Abstract

Phase change materials (PCMs) can store large amounts of energy in latent heat and release it during phase changes, which could be used to improve the freeze-thaw performance of soil. The composite phase change material was prepared with paraffin as the PCM and 8% Class C fly ash (CFA) as the supporting material. Laboratory tests were conducted to reveal the influence of phase change paraffin composite Class C fly ash (CFA-PCM) on the thermal properties, volume changes and mechanical properties of expansive soil. The results show that PCM failed to establish a good improvement effect due to leakage. CFA can effectively adsorb phase change materials, and the two have good compatibility. CFA-PCM reduces the volume change and strength attenuation of the soil, and 8 wt.% PCM is the optimal content. CFA-PCM turns the phase change latent heat down of the soil and improves its thermal stability. CFA-PCM makes the impact small of freeze-thaw on soil pore structure damage and improves soil volume change and mechanical properties on a macroscopic scale. In addition, CFA-8 wt.% PCM treated expansive soil has apparent advantages in resisting repeated freeze-thaw cycles, providing a reference for actual engineering design.

Highlights

  • Expansive soil, extensively distributed worldwide, is a highly plastic clay rich in hydrophilic solid minerals, such as montmorillonite and illite [1,2]

  • It is prone to expansion and contraction deformation because of changes in external temperatures, which will cause the destruction of the soil structure and the sharp weakening of shear strength

  • It can be found that the maximum content of paraffin in C fly ash (CFA)-Phase change materials (PCMs) that does not leak is between 8% and 10%

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Summary

Introduction

Extensively distributed worldwide, is a highly plastic clay rich in hydrophilic solid minerals, such as montmorillonite and illite [1,2]. It is prone to expansion and contraction deformation because of changes in external temperatures, which will cause the destruction of the soil structure and the sharp weakening of shear strength. It is a typical “cancer soil” in the engineering field [3,4]. To reduce the impact of freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles on the deterioration of expansive soils, chemical agents such as lime [8] and cement [9,10] are usually selected as curing agents. Their reaction with water and soil particles changes the structure and composition of the soil, which can reduce the water

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