Suppressing Ettringite-Induced Swelling of Gypseous Soil by Using Magnesia-Activated Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag
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Volume 146, Issue 7
Abstract
Ettringite usually is formed in lime- and cement-stabilized gypseous soils, resulting in significant swelling upon wetting and thereby causing damage to pavements and foundation systems. To reduce the ettringite formation and the associated swelling, magnesia (MgO)-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) was investigated for stabilizing gypseous soil. Experimental tests, including swelling, unconfined compression strength, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies, were conducted to examine properties of MgO-GGBS-treated gypseous soil. Test results illustrated that the swelling of MgO-GGBS-stabilized soils (0.4%–2%) was much lower than that of cement-stabilized soil (6.1%), whereas the strength of MgO-GGBS-stabilized soils after soaking (1.2–2.8 MPa) was significantly higher than that of cement-stabilized soil (0.3 MPa). XRD and SEM results showed that no ettringite was formed in MgO-GGBS-stabilized soils, which primarily was responsible for the lesser swelling and higher strength compared with that of the cement-stabilized soil after soaking. Overall, test results indicated the potential of MgO-GGBS for effective stabilization of gypseous soils.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the grant (M4081914) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and the assistance of Ong Yi Jie with the laboratory testing.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 7 • July 2020
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 22, 2019
Accepted: Feb 11, 2020
Published online: May 7, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 7, 2020
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