Reexamination of Lime Stabilization Mechanisms of Expansive Clay
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 1
Abstract
For the purpose of understanding the mechanism that results from treating expansive soil with lime, a series of tests were conducted on selected Nanyang expansive clay. X-ray diffraction tests indicated that the major clay minerals of Nanyang expansive clay are a mixture of illite and smectite with some kaolinite and chlorite. The scanning electron microscope images obtained at different curing times were used to interpret the change in the microstructure and the formation of new products from the lime treated samples. The atomic absorption method was adopted to test the concentration of and in the pore water and exchange complex of lime treated Nanyang expansive clay. The results indicate that (1) cation exchange, ions crowding, formation of , agglomeration, and breaking of clay particles in a high pH environment are the dominant reactions in the early stage of treating expansive clay with lime; and (2) the pozzolanic reaction and carbonation occurred at a late stage after lime treatment (90 days in this study).
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Acknowledgments
The financial support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51308091) is greatly appreciated. This research is part of the National Key Technology R&D Program in the 12th Five-Year Plan of China (No. 2011BAB10B05). Additionally, the project is also sponsored by SRF for ROCS, SEM.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 1 • January 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 20, 2013
Accepted: Jan 24, 2014
Published online: Jan 27, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 8, 2014
Published in print: Jan 1, 2015
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