Enhancement Mechanism of the Mechanical and Shrinkage Properties of Red Clay Solidified Using the Consolid System
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24, Issue 11
Abstract
As a typical special soil, red clay found in Guizhou Province, China, must be improved before it can be used for projects owing to its high plasticity. As a soil curing agent, the Consolid system is applicable to a wide range of soils, has good improvement effects and a simple operation, and is environmentally friendly. The effects of the dosage and curing age of the Consolid system on the unconfined compressive strength and shrinkage properties of the cured red clay–gravel mixture are studied. The results showed that both these properties of the red clay–gravel mixture were significantly improved by the Consolid System, and the higher the dosage of the Consolid system, the better the improvement effect. The thermal methods of thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to determine that the bound water content was related to the amount of Consolid system admixture. With the increase in the dosage of the Consolid system, the weakly bound water content of red clay appeared to be reduced to different degrees, while the strongly bound water content was reduced to a lesser extent. The reduction in the weakly bound water led to an increase in the molecular gravitational force between the soil particles. This promoted the agglomeration of the soil particles to form a stronger agglomerate structure, thereby enhancing its mechanical properties. The physical phase analysis of cured soils with different amounts of Consolid system admixture was carried out by X-ray diffraction analysis. No chemical reaction occurred during improvement, but the crystal spacing was reduced. This phenomenon could be a factor improving the shrinkage properties. In addition, the shrinkage properties of the soil improved because of the low number of exchangeable cations on the mineral surface, allowing the cured soil to enter a charge equilibrium state quickly.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and codes generated or used during the study appear in the published paper.
Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (Program no. 2020JZ-22) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52078050). The authors thank the reviewers of this paper for their comments and suggestions.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 24 • Issue 11 • November 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 25, 2023
Accepted: May 20, 2024
Published online: Aug 27, 2024
Published in print: Nov 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jan 27, 2025
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Clays
- Curing
- Engineering mechanics
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrologic properties
- Hydrology
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Materials processing
- Shrinkage (material)
- Soil dynamics
- Soil mechanics
- Soil properties
- Soil stabilization
- Soil water
- Soils (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water content
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