Influence of mix uniformity on the induced solidification of dredged marine clay

Abstract

Ground improvement with soil solidification has been widely applied and has proven to be an effective pre-treatment of soft soil deposits. The solidification procedure usually involves addition and thorough mixing of hydraulic binders with in situ soils, consequently transforming the soft materials into a stronger and stiffer stratum for load bearing. Much has been done on the binder’s effectiveness and resulting enhanced properties of the soils, but not as much has been reported of the factors governing in situ mixing efficiency in producing uniform mixtures. While advancement in machinery and computerization of operations have significantly improved soil mixing, individual factors contributing to the process can be further examined to refine the effectiveness. This paper describes a series of laboratory tests, mainly unconfined compressive strength tests complemented with X-ray computer tomography, conducted on cement-stabilized dredged Kawasaki clay of different uniformities. A number of factors affecting uniformity were examined, namely the water/cement (WC) ratios, number of cement layers in the initial state as well as the number of mixing cycles adopted. Test specimens were prepared based on a systematic combination of these factors to enable a comprehensive cross-analysis of the results. It was found that the clay’s initial consistency was markedly altered by cement addition, which resulted in either enhanced or reduced workability of the mixture. While increased mixing vigor could apparently overcome poor distribution of binder in the mixture, the resulting strength remained very much affected by the WC ratio, suggesting dependency of the mixture’s overall uniformity on a combination of the factors.