Abstract
The use of coral sand prepared from cement-stabilized materials can significantly reduce the cost, construction period, and damage to the environment caused by stone mining. The choice of water in mixing and curing the cement-stabilized materials on islands should be considered. Cement-stabilized coral sand was tested in three different preparation and maintenance systems in the marine environment. The compressive strength, weight change, and chloride ion concentration change in cement-stabilized coral sand with different cement content were measured after 7 d, 28 d, 60 d, and 90 d, respectively. The microstructure of specimens was observed by XRD and SEM. Results show that the compressive strength of specimens in the seawater mixing and seawater curing system developed 0.9 MPa faster than that in the fresh water mixing and curing system at an early stage. But the compressive strength of specimens in seawater mixing and seawater curing shrank later, being 0.5 MPa lower than that in fresh water mixing and curing. The cement content was positively correlated with the free chloride ion reaction and mass growth rate. For road construction on islands, the mixing and curing of cement-stabilized coral sand with seawater should be given priority in the early stage.
Highlights
Due to the importance of marine exploitation in recent years, infrastructure construction on islands and coastal areas has considerable significance for resource extraction and economic development. e safety and durability of marine engineering have attracted widespread attention
More hydration products will be obtained with higher cement content, and the ability to combine with chloride ions will be stronger, resulting in a lower effect of seawater corrosion by the formation of chloroaluminate (Friedel’s salt) [30, 31]
The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) values were decreased in the later period, the UCS values of cement-stabilized coral sand with cement contents of 6%, 7%, and 8% after 7 days curing meet the requirements of the Technical Guidelines for Construction of Highway Roadbases (JTG/T F20-2015) for the subbase layer strength (2.5∼4.5 MPa) of the heavy traffic expressway
Summary
Due to the importance of marine exploitation in recent years, infrastructure construction on islands and coastal areas has considerable significance for resource extraction and economic development. e safety and durability of marine engineering have attracted widespread attention. Due to the importance of marine exploitation in recent years, infrastructure construction on islands and coastal areas has considerable significance for resource extraction and economic development. While cement-stabilized material is widely used in road construction on islands and coastal areas [1], the transportation of conventional materials (e.g., gravel and river sand) from inland increases costs, construction periods, and carbon emissions. Due to its origin and structural characteristics, the road performance of coral sand differs considerably from ordinary sand in compressive strength and durability [5]. An interlocking structure with the cement matrix is formed, which is conducive to the Advances in Materials Science and Engineering development of concrete strength [6]. Geng et al [8] studied the shear characteristics of coral sand and its interface with the structure. Since coral sand is a foundation for cement concrete, its use for the base layer is feasible
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