Effect of Macro-Synthetic Fibers on Treated Sandy Soil with Alkali Activated Binders
Publication: Geo-Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
Alkali-activated binders (AABs) have been investigated as a promising alternative to traditional cement-based binders for low cost and high strength. AABs hold significant environmental advantages unlike traditional cement used for ground improvement. This study evaluates the feasibility of utilizing AAB along with synthetic fibers to improve the mechanical properties of sand. For the AAB binders used in this study, fly ash (FA), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) formed the precursor. While the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) solution were used as the liquid alkaline activators. The mechanical behavior of the produced AAB-treated specimens was evaluated based on their unconfined compressive strength (UCS). AAB-treated specimens with fibers showed an increase in the compressive strength regardless of the fiber content added to the mixture. The AAB-treated soil reinforced with macro synthetic fibers has shown 16% improvement in peak compressive strength by adding 0.1% fiber by weight of dry sand. The addition of fibers to AAB treated specimens has improved the specimen’s ductility by increasing residual compressive strength after reaching the peak compressive strength in the UCS test. Moreover, the ductile behavior was observed by the substantial increase in the calculated absorbed energy during the test. The absorbed energy for AAB treated sand with 0.5% of fiber was calculated to be 214% higher than the case of AAB treated control sand specimens without fiber.
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Geo-Congress 2022
Pages: 615 - 623
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Published online: Mar 17, 2022
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