Physical, Hydraulic, and Mechanical Properties of Clayey Soil Stabilized by Lightweight Alkali-Activated Slag Geopolymer
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 2
Abstract
Lightweight cement materials are extensively used in the infrastructure construction. Geopolymer is a low-carbon and environmentally friendly cementitious material. This paper presents an investigation on the physical, hydraulic, and mechanical characteristics of lightweight geopolymer stabilized soil (LGSS) and a comparison with lightweight cement stabilized soil (LCSS). Measurements of volumetric absorption () of water, hydraulic conductivity (), and unconfined compressive strength (), scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) test, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) are conducted. The results show that LGSS has higher than LCSS. The of LGSS is one order of magnitude higher than that of LCSS. The of LGSS is 2–3.5 times of that of LCSS. Microstructurally, the and of LGSS are found to be positively correlated with the volume of large air pores (). Higher of LGSS than LCSS is attributed to more hydration products that fill up the voids of soil. It is concluded that LGSS gives better engineering performances than LCSS in terms of water absorption, permeability, and strength characteristics.
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Acknowledgments
This research is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51278100, 41330641, and 41472258) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2012022).
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 2 • February 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 28, 2016
Accepted: Jul 8, 2016
Published online: Sep 13, 2016
Published in print: Feb 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Feb 13, 2017
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