Enhancing the Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of Low Expansive Clay Subgrade with Vinyl Acetate-Ethylene Polymer Incorporation
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 7
Abstract
In recent years, the construction industry has shifted toward sustainability, replacing traditional binders with eco-friendly alternatives. One such alternative is vinyl acetate-ethylene (VAE) polymer, known for its hydrophobic properties and used in various construction materials. This study explores the potential of VAE polymer to stabilize expansive clay as road subgrade material. VAE polymer was introduced into low-plasticity clay in varying percentages (1%, 1.5%, and 2% by dry weight of clay), and the mixtures underwent a series of geotechnical tests (compaction, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California bearing ratio (CBR), resilient modulus, shrinkage-swelling, and soil-water retention curve) and microstructural and chemical analyses [x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), microcomputed tomography (MicroCT), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)]. The results show that 1 adding 1% polymer resulted in the highest increase in mechanical strength (UCS, CBR, resilient modulus) by 34%, 40%, and 51%, respectively. Moreover, the incorporation of 2% polymer reduced the swelling-shrinkage potential by 67%. Microstructural analyses support these findings.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the facilities, and the scientific and technical assistance of the RMIT Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility (RMMF), a linked laboratory of Microscopy Australia, enabled by NCRIS. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the RMIT X-Ray Facilities for providing training and technical support. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the support of Wacker Chemicals Australia.
References
AASHTO. 2003. Standard method of test for determining the resilient modulus of soils and aggregate materials, 99. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
Al-Taie, A., E. Yaghoubi, P. L. P. Wasantha, R. Van Staden, M. Guerrieri, and S. Fragomeni. 2023a. “Mechanical and physical properties and cyclic swell-shrink behaviour of expansive clay improved by recycled glass.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 24 (1): 2204436. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2023.2204436.
Al-Taie, A., E. Yaghoubi, P. L. P. Wasantha, R. Van Staden, M. Guerrieri, and S. Fragomeni. 2023b. “Swelling and collapse behavior of unsaturated expansive subgrades stabilized with recycled glass.” Transp. Geotech. 41 (Jul): 101039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2023.101039.
Arab, M. G., R. A. Mousa, A. R. Gabr, A. M. Azam, S. M. El-Badawy, and A. F. Hassan. 2019. “Resilient behavior of sodium alginate–treated cohesive soils for pavement applications.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 31 (1): 4018361. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002565.
Araei, A. A., A. Salamat, S. H. Tabatabaei, and H. Hasani. 2022. “Comparison of clayey soil characteristics treated with lime and water based nano-polymer.” Int. J. Min. Geo-Eng. 56 (3): 271–276. https://doi.org/10.22059/ijmge.2022.297169.594842.
AS (Australian Standard). 2003. Method of testing soils for engineering purposes/soil reactivity tests-Determination of the shrinkage index of a soil-Shrink-swell index. AS 1289.7.1.1. Sydney, Australia: Australian Standard.
AS (Australian Standard). 2008a. Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes soil classification tests—Determination of the linear shrinkage of a soil—Standard method. AS 1289.3.4.1. Sydney, Australia: Australian Standard.
AS (Australian Standard). 2008b. Unconfined compressive strength of compacted materials. AS 5101.4. Sydney, Australia: Australian Standard.
AS (Australian Standard). 2014. Soil strength and consolidation Tests-Determination of the California Bearing Ratio of a soil-Standard laboratory method for a remoulded specimen. AS 1289.6.1.1. Sydney, Australia: Australian Standard.
AS (Australian Standard). 2017. Methods of testing soils for engineering purposes Soil compaction and density tests—Determination of the dry density/moisture content relation of a soil using standard compactive effort. AS 1289.5.1.1. Sydney, Australia: Australian Standard.
ASTM. 2000. Standard test method for liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index of soils. ASTM D4318. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2007. Standard test method for particle size analysis of soils. ASTM D422. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2010. Standard test methods for specific gravity of soil solids by water pycnometer. ASTM D854. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2011. Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (unified soil classification system. ASTM D2487. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2016. Test methods for determination of the soil water characteristic curve for de-sorption using a hanging column, pressure extractor, chilled mirror hygrometer, and/or centrifuge. ASTM D6836. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Austroads. 2019. AGPT04D-19 guide to pavement technology part 4D: Stabilised Materials. Sydney, Australia: Austroads.
Azzam, W. R. 2012. “Reduction of the shrinkage-swelling potential with polymer nanocomposite stabilization.” J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 123 (1): 299–306. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.33642.
Bardhan, A., C. Gokceoglu, A. Burman, P. Samui, and P. G. Asteris. 2021. “Efficient computational techniques for predicting the California bearing ratio of soil in soaked conditions.” Eng. Geol. 291 (Sep): 106239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2021.106239.
Biswal, D. R., U. C. Sahoo, and S. R. Dash. 2019. “Durability and shrinkage studies of cement stabilized granular lateritic soils.” Int. J. Pavement Eng. 20 (12): 1451–1462. https://doi.org/10.1080/10298436.2018.1433830.
Chavali, R. V. P., and B. Reshmarani. 2020. “Characterization of expansive soils treated with lignosulfonate.” Int. J. Geo-Eng. 11 (1): 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40703-020-00124-1.
Chuayjuljit, S., and N. Piyawong. 2012. “Use of polystyrene nanoparticles synthesized by differential microemulsion polymerization for property improvement of (vinyl acetate)-ethylene co-polymer.” J. Vinyl Add. Technol. 18 (4): 216–221. https://doi.org/10.1002/vnl.20323.
Deka, A., S. Vadlamudi, and S. Sekharan. 2021. “Effect of high suction measurement technique on the SWCC of expansive soil.” In Vol. 159 of Transportation, water and environmental geotechnics. Lecture notes in civil engineering, edited by C. N. V. Satyanarayana Reddy, S. Saride, and S. Haldar. 109–118. Berlin: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2260-1_10.
Fernández, M. T., S. Orlandi, M. Codevilla, T. M. Piqué, and D. Manzanal. 2021. “Performance of calcium lignosulfonate as a stabilizer of highly expansive clay.” Transp. Geotech. 27 (Mar): 100469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2020.100469.
Gao, Y., D. Sun, A. Zhou, and J. Li. 2019. “Predicting shear strength of unsaturated soils over wide suction range.” Int. J. Geomech. 20 (2): 04019175. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0001555.
Ghadir, P., M. Zamanian, N. Mahbubi-Motlagh, M. Saberian, J. Li, and N. Ranjbar. 2021. “Shear strength and life cycle assessment of volcanic ash-based geopolymer and cement stabilized soil: A comparative study.” Transp. Geotech. 31 (Nov): 100639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2021.100639.
Ghai, R., P. P. Bansal, and M. Kumar. 2016. “Mechanical properties of styrene-butadiene-rubber latex (SBR) and vinyl-acetate-ethylene (VAE) polymer modified ferrocement (PMF).” J. Polym. Mater. 33 (1): 111–126.
Han, B., J. Ling, X. Shu, W. Song, R. L. Boudreau, W. Hu, and B. Huang. 2019. “Quantifying the effects of geogrid reinforcement in unbound granular base.” Geotext. Geomembr. 47 (3): 369–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2019.01.009.
Kushwaha, P., A. S. Chauhan, S. Swami, and B. L. Swami. 2021. “Investigating the effects of nanochemical-based ionic stabilizer and co-polymer on soil properties for pavement construction.” J. Geotech. Eng. 15 (3): 379–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/19386362.2019.1635817.
Law, C. W., F. N. L. Ling, and B. K. Ng. 2018. “Strength characteristics of artificial organic soils stabilized with copolymer stabilizer.” In Vol. 169 of Proc., MATEC Web of Conf., 01010. Les Ulis Cedex, France: EDP Sciences.
Li, X., et al. 2022. “Effects of different degrees of hydrophobic treatment on soil-water characteristic curves and infiltration coefficients of hygroscopic soils.” Coatings 12 (10): 1424. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12101424.
Losini, A. E., A.-C. Grillet, M. Woloszyn, L. Lavrik, C. Moletti, G. Dotelli, and M. Caruso. 2022. “Mechanical and microstructural characterization of rammed earth stabilized with five biopolymers.” Materials 15 (9): 3136. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15093136.
Lu, J., L. Li, P. Jiang, Z. Chen, G. Fontaine, Y. Zhang, G. Yu, and S. Bourbigot. 2022. “Flammability properties of intumescent vinyl acetate-ethylene co-polymer emulsion including natural carbonization agent.” Polymer 245 (Apr): 124709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2022.124709.
McAndrew, J., and M. A. H. Marsden. 1973. Regional guide to Victorian geology. Parkville, VIC: School of Geology, Univ. of Melbourne.
Mirzababaei, M., A. Arulrajah, S. Horpibulsuk, A. Soltani, and N. Khayat. 2018. “Stabilization of soft clay using short fibers and poly vinyl alcohol.” Geotext. Geomembr. 46 (5): 646–655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geotexmem.2018.05.001.
Mirzababaei, M., A. Arulrajah, and M. Ouston. 2017. “Polymers for stabilization of soft clay soils.” Procedia Eng. 189 (Jan): 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.05.005.
MolaAbasi, H., P. Kharazmi, A. Khajeh, M. Saberian, R. J. Chenari, M. Harandi, and J. Li. 2022. “Low plasticity clay stabilized with cement and zeolite: An experimental and environmental impact study.” Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 184 (Sep): 106408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106408.
MolaAbasi, H., S. N. Semsani, M. Saberian, A. Khajeh, J. Li, and M. Harandi. 2020. “Evaluation of the long-term performance of stabilized sandy soil using binary mixtures: A micro-and macro-level approach.” J. Cleaner Prod. 267 (Sep): 122209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122209.
Mousavi, F., E. Abdi, and H. Rahimi. 2014. “Effect of polymer stabilizer on swelling potential and CBR of forest road material.” KSCE J. Civ. Eng. 18 (7): 2064–2071. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-014-0137-7.
Nam, S., M. Gutierrez, P. Diplas, J. Petrie, A. Wayllace, N. Lu, and J. J. Muñoz. 2009. “Comparison of testing techniques and models for establishing the SWCC of riverbank soils.” Eng. Geol. 110 (1–2): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2009.09.003.
Ni, B., T. C. Hopkins, L. Sun, and T. L. Beckham. 2002. “Modelling the resilient modulus of soils.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways and Airfield, 1131–1142. Washington, DC: Transport Research Laboratory.
Peck, W. A. 1992. “Engineering geology of Melbourne.” In Proc., Seminar on Engineering Geology of Melbourne. Melbourne, Australia: A.A. Balkema.
Perera, S. T. A. M., M. Saberian, J. Zhu, R. Roychand, and J. Li. 2022. “Effect of crushed glass on the mechanical and microstructural behavior of highly expansive clay subgrade.” Case Stud. Constr. Mater. 17 (Dec): e01244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e01244.
Perera, S. T. A. M., M. Saberian, J. Zhu, R. Roychand, J. Li, G. Ren, and M. T. Yamchelou. 2023. “Improvement of low plasticity clay with crushed glass: A mechanical and microstructural study.” Int. J. Pavement Res. Technol. 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42947-023-00339-2.
Perera, S. T. A. M., J. Zhu, M. Saberian, M. Liu, D. Cameron, T. Maqsood, and J. Li. 2021. “Application of glass in subsurface pavement layers: A comprehensive review.” Sustainability 13 (21): 11825. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111825.
Rajesh, S., S. Roy, and S. Madhav. 2017. “Study of measured and fitted SWCC accounting the irregularity in the measured dataset.” Int. J. Geotech. Eng. 11 (4): 321–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/19386362.2016.1219541.
Ramli, M., and A. A. Tabassi. 2012. “Mechanical behaviour of polymer-modified ferrocement under different exposure conditions: An experimental study.” Composites, Part B 43 (2): 447–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2011.11.058.
Rezaeimalek, S., J. Huang, and S. Bin-Shafique. 2017. “Evaluation of curing method and mix design of a moisture activated polymer for sand stabilization.” Constr. Build. Mater. 146 (Aug): 210–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.04.093.
Saberian, M., and J. Li. 2018. “Investigation of the mechanical properties and carbonation of construction and demolition materials together with rubber.” J. Cleaner Prod. 202: 553–560.
Saberian, M., and J. Li. 2021. “Effect of freeze–thaw cycles on the resilient moduli and unconfined compressive strength of rubberized recycled concrete aggregate as pavement base/subbase.” Transp. Geotech. 27 (Mar): 100477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2020.100477.
Saberian, M., J. Li, S. T. A. M. Perera, G. Ren, R. Roychand, and H. Tokhi. 2020. “An experimental study on the shear behaviour of recycled concrete aggregate incorporating recycled tyre waste.” Constr. Build. Mater. 264 (Dec): 120266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120266.
Saberian, M., A. Tajaddini, J. Li, G. Zhang, L. Wang, D. Sun, T. Maqsood, and R. Roychand. 2023. “Mechanical properties of polypropylene fibre reinforced recycled concrete aggregate for sustainable road base and subbase applications.” Constr. Build. Mater. 405 (Nov): 133352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.133352.
Safari, M., M. Rowshanzamir, S. M. Hejazi, and M. Banitelebi-Dehkordi. 2023. “Combined effect of end-of-life rubber and a hydrophobic polymer on coastal saturated sand: A multiaspect investigation.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 35 (3): 04022439. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0004616.
Shafiqu, Q. S. M. 2018. “Effect of adding polyacrylamide polymer with lime and cement kiln dust on the properties of expansive clayey soils.” Int. J. Geomate 15 (51): 233–239. https://doi.org/10.21660/2018.51.19491.
Shi, X. S., Y. Gao, and J. Ding. 2021. “Estimation of the compression behaviour of sandy clay considering sand fraction effect based on equivalent void ration concept.” Eng. Geol. 280 (2021): 105930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105930.
Singh, A. K., and J. P. Sahoo. 2021. “A study of the performance of lignosulfonate-treated high plastic clay under static and cyclic loading.” Bull. Eng. Geol. Environ. 80 (Oct): 8265–8278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-021-02444-7.
Soltani, A., A. Deng, A. Taheri, and B. C. O’Kelly. 2018. “Rubber powder–polymer combined stabilization of South Australian expansive soils.” Geosynth. Int. 25 (3): 304–321. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgein.18.00009.
Soltani, A., A. Taheri, M. Khatibi, and A. R. Estabragh. 2017. “Swelling potential of a stabilized expansive soil: A comparative experimental study.” Geotech. Geol. Eng. 35 (4): 1717–1744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-017-0204-1.
Tahasildar, J., and B. H. Rao. 2016. “Determination of swelling characteristics using soil water characteristic curve parameter.” Ind. Geotech. J. 46 (3): 319–326. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40098-016-0199-1.
Tajaddini, A., M. Saberian, V. K. Sirchi, J. Li, and T. Maqsood. 2023. “Improvement of mechanical strength of low-plasticity clay soil using geopolymer-based materials synthesized from glass powder and copper slag.” Case Stud. Constr. Mater. 18 (Jul): e01820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e01820.
Tan, C. B. 2005. “Emulsion polymerization of ethylene-vinyl acetate-branched vinyl ester using a pressure reactor system.” Ph.D. thesis, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological Univ.
Tan, E. H., E. M. M. Zahran, and S. J. Tan. 2020. “A review of chemical stabilization in road construction.” IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 943 (1): 012005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/943/1/012005.
Uzan, J. 1985. “Characterization of granular materials.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1022 (1): 52–59.
van Genuchten, M. T. 1980. “A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44 (5): 892–898. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400050002x.
Wacker Chemie, A. G. 2022. “Etonis: The double agent.” Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.wacker.com/cms/en-us/insights/concrete-double-agent.html.
Wang, J., X. Li, H. Wen, and B. Muhunthan. 2020. “Shrinkage cracking model for cementitiously stabilized layers for use in the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide.” Transp. Geotech. 24 (2020): 100386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2020.100386.
Yaghoubi, E., A. Al-Taie, M. Disfani, and S. Fragomeni. 2022. “Recycled aggregate mixtures for backfilling sewer trenches in nontrafficable areas.” Int. J. Geomech. 22 (3): 04021308. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)GM.1943-5622.0002297.
Yaghoubi, E., O. Azadegan, and J. Li. 2013. “Effect of surface layer thickness on the performance of lime and cement treated aggregate surfaced roads.” Electron. J. Geotech. Eng. 18: 1081–1094.
Yaghoubi, E., B. Ghorbani, M. Saberian, R. van Staden, M. Guerrieri, and S. Fragomeni. 2023. “Permanent deformation response of demolition wastes stabilised with bitumen emulsion as pavement base/subbase.” Transp. Geotech. 39 (Mar): 100934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2023.100934.
Yin, X., E. Liu, and C. Zhang. 2022. “Predicting the soil freezing characteristic curve of the expansive soil with double porosity accounting for hydraulic effects.” J. Hydrol. 612 (Sep): 128260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128260.
Zhang, B., W. Jiang, Q. Xu, D. Yuan, J. Shan, and R. Lu. 2022. “Experimental feasibility study of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) as cement stabilized soil curing agent.” Road Mater. Pavement Des. 23 (3): 617–638. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2020.1834442.
Zhang, T., S. Liu, G. Cai, and A. J. Puppala. 2015. “Experimental investigation of thermal and mechanical properties of lignin treated silt.” Eng. Geol. 196 (Sep): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2015.07.003.
Zhu, J., M. Saberian, J. Li, T. Maqsood, and W. Yang. 2023. “Performance of clay soil reinforced with PET plastic waste subjected to freeze-thaw cycles for pavement subgrade application.” Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 214 (Oct): 103957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2023.103957.
Zhu, J., M. Saberian, S. T. A. M. Perera, R. Roychand, J. Li, and G. Wang. 2022. “Reusing COVID-19 disposable nitrile gloves to improve the mechanical properties of expansive clay subgrade: An innovative medical waste solution.” J. Cleaner Prod. 375 (Nov): 134086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134086.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 7 • July 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 28, 2023
Accepted: Dec 14, 2023
Published online: Apr 18, 2024
Published in print: Jul 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Sep 18, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.