Clayey soil stabilization using alkali-activated volcanic ash and slag

Lime and Portland cement are the most widely used binders in soil stabilization projects.However,due to the high carbon emission in cement production,research on soil stabilization by the use of more environmentally-friendly binders with lower carbon footprint has attracted much attention in recent years.This research investigated the potential of using alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag(GGBS)and volcanic ash(VA)as green binders in clayey soil stabilization projects,which has not been studied before.The effects of different combinations of VA with GGBS,various liquid/solid ratios,different curing conditions,and different curing periods(i.e.7 d,28 d and 90 d)were investigated.Compressive strength and durability of specimens against wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycles were then studied through the use of mechanical and microstructural tests.The results demonstrated that the coexistence of GGBS and VA in geopolymerization process was more effective due to the synergic formation of N-A-S-H and C-(A)-S-H gels.Moreover,although VA needs heat curing to become activated and develop strength,its partial replacement with GGBS made the binder suitable for application at ambient temperature and resulted in a remarkably superior resistance against wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycles.The carbon embodied of the mixtures was also evaluated,and the results confirmed the low carbon footprints of the alkali-activated mixtures.Finally,it was concluded that the alkali-activated GGBS/VA could be promisingly used in clayey soil stabilization projects instead of conventional binders.

Effect of curing, capillary action, and groundwater level increment on geotechnical properties of lime concrete: Experimental and prediction studies

Lime concrete and lime treatment are two attractive techniques for geotechnical engineers.However,researches have rarely been carried out to study the effects of moisture and capillary action due to increasing groundwater level on geotechnical properties of lime concrete.The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of curing time and degree of saturation on some of geotechnical properties of lime concrete such as unconfined compressive strength(UCS),secant modulus(ES),failure strain,brittleness index(IB),and deformability index(ID) using unconfined compression tests.First of all,geotechnical and chemical properties of used materials were determined.After curing times of 14 d,28 d,45 d,and 60 d in laboratory condition,the specimens were exposed to saturation levels ranging from 0 to 100%.The results showed that the moisture and curing time have significant effects on the properties of lime concrete.Based on the results of scanning electron micrograph(SEM) test,it was observed that the specimen was characterized by a rather well-structured matrix since both the filling of a large proportion of the coarse-grained soil voids by clay and the pozzolanic activity of lime led to retaining less pore water in the specimen,increasing the UCS and ES,and consequently resisting against swelling and shrinkage of the clay soil.Moreover,due to the pozzolanic reactions and reduction of water,by increasing the curing time and decreasing the degrees of saturation,UCS,ES,and IBincreased,and IDdecreased.Based on the experimental results,a phenomenological model was used to develop equations for predicting the properties in relation to the ratio of degree of saturation/curing time.The results showed that there was a good correlation(almost R2> 90%) between the measured parameters and the estimated ones given by the predicted equations.

Effects of variations of voltage and pH value on the shear strength of soil and durability of different electrodes and piles during electrokinetic phenomenon

Electrokinetic(EK)treatment is an effective method in accelerating the consolidation and improving the geotechnical properties of fine-grained soils.This method stabilizes the soil and increases the bearing capacity of piles by improving the soil shear strength.Changing the soil p H,due to the occurrence of chemical reactions of electrolysis in the soil,can increase its shear strength.However,the electrodes used in this method corrode due to the change in the soil p H,which in turn reduces the electrical potential.Electrode corrosion and loss of electrical potential can significantly reduce the efficiency of the EK method.In addition,when using the EK method to increase the bearing capacity of piles,changing the p H can cause corrosion and damage to the piles.One of the most important factors influencing the change in the p H of soil is the voltage applied during the EK process.It was reported that increasing the voltage affects the intensity of chemical reactions and electroosmotic flow and thus increases the efficiency of EK.However,very limited research has been conducted on the effect of voltage on the performance of EK method.In the present study,the effects of three voltages on soil p H and corrosion resistance of four types of electrodes including iron(Ir),stainless steel(St),copper(Co),and aluminium(Al)were studied.In addition,the effects of p H variations on the corrosion rate of three types of piles including steel pile(SP),reinforced cement concrete pile(RCCP),and reinforced lime-cement concrete pile(RLCCP)were investigated.It was observed that increasing the voltage from a specific limit had no effect on the intensity of electrolysis reactions and the soil p H adjacent to the electrodes did not change more than a specific limit.Moreover,increasing the voltage to higher than 35 V(i.e.45 V)did not increase the volume of drained water from the soil,but caused more electric current than the allowable current for Ir,St,and Al electrodes,and the corrosion intensity of these electrodes increased significantly.RCCP reduced the soil p H to 2.4 within 7 d of curing due to severe corrosion(13%corrosion rate).The soil p H values adjacent to RCCP and RLCCP within 28 d of curing reduced to 3.7 and 3.8,respectively,but the two piles were not damaged.In general,the results of this research showed that selecting an optimized voltage had a significant effect on the efficiency of EK,and increasing the voltage did not always lead to increase in the efficiency of EK process.