Failure of Roadway Subbase Induced by Overuse of Phosphogypsum
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 33, Issue 2
Abstract
Field investigations and laboratory tests were performed to determine the cause of engineering distress due to the swelling of lime-stabilized and phosphogypsum-stabilized soil and subsequent cracks on a roadway in China. An exploratory pit was excavated to inspect the damage state. The thickness and water content of the subbase before and after failure were compared. Laboratory compaction and expansion tests were performed to investigate the swelling behavior and the expansion potential of both the mixture from the in-situ subbase and the newly made mixture in the laboratory. It was found that the main reason for heaving in the roadway was due to the overuse of phosphogypsum in mixture of the subbase. In addition, continuous heavy rainfalls were the triggering factor for a series of chemical reactions that occurred among the mixtures in the water-rich surroundings. These combined factors resulted in the failure of the roadway subbase. This work reveals that the dosage of phosphogypsum must be controlled in a reasonable range when it is used in roadway engineering.
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Acknowledgments
This study is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51378118 and 41272312), and the National Science and Technology Support Program Foundation of China (Grant No. 2015BAB07B06). The authors are grateful to Mr. Yuming Teng, Mr. Weiqiang Wang, Miss. Yan Zhao, and Mr. Qianghua Zeng for their hard work and efforts in the field and laboratory tests, which were essential to the successful completion of this manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 33 • Issue 2 • April 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 21, 2018
Accepted: Sep 24, 2018
Published online: Jan 29, 2019
Published in print: Apr 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jun 29, 2019
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