Effect of Molding Water Content and Curing Time on the Hydromechanical Behavior of Soils Stabilized with Ground-Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag
摘要
Utilization of recycled waste materials in construction efficiently addresses the dual-challenges of natural resource depletion and waste disposal. Ground-granulated-blast-furnace-slag (GGBFS) is often cited as a calcium-based sustainable alternative to conventional binders. Molding water content and curing time are two critical factors influencing the hydromechanical behavior of soils stabilized with calcium-based binders. A molding water content more than optimum moisture content (OMC) can yield better strength and plasticity performance in case of clayey soil, but lesser water content for other types of soils. Additionally, a longer curing period will lead to greater strength development, although the influence of these factors has not yet been quantified. Hence, this study investigates the effect of molding water content and curing time on the hydromechanical behavior of soils stabilized with GGBFS. The influences were assessed by testing unconfined-compressive-strength (UCS) and modified-free-swell-index of a highly compressible silty soil (MH) and an expansive clay (CH). The results indicated that UCS of both soils improved and the swelling index reduced significantly with addition of GGBFS and greater improvement was achieved at higher curing time. However, molding water content showed a different influence. MH showed significant increase in strength on dry of optimum while CH, on the wet of optimum. The variation in strength development with molding water content was observed to be reduced (26% to 5%) with curing time (0 to 90 days) in case of MH soil whereas it increased (2% to 14%) with curing time in case of CH soil. Thus, it is evident that curing time and molding water content have significant influence on hydromechanical behavior of GGBFS stabilized soils depending on the type of soil.