Effects of Mellowing Practice on the Strength and Swelling Properties of Road Construction Materials: Case of Sulphate-Bearing Clay Soils Stabilised with Lime-Silica Fume Blended Binder
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Methodology
2.1. Materials
2.2. Mix Compositions and Specimens Preparation
- Using water equivalent of 30 wt.% of the OMC, with the final compaction being carried out using the remainder of 70 wt.% of the OMC after mellowing.
- Using water equivalent of 40 wt.% of the OMC, with the final compaction being carried out using the remainder of 60 wt.% of the OMC after mellowing.
2.3. Experimental Testing Methods
2.3.1. Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS)
2.3.2. Linear Expansion
3. Results
3.1. Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS)
3.2. Swell Development of the Mellowed and Unmellowed Test Specimens
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- Overall, a trade-off between performance based on strength development and swelling potential was made. It was found more practical to aim for high strength and then to explore methods to mitigate against linear expansion.
- The findings of this study showed a significant drop in compressive strength when the targeted materials were mellowed at 1.4 OMC. Therefore, it is recommended to compact the materials at lower moisture condition, such as 1.2 OMC (as opposed to say 1.4 OMC), but mellow at the higher initial moisture condition of approximately 40% OMC (as opposed to say at 30% OMC).
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Oxides | Composition (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Kaolin | Lime | Silica Fume | |
CaO | <0.01 | 71.56 | 0.2 |
MgO | 0.21 | 0.58 | 0.1 |
Al2O3 | 47.32 | 0.67 | 98.4 |
SiO2 | 35.96 | 0.07 | 0.2 |
Na2O | 0.07 | <0.02 | - |
P2O5 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
Fe2O3 | 0.69 | 0.05 | 0.01 |
Mn2O3 | 0.02 | 0.02 | - |
K2O | 1.8 | <0.01 | 0.2 |
TiO2 | 0.02 | <0.01 | - |
V2O5 | <0.01 | 0.02 | - |
BaO | 0.07 | <0.01 | - |
SO3 | 0.01 | 0.19 | 0.1 |
SO4 | 0.1 | - | - |
S | 0.1 | - | - |
Properties | Kaolin | Lime | Silica Fume |
---|---|---|---|
Particle size distribution | |||
D60 (mm) | 0.012 | 0.35 | 0.1 |
D50 (mm) | 0.0085 | 0.25 | 0.04 |
D30 (mm) | 0.0062 | 0.06 | 0.025 |
D10 (mm) | 0.0018 | <0.01 | 0.01 |
Other properties | |||
Linear shrinkage (%) | 10.8 | - | - |
Linear expansion (%) | 6.2 | - | - |
Swelling pressure (kPa) | 1.3 | - | - |
Bulk density (kg/m3) | - | 480 | 300 |
Specific gravity (mg/m3) | 2.14 | 2.82 | 3.15 |
Alkalinity value (pH) | 5.37 | 12.62 | 7 |
Colour | White | White | Grey |
Loss on ignition (LOI) | 13.1 | 27.4 | 0.5 |
Mix Code | Elaborated Abbreviation | Mix Ingredients (g) per Specimen | Moisture Content (MC) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaolin | Gypsum | Lime | SF | Total MC | MC Pre-Mellowing | MC After-Mellowing | ||
1.2-Cont. | K6G-2L2S-1.2OMC-Control | 283 | 18.9 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 100.6 | 100.6 | 100.6 |
1.2-30-70 | K6G-2L2S-1.2OMC (30%70%M) | 283 | 18.9 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 100.6 | 30.2 | 70.4 |
1.2-40-60 | K6G-2L2S-1.2OMC (40%60%M) | 283 | 18.9 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 100.6 | 40.2 | 60.4 |
1.4-Cont. | K6G-2L2S-1.4OMC-Control | 270.7 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 114.3 | 114.3 | 114.3 |
1.4-30-70 | K6G-2L2S-1.4OMC (30%70%M) | 270.7 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 114.3 | 34.3 | 80 |
1.4-40-60 | K6G-2L2S-1.4OMC (40%60%M) | 270.7 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 114.3 | 45.7 | 68.6 |
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Al-Waked, Q.; Kinuthia, J.M.; Adeleke, B.O.; Oti, J.; Khalifa, A. Effects of Mellowing Practice on the Strength and Swelling Properties of Road Construction Materials: Case of Sulphate-Bearing Clay Soils Stabilised with Lime-Silica Fume Blended Binder. Materials 2023, 16, 2187. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062187
Al-Waked Q, Kinuthia JM, Adeleke BO, Oti J, Khalifa A. Effects of Mellowing Practice on the Strength and Swelling Properties of Road Construction Materials: Case of Sulphate-Bearing Clay Soils Stabilised with Lime-Silica Fume Blended Binder. Materials. 2023; 16(6):2187. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062187
Chicago/Turabian StyleAl-Waked, Qusai, John M. Kinuthia, Blessing O. Adeleke, Jonathan Oti, and Ahmed Khalifa. 2023. "Effects of Mellowing Practice on the Strength and Swelling Properties of Road Construction Materials: Case of Sulphate-Bearing Clay Soils Stabilised with Lime-Silica Fume Blended Binder" Materials 16, no. 6: 2187. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16062187