Abstract
The need to transit to greener options in soil stabilisation has revamped research on the use of industrial and agricultural by-products in order to cut down on the current carbon footprint from the use of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and lime related binders for the treatment of problematic soils. This study is a review on the use of geopolymers constituted by alkali activation of several industrial wastes such as pulverised fuel ash (PFA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), metakaolin (MK), glass powder (GP), palm oil fuel ash (POFA), silica fume (SF), rice husk ash (RHA), volcanic ash (VA), and marble powder (MP) for the stabilisation of weak clays. The performance of stabilised clays as subgrade and subbase materials for road pavement construction was evaluated by comparing the 7 day UCS of the treated clays with the strength requirement for stabilised materials as outlined in BS EN 16907-4. The result of the study shows that geopolymers can be employed in improving the engineering properties of problematic clays to meet practical applications. Strength improvement was observed in the stabilised clays with increased precursor content, molarity of alkaline activator, and curing period.
Highlights
Engineering facilities such as road pavements, buildings, bridges, tunnels etc., will oftentimes be sited on geographical locations characterised by poor ground conditions
Geopolymers can be reliably employed in the improvement of the engineering properties of weak clays with results comparable to traditional stabilisation methods involving the use of cement and lime
The advantage of low carbon emission and energy consumption— which are synonymous with the use of geopolymers—are undoubtedly desirable and put them ahead of cement and lime stabilisation in the face of the current heightened demand for greener methods
Summary
Engineering facilities such as road pavements, buildings, bridges, tunnels etc., will oftentimes be sited on geographical locations characterised by poor ground conditions These weak soil behaviours lead to large volume instability when loaded. Under such circumstances, it becomes imperative to engineer the ground to meet design strength specifications. It becomes imperative to engineer the ground to meet design strength specifications These procedures are generally referred to as ground improvement or soil stabilisation and maybe mechanical or chemical in methodology. Encountered problems such as collapsible soils and expansive clays will often demand a chemical treatment method for which cement and lime have been successfully utilised with well documented results in various engineering applications [1]. Hydration Required Calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium aluminate hydrate (C-A-H) Results in lower Ph (7–8) leading to increased rate of corrosion of steel reinforcement **
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