Alkali-Activated Ground-Granulated Blast Furnace Slag for Stabilization of Marine Soft Clay

Abstract

AbstractThis paper investigated the stabilization efficacy of alkali-activated ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) for a marine soft clay, compared with that of portland cement (PC). The influence of activators, including NaOH, Na2CO3, carbide slag (CS), NaOH-CS, Na2CO3-CS, and Na2SO4-CS, on the stabilization efficacy was investigated. A range of tests were conducted to investigate the properties of stabilized clays, including unconfined compressive strength (UCS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The results indicated that Na2CO3-GGBS had no stabilization efficacy for this marine soft clay. NaOH-GGBS-stabilized clay yielded the highest UCS at 7, 28, and 90 days; however, the UCS decreased from 90 to 180 days because of the microcracking. CS-GGBS-stabilized clay had higher 90-day and 180-day UCS than that of PC-stabilized clay, but significantly lower 7-day and 28-day UCS. NaOH, Na2CO3, and Na2SO4 could enhance the strength devel...