Individual and combined effect of Portland cement and chemical agents on unconfined compressive strength for high plasticity clayey soils

Abstract

Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of high plasticity clayey soil mixed with 5 and 10 % of Portland cement and four chemical agents such as sodium hexametaphosphate, aluminum sulfate, sodium carbonate, and sodium silicate with 0, 5, 10, and 20% concentrations was comparatively evaluated. The individual and combined effects of the cement and chemical agents on the UCS of the soil mixture were investigated. The strength of the soil-cement mixture generally increases with increasing the cement content. However, if the chemical agent is added to the mixture, the strength of the cement-chemical agent-soil mixture tends to vary depending on the type and the amount of the chemical agent. At low concentrations of 5% of aluminum sulfate and 5% and 10% of sodium carbonate, the average UCS of the cement-chemical agent-soil mixture slightly increased compared to pure clay due to increasing the flocculation of the clay in the mixture. However, at high concentrations (20%) of all chemical agents, the UCS significantly decreased compared to the pure clay and clay-cement mixtures. In the case of high cement content, the rate of UCS reduction is the highest among all cement-chemical agent-soil mixtures, which is more than three times higher in comparison to the soil-chemical agent mixtures without cement. Therefore, in the mixture with high cement (> 10%), the reduction of the USC is very sensitive when the chemical agent is added.