Assessment of Sulfate-Induced Swell in Stabilized Dredged Material: Is Ettringite Always a Problem?
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 3
Abstract
This paper is the last in a series related to pozzolanically stabilizing dredged material (DM) using up to 20 different combinations of lime, cement kiln dust (CKD), fly ash (FA), Portland cement (PC), and slag cement. The fine-grained nature of the DM and the presence of high sulfate concentrations (0.6–3.25% by weight) in the stabilized dredged material (SDM) blends derived from the raw materials themselves posed concern for potential ettringite formation and swell. The sulfate contents of the SDM blends were well in excess of the National Lime Association’s thresholds for mitigating against swell ( by weight ). The quantitative mineralogical results showed that the lime and lime/FA SDM blends showed moderate to high ettringite formation (1.6–4.6% by weight) up to 6 months of curing, with all available sulfate bound to ettringite. The lime and lime/FA SDM blends consistently maintained the highest pHs through 6 months, which caused continued release of alumina and increases in strength. The CKD and CKD/FA SDM blends showed the highest ettringite contents through 28 days of curing (up to 5%), but with little additional formation of ettringite through 6 months of curing. The total sulfate content of the SDM blends was not a good predictor of ettringite formation potential, because of decreases in pH below the ettringite stability threshold and, even more importantly, the apparent limited availability of soluble alumina in the SDM blends. Swell tests performed on six SDM blends showed slight consolidation, and no ettringite was detected in the two specimens that swelled.
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Acknowledgments
This work was performed via Schnabel Engineering, LLC, the former affiliation of Dr. D. G.Grubb (former senior associate) and Dr. N. Malasavage (former engineering intern). Dominion Virginia Power provided the Type F fly ash to support this research. The authors thank David Bristow (Dominion) and Ron Birckhead (Dominion, retired) for their support and involvement. Sam McGee and Carlos M. Quinones of USACE Craney Island facilitated the DM sample collection. The lime, CKD, Type IE PC, and NewCem were provided by Jeff Fair of Lafarge North America (Whitehall, PA). David Cinsavich, Matt Farley, and Dennis Stevens of Schnabel (Blacksburg, VA) assisted with the geotechnical testing program. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the project sponsors.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 3 • March 2012
Pages: 407 - 414
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 28, 2009
Accepted: Jun 18, 2011
Published online: Jun 21, 2011
Published in print: Mar 1, 2012
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