Experimental Study on the Effect of Plant Ash on Soft Clay Stabilized with Cement-Based Composites

Abstract

This study presents the results for the influence of plant ash on the engineering characteristics of solidified soil. Effects including the plant ash content, initial water content, and curing time on the engineering characteristics of soft clay were evaluated and analyzed. A series of laboratory experiments including the atterberg limits, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), conductivity, pH, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were carried out. The results of the investigation revealed that the UCS increased with the increase in the plant ash content and curing time and decreased with the increase in the initial water content. The plasticity index decreased when plant ash was added. The results of the stress–strain curves showed that the failure strain was almost 3–6%. The pH and conductivity decreased with increasing curing time. The elastic modulus had an approximately linear relationship with the compressive strength. The SEM images showed that the sample solidified with plant ash and cement-based composites could form a dense structure. The influence mechanism of plant ash on the solidified soil was analyzed by XRD and SEM.