is an economic saving of 92.13%, in addition to having a time saving of 76.12%. Keywords— expansive soils, cost analysis, drilling, chemical stabilization, sustainable technique.