Abstract
Abstract The treatment of expansive soil is generally the most effective process for the stabilization of swelling clay. In this work, we will investigate the influence of the treatment of an expansive soil using granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) alone and granulated blast furnace slag activated by cement (GGBS/C) by mechanical, physical and chemical tests. The results obtained show an increased pH, an improved plasticity as well as a significant reduction in swelling potential and swelling pressure following a percentage increase in additives. In addition, a change in the adsorption of methylene blue molecules (VBs) and in the microstructure of the expansive soil is observed after treatment. Utilization of both GGBS alone and GGBS activated by cement has a significant effect on the behavior of the swelling clay but the GGBS activated by cement exhibits superior results. The use of GGBS in the stabilization of soil will have both economic and environmental benefits.
Highlights
Soil swelling is a disruptive phenomenon that may translate into damage to surface-built, structures or buried works [1, 2]
Stabilization of soils is generally achieved by improving their geotechnical properties through the reuse of swelling soils or soils with poor geotechnical characteristics to ensure the safety and stability of structures built on such soils [6, 7, 8, 9].Several authors have shown that the treatment involves a cation exchange process whereby calcium ions contained in an additive such as cement or other materials are replaced by sodium ions present in the clay
We investigate the stabilization of an expansive soil extracted from the region of Souk Ahras with granulated blast furnace slag alone (100% GGBS) and with cement-activated granulated blast furnace slag (85% GGBS+15% Cement)at different proportions(4%, 8%, 12%, 16% and 20%)
Summary
Soil swelling is a disruptive phenomenon that may translate into damage to surface-built, structures or buried works [1, 2]. Researchers have used several soil treatment methods [4,5] Including additives such as lime, cement, fly ash or other hydraulic binders, and found that the geotechnical characteristics of the swelling soil were significantly improved. The incorporation of additives fills the pores of the soil matrix, and small particles bind together [10, 1] These reactions lead to increased rigidity of the soil structure, which in the short term by flocculation and agglomeration of particles and the formation of a large number of rigid bonds. The dissolved particles react with the calcium provided by the hydraulic binder generating over the long-term pozzolanic reactions [11, 12, 13] The latter cause reduction in water sensitivity, playing thereby an important role in the stabilization of soils. Numerous studies have confirmed that slag can induce pozzolanic reactions if activated by alkali, i.e. used in combination with another binder such as cement or lime
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