Mineralogy of Soil Susceptible to Sulfate Attack after Stabilization
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 4
Abstract
The mineralogy of a soil susceptible to sulfate attack was investigated in detail, with particular attention paid to the sulfate and clay minerals. The soil from north Louisiana suffered sulfate attack when stabilized by Type I portland cement. A number of analytical techniques, such as x-ray diffractometry, thermal analysis (thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), were used. Thermogravimetry showed that 7.8% gypsum was present in the soil from the average of four samples. Quantitative x-ray diffractometry yielded a value of 12.9±1.1% for one soil. XANES indicated that all the sulfur in the soil was present as sulfate phases. Gypsum was found in all size fractions. The clay minerals, kaolinite (highest concentration), illite (intermediate concentration), and smectite (lowest concentration) could be identified with certainty only after the clay fraction was concentrated by removal of gypsum by acid dissolution followed by centrifugation. Kaolinite (5%) could be easily quantified by thermogravimetry but not other clay minerals.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Berry, E. E., Hemming, R. T., and Cornelius, B. E. (1991). “Commercialization potential of AFBC (atmospheric fluidized bed combustion) concrete.” EPRI-GS-7122-Vol. 2, Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.
Bish, D. L., and Post, J. E.(1993). “Quantitative mineralogical analysis using the Rietveld full-pattern fitting method.” Am. Mineral., 78(9–10), 932–940.
Brown, G. E., Jr., Calas, G., Waychunas, G. A., and Petiau, J. (1988). “X-ray absorption spectroscopy: Applications in mineralogy and geochemistry.” Reviews in mineralogy, F. C. Hawthorne, ed., Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, D.C., 431–512.
Burkart, B., Goss, G. C., and Kern, J. P.(1999). “The role of gypsum in production of sulfate-induced deformation of lime-stabilized soils.” Environ. Eng. Geosci.,5(2), 173–187.
Deer, W. A., Howie, R. A., and Zussman, J. (1962). Rock forming minerals, Wiley, New York.
Gabrisova, A., Havlica, J., and Sahu, S.(1991). “Stability of calcium sulphoaluminate hydrates in water solutions with various pH values.” Cem. Concr. Res., 21(6), 1023–1027.
James, A. N., and Lupton, A. R. R.(1978). “Gypsum and anhydrite foundations in hydraulic structures.” Geotechnique, 28(3), 249–272.
Jenkins, R., and Snyder, R. L. (1996). Introduction to x-ray powder diffractometry, Wiley, New York.
Kota, P. B. V. S., Hazlett, D., and Perrin, L. (1996). “Sulfate-bearing soils: Problems with calcium-based stabilizers.” Transportation Research Record 1546, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 62–69.
Larson, A. C., and Von Dreele, R. B. (2000). “General structure analysis system (GSAS).” LAUR 86-748, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M.
Lemonnier, M., Collet, O., Depautex, C., Esteva, J. M., and Raoux, D.(1978). “High-vacuum 2 crystal soft-x-ray monochromator.” Nucl. Instrum. Methods, 152(1), 109–111.
Marel, H. W. V. d., and Beutelspacher, H. (1976). Atlas of infrared spectroscopy of clay minerals and their admixtures, Elsevier Scientific, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Mitchell, J. K.(1986). “Practical problems from surprising soil behavior.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 112(3), 255–289.
Mitchell, J. K., and Dermatus, D. (1992). “Clay soil heave caused by lime-sulfate reactions.” ASTM Special Technical Publication, Committe C-7 on Lime, No. 1135, 41–64.
Moore, D. M., and Reynolds, R. C. (1997). X-ray diffraction and the identification and analysis of clay minerals, Oxford University Press, New York.
Morris, R. J., Jr. (1963). “Infrared spectrophotometric analysis of calcium sulfate hydrates using internally standardized mineral oil mulls.” Anal. Chem., 35(10), 1489–1492.
Myneni, S. C. B. (2000). “X-ray and vibrational spectroscopy of sulfate in earth materials.” Sulfate minerals-crystallography, geochemistry and environmental significance, C. N. Alpers, J. L. Jambor, and D. K. Nordstrom, eds., Mineralogical Society of America, Washinton, D.C., 113–172.
Nelson, R. E. (1982). “Carbonate and gypsum.” Methods of soil analysis, part 2 chemical and microbiological properties, A. L. Page, R. H. Miller, and D. R. Keeney, eds., American Society of Agronomy, Inc; Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, Wis., 181–198.
Riedmiller, J., Poellmann, H., and Motzet, H.(1998). “Quantifizierung von Calciumsulfathydraten mit Roentgendiffraktometrie mittels Rietveldanalyse.” ZKG Int.,51(8), 452–459.
Roy, A., Wang, L., Seals, R. K., and Metcalf, J. B. (2003). “Stabiliza-tiontechniques for reactive aggregate in soil–cement base course.” Rep. No. 366, Louisiana Transportation Research Center, Baton Rouge, La.
Russell, J. D., and Fraser, A. R. (1994). “Infrared methods.” Clay mineralogy: Spectroscopic and chemical determinative methods, M. J. Wilson, ed., Chapman and Hall, London, 11–67.
Scarlett, N. V. Y., et al. (2002). “Outcomes of the International union of Crystallography Commission on powder diffraction round robin on quantitative phase analysis: Samples 2, 3, 4, synthetic bauxite, natural granodiorite, and pharmaceuticals.” J. Appl. Crystallogr., 35, 383–400.
Seidl, V., and Knop, O.(1969). “Infrared studies of water in crystalline hydrates: Gypsum, ” Can. J. Chem., 47, 1361–1368.
Snyder, R. L., and Bish, D. L. (1989). “Quantitative analysis.” Modernpowder diffraction, D. L. Bish and J. E. Post, eds., Mineralogical Society of America, Washington, D.C., 101–144.
Taylor, H. (1997). Cement chemistry, Thomas Telford, London.
Turk, D. A., and Bounini, L. (1984). “The effect of sorbed water on the determination of phase omposition of CaSO4⋅H20 systems by various methods.” The chemistry and technology of gypsum, R. A. Kuntze, ed., ASTM, Philadelphia, 48–56.
Wang, L., Roy, A., Seals, R. K., and Metcalf, J. B. (2003). “Stabilization of sulfate-containing soil by cementitious mixtures.” Transportation Research Record 1837, Geomaterials, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 12–19.
Wendlandt, W. W. (1986). Thermal analysis, Wiley, New York.
Xu, Z.et al. (2001). “Quantative mineral analysis by FTIR spectroscopy.” Internet J. Vibr. Spectrosc.,5(4), 1–11.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 16 • Issue 4 • August 2004
Pages: 375 - 382
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2002
Accepted: Oct 29, 2003
Published online: Jul 15, 2004
Published in print: Aug 2004
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.