scholarly journals Experimental Research on Microstructure and Physical-Mechanical Properties of Expansive Soil Stabilized with Fly Ash, Sand, and Basalt Fiber

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin-yong Ma ◽  
Zi-ming Cao ◽  
Pu Yuan

Expansive soil is a source of risk to the foundations or subgrade engineering. Stabilization of expansive soil is imperative for practical engineering. A series of laboratory experiments were performed to analyze the physical-mechanical properties and microstructures of stabilized soil. Three stabilizers used in this study are fly ash, sand, and basalt fiber. Different percentages of fly ash (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20%), sand (0, 8, 16, and 24%), and basalt fiber (0 and 0.4%) were added by weight into natural soil. Experimental results indicate that the optimum moisture content of stabilized soil increases with the increase of fly ash content for a given sand content, whereas the maximum dry density shows a decreasing trend. The variation trend of optimum moisture content and maximum dry density turns reverse with the increase of sand content for a given fly ash content. Plasticity index is decreased by both increasing fly ash content and sand content. It is found that the maximum unconfined compressive strength and optimum growth rate of strength are obtained by selected mixtures of 10% fly ash, 8% sand, and 0.4% basalt fiber contents. As the analysis of complementary effect suggests, most of the mixt treatments applied in this study have produced good results associated with the strength enhancement of expansive soil. In line with the results of SEM tests, the connection among clay particles has been enhanced through the generation of hydration products (C-S-H and AFt) of fly ash. The filling effect of sand has increased the integrality and compactness of stabilized soil. Moreover, the gripping effect between fibers and soil particles notably improves the strength of stabilized soil. The effect of sand on reinforced soil with 0.4% basalt fiber increases the interfacial force between fibers and soil particles.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-20
Author(s):  
Iyad Alkroosh ◽  
Ali Al-Robay ◽  
Prabir Sarker ◽  
Saif Alzabeebee

This paper investigates the influence of sand content on the mechanical behavior of a low plasticity clay that collected from south of Iraq (Sumer town). Samples have been prepared with sand contents of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the clay weight. Standard Proctor and unconfined compression tests have been carried out and the optimum moisture content, maximum dry density, and undrained shear strength have been determined. The results show a gradual increasing trend of the maximum dry density with the increase of the sand content up to 30%. The highest dry density reaches 1.90 g/cm3 corresponding to an optimum moisture content of 12%. In addition, this paper shows that the undrained shear strength is inversely proportional to the increase of the percentage of sand. The results of this work provide a useful addition to the literature regarding the behaviour or low plasticity clay-sand mixture.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-quan Zhou ◽  
Da-wei Zhou ◽  
Yong-fei Zhang ◽  
Wei-jian Wang ◽  
Dongwei Li

To probe into the dynamic mechanical properties of expansive soil stabilized by fly ash and lime under impact load, the split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test was carried out in this study. An analysis was made on the dynamic mechanical property and final fracture morphology of stabilized soil, and the failure mechanism was also explored from the perspective of energy dissipation. According to the test results, under the impact pressure of 0.2 MPa, plain soil and pure fly ash-stabilized soil exhibit strong plasticity. After the addition of lime, the stabilized soil shows obvious brittle failure. The dynamic compressive strength and absorbed energy of stabilized soil first increase and then decrease with the change of mix proportions. Both the dynamic compressive strength and the absorbed energy reach the peak value at the content of 20% fly ash and 5% lime (20% F + 5% L). In the process of the test, most of the incident energy is reflected back to the incident bar. The absorbed energy of stabilized soil increases linearly with the rise of dynamic compressive strength, while the absorbed energy is negatively correlated with the fractal dimension. The fractal dimension of pore morphology of the plain soil is lower than that of the fly ash-lime combined stabilized soil when it comes to the two different magnification ratios. The test results indicate that the modifier content of 20% F + 5% L can significantly improve the dynamic mechanical properties of the expansive soil.


2013 ◽  
Vol 710 ◽  
pp. 348-351
Author(s):  
Zheng Rong Zhao ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Hong Xia Yang

Through compaction test discussed about the compaction characteristics of expansive soil by lime modified in middle of Shandong province. The results show that the optimum moisture content is lower when the expansive soil is cured by dry compaction method, and the maximum dry density is higher. Compaction curve appeared the phenomenon of two peaks when expansive soil is cured by wet compaction method.Lime content of lime improved expansive soil, particle size composition, age and compaction function have influence on compaction curve.With the increase of the quantity of lime, the optimum moisture content increases, the maximum dry density decreases. With the age growth, the optimum moisture content increase slightly,the maximum dry density decreases slightly. The bigger the compaction work, the smaller moisture content is, the larger the maximum dry density is.


2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lech Bałachowski ◽  
Zbigniew Sikora

Abstract Bottom ash from EC Gdańsk and dredged material taken from the mouth of The Vistula were mixed to form an engineering material used for dike construction. Mixtures with different bottom ash content were tested in laboratory to determine its basic physical and mechanical properties. The optimum bottom ash-dredged material mixture, built in the corps of the test dike, contains 70% of ash. The optimum bottom ash content in the mixture was chosen taking into account high internal friction angle, good compaction and reduced filtration coefficient. The maximum dry density of the mixtures was measured in Proctor test for the mixtures formed in laboratory and on samples taken from the test dike. Minimum and maximum void ratio were also determined.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iyad Alkroosh ◽  
◽  
Ali Al-Robay ◽  
Prabir Sarker ◽  
Saif Alzabeebee ◽  
...  

This study investigated the influence of sand content on the mechanical behaviour of a low plasticity clay found in Iraq. Samples were prepared with sand contents of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of the weight of the clay. Standard Proctor and unconfined compression tests were carried out and the optimum moisture content, maximum dry density, and undrained shear strength were determined. The results showed a gradual increasing trend of the maximum dry density with the increase of the sand content up to 30%. The highest dry density reached was 1.90 gm/cm3 corresponding to an optimum moisture content of 12%. In addition, it was also found that the undrained shear strength was inversely proportional to the increase of the percentage of sand. Thus, the dry density of the clay could be increased well above 1.70 g/cm3, which is the minimum dry density accepted as a compacted subgrade according to the Iraqi General Specifications for Roads and Bridges (2003); hence, the rejected low plasticity clay could be utilised by mixing with sand. The reasons for the increase of the dry density and the decrease of the undrained shear strength has been extensively discussed in the paper.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-quan Zhou ◽  
Da-wei Zhou ◽  
Yong-fei Zhang ◽  
Wei-jian Wang

Fly ash and lime have been frequently employed to reduce the swelling potential of expansive soils. Laboratory experiments, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used in this study to investigate the stabilizing effect of fly ash and lime on expansive soils in the Jianghuai undulating plain area. The comparison was drawn between the variation laws of physical parameters, mechanical properties, microstructure, and mineral composition of expansive soil before and after being stabilized. Experimental results suggest that, after 5% lime is added based on fly ash, the plasticity index of the expansive soil decreases by 64.9%, the free swelling ratio is reduced to about 10%, the unloading swelling ratio is reduced to nearly 4%, and the stabilized soil no longer exhibits the expansive property. The unconfined compressive and tensile strengths of the stabilized soil increase first and then decrease with the rising in fly ash content. After the addition of 5% lime, both the unconfined compressive and tensile strengths increase significantly. The optimum modifier mixture ratio is obtained as 10% fly ash + 5% lime. The SEM images reveal that the microstructures of the stabilized expansive soil vary from an irregular flake-like and flocculent structures to blocky structures, and the soil samples compactness is enhanced. XRD results indicate that quartz is the main component of the stabilized soil. These are the underlying causes of the rise in the strength. The conclusions of this study can be referenced for the engineering design and construction of expansive soil in Jianghuai undulating plain area.


1987 ◽  
Vol 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petros Zenieris ◽  
Joakim G. Laguros

ABSTRACTThe benefit of adding up to 35 wt% Class C high calcium fly ash to various types of fine and coarse aggregate pavement mixes is described and quantified. The mixes, which were compacted to maximum dry density at optimum moisture content, had variable compressive strengths during the first 28 days of curing; after that they assumed a relatively uniform pattern of strength gain reaching values as high as 11 MPa (1600 psi). Mixes containing 15% fly ash gave unacceptably low strengths. XRD measurements indicated massive formation of ettringite, transforming to monosulfoaluminate and the poorly crystallized hydrated phases of C-A-H, C-A-S-H and C-S-H. This transformation helps explain the gain in strength of the mixes with extended curing. SEM observations depicted progressive packing and densification of the skeletal matrix as the hexagonal phases and C-S-H gained higher crystallinity and formed aggregated masses. Furthermore, these observations suggest that fly ash acts predominantly as a chemical binder and partly as a filler in the aggregate mixes tested.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Hassan A. M. Abdelkader ◽  
Mohamed M. A. Hussein ◽  
Haiwang Ye

The marble process industry from Shaq Al-Thouban region, which is located in East Cairo, Egypt, produces a huge amount of marble wastes every day during the cutting and processing stages. Up to now, most of these wastes are dumping on open land which creates serious environmental problems. The amount of waste marble from the processing stage is about 20 to 25% of the total processed stone. Egypt also suffers from the problem of expansive soil that occupies a large area of its lands, especially in the new cities that are built on these lands. The primary purpose of this study is to use this waste material in the soil stabilization in point of view utilization of this waste as local low-cost materials and elimination of their negative environmental impacts. The waste marble dust was mixed with expansive soil samples with various percentages of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% by dry weight of soil. Different tests including Atterberg’s limits, standard Proctor compaction, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California bearing ratio (CBR), swelling percentage, linear shrinkage (LS) tests, and XRF and XRD analyses were conducted for natural and marble dust stabilized soils. The soil mixtures used for UCS, CBR, and swell tests were compacted at the optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD) using the standard Proctor compaction method and cured for 7 days. The results of the tests showed that there are significant effects in enhancing the properties of expansive soils. Also, the results showed that as the percentage of the marble dust increases the plasticity index, the swelling potential of the expansive clayey soil decreases. Furthermore, the optimum moisture content decreases, and the maximum dry density increases. Also, UCS, CBR, and the calcite content of the soil mixtures increase with the increase in marble dust content.


2015 ◽  
Vol 744-746 ◽  
pp. 495-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Shan Zhuang ◽  
Xiao Yan Yu

Expansive soil of Nanyang Province in this experiment was as the research object and the different lime-mixed rates and basalt fiber-mixed rates on the strength characteristics of expansive soil were studied. The test results show that the maximum dry density and plasticity index of reinforced expansive soil were decreased along with the increased lime-mixed rates and the optimum water content was increased in the wake of the increased lime-mixed rates under the same compaction effort; unconfined compressive strength would be a peak along with the increased lime-mixed rates, ductility of reinforced expansive soil was enhanced by the basalt fiber; expansibility of reinforced expansive soil was slashed by lime and basalt fiber which was the dominant factor.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziming Cao ◽  
Qinyong Ma ◽  
Hongwei Wang

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the influence of basalt fiber content on the static-dynamic mechanical properties and microstructure of cement-fly ash-stabilized soil. The optimum mixed contents of cement and fly ash were obtained from the results of a series of physical and mechanical experiments. Based on the optimum mixed contents of cement and fly ash, the static-dynamic mechanical performances and microstructure of cement-fly ash-stabilized soil reinforced with basalt fiber were studied by means of the unconfined compression test, dynamic compression test (namely, SHPB test), and SEM test. The results demonstrated that the addition of basalt fiber in cement-fly ash-stabilized soil significantly enhanced the static-dynamic mechanical properties of stabilized soil. With basalt fiber content varying from 0% to 1.2%, the unconfined compressive strength, dynamic compressive strength, dynamic increase factor, and specific energy absorption of stabilized soil showed an upward trend first and a downward trend subsequently. The unconfined compressive strength, dynamic compressive strength, and energy absorption ability have a maximum improvement under the optimum basalt fiber content of 0.6%. In addition, the inclusion of basalt fiber can change the failure pattern of cement-fly ash-stabilized soil. The fractal dimension of broken fragments decreased gradually with the increasing basalt fiber content and increased correspondingly with the increasing impact loading pressure. With the basalt fiber content of 0.6%, a stable internal space structure produced inside stabilized soil. However, there are many fiber-fiber weak interfaces that appeared inside stabilized soil under the basalt fiber content of 1.2%. The microstructural observations can be considered as the good interpretations to verify the macroscopic mechanical characteristics.


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