This study investigates the strength performance and microstructural changes of a sandy gypseous soil improved with fly ash-based geopolymer, for shallow and deep applications. Different proportions of geopolymer were added to a natural gypseous soil having a gypsum content of 30% to 40% with different water contents. The fly ash was activated using sodium hydroxide with molar concentrations 8 and 12 molar and sodium silicate. The ratios of the fly ash to the activator were 1 and 2. Specimens were cured for different ages at 30°C. To simulate the field conditions, a number of specimens were immersed in a salt-saturated solution. Materials performance was evaluated at the macro level by performing unconfined compression test and at micro level by performing scanning electron microscopy test. The study showed that an increase in the molar concentration of sodium hydroxide and of the binder ratio improved material’s strength particularly at lower water contents of the soil. Increasing the binder content to about 30% improved the strength by enhancing the bonding between the soil particles. On the other hand, immersing the samples in the salt solution led, in most cases, to breakdown of the geopolymer network, as confirmed by the SEM images. It was concluded that the fly ash geopolymer-soil mixtures under investigation can provide as high as 8 MPa uniaxial strength under no sulfate attack. However, under sulfate attack condition, this strength can decrease to as low as 0.5 MPa. Even under the worst case, the later strength can be just enough to support shallow foundations rested on a saturated gypseous soil.
This paper presents and discuses some properties of self-compacting concrete SCC containing optimum contents of different types of cement replacement materials CRMs like fly ah, silica fume and limestone powder. The purpose is to evaluate the performance of SCC mixtures to choose the best one for strengthening purposes of corroded reinforcement concrete beams. In a preliminary work, the theoretical optimum contents of the above materials were specified using statistical program (Minitab) and they were verified experimentally. This verification based on checking fresh properties such as slump flow, T500, L-box and segregation resistance as well as compressive strength. The optimum contents of CRMs: 14% fly ash, 19% limestone, 18% silica fume plus fly ash and 11% silica fume were selected and studied. Compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths were examined, as well as the modulus of elasticity, water absorption and porosity (which reflect the related durability properties) were examined. Test results show that the optimum verified theoretical percentage of a combination of fly ash and silica fume, at 18% by weight of cement with a fixed water-binder ratio of 0.33 showed the best overall performance. It was deduced that this SCC mix gave the highest mechanical properties and the lowest porosity and water absorption. For example, the compressive strength increased by 36.25% as compared to SCC mix containing limestone powder. Further, the porosity and water absorption decreased by 120.8% and 164% respectively as compared to the above same SCC mix. Thus, it could be used for strengthening purpose of corroded RC beams.
Organic soils are problematic soil for various engineering applications due to their high compressibility and low shear strength which need to be improved. For many soil improvement techniques, using waste materials, such as fly ash (FA), is a practical and sustainable process. In this research, FA and geopolymer were used e used to reduce organic soil's compressibility. A one-dimensional consolidation test was performed to evaluate the organic soil's consolidation and compressibility properties. The geopolymer was prepared using 20% FA and of sodium hydroxide ratio and sodium silicate alkali solutions. The geopolymer specimens were first cured for 2 hours at 45 and 65 oC, then cured for further 28 days at room temperature. The consolidation test results showed that FA-based geopolymer is effective in stabilizing organic soils due to the observed improvement in the compressibility, consolidation, and permeability characteristics. The compression index decreased by 98.16%, and the permeability decreased by 95%.
This study is conducted to investigate the strength and stiffness of clayey soil stabilized with fly ash-based geopolymer for unpaved roads. Two sodium hydroxide concentrations of 6 and 8M and two alkali solution ratios of NaOH:Na2SiO3= 1 and 1.5 were considered. Other factors such as fly ash replacement ratio (by mass), curing period, and curing temperature were held constant at 15%, 48 hours, and 65 C, respectively. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests were performed to evaluate the mixtures. Outcomes of this study revealed that the strength of the clayey soil could be increased by up to 94%. Additionally, increasing sodium silicate content in the alkali solution increased the solution's activity and yielded higher strength and stiffness. This study confirms the effectiveness of the geopolymer binder for the improvement of soil strength and stiffness.
Fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete was experimentally examined by replacing different percentages of cement by soft clay powder, which resulting from crushing the wastes of clay bricks. Three percentages (5%, 10%, and 15%) of cement were replaced with clay powder to study their effect on the properties of cement mortar and concrete of Grade (C35) in both fresh and hardened states. It was found that development rates of the compressive and tensile strengths for the mortar between ages of 7 to 28 days, decreased with increasing the percentage of the clay powder. Compared to the mix without clay powder, it was found that replacing (5%) from the cement causes a significant increase in the workability of the self-compacting concrete and the properties of the resulting hardened concrete such as compressive strength, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity. While using (10%) and (15%) of the clay powder causes a significant decrease in the workability of the fresh concrete and the properties of the hardened concrete compared to mix without clay powder.
Concrete is produced from millions of tons of Cement, which emits a significant amount of carbon dioxide from cement mills and contributes to global warming. Therefore, it is important to seek out less expensive and more environmentally friendly substitutes for OPC. While various substitutes are available, such as recycled glass, marble, silica fume fly ash, or agricultural waste like rice husks or wheat straw, the performance of concrete is significantly affected when bentonite is used as a replacement for Cement. This study aims to evaluate Jhelum bentonite, which is located at 32°56′ north and 73°44′ east longitude, as a replacement for Cement in different ratios (0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, and 40:60) to improve the durability of the system as more bentonite is used to replace conventional Portland cement, the workability, density, and water absorption of the new concrete all decrease. Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength, and flexural Strength of blocks and cylinders were tested after being cured for 7 and 28 days. Analysis of these strength tests revealed that the mixes containing bentonite were weaker after 7 days compared to 28 days, and the Strength of blocks was reasonable compared to cylinders.Keywords: Bentonite, Concrete, Compressive Strength, Tensile Strength.
This main aim of this study is evaluate wide range of fresh and hardened properties of sustainable self-compacting concrete containing various types of Cement Replacement Materials with optimum contents of Polyethylene Terephthalate PET waste plastic as fibers and fine aggregate replacement. This is to evaluate effect of the two forms of PET and to determine the best CRMs could be used with sustainable SCC. such as limestone, glass powder and fly ash with high replacement rate of 70% by weight of cement were used while fourth one (kaolin) was used with replacement rate of 20%. PET fibers were added to SCC with an aspect ratio of 24.4 and 0.7% volume fraction whereas fine aggregate partially replaced by 4% of waste plastic. Four reference mixtures contained FA, LP, GP and KA only, same four mixtures contained 0.7% PET fibers by volume, and the other same four mixtures contained 4% PET fine aggregate by volume. The obtained results all tested fresh properties, which include slump flow, T500, L-Box and segregation resistance were within the limits of the specification reported in EFNERC guidelines. Further, the forms PET have an adverse effect fresh properties of SCC. As for hardened properties (compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength). Further, this produced type of SCC showed an range of compressive strength (15.2-31.64 MPa) at 28 days. It can be from the current study the best CRMs to be used in SCC containing PET wastes was FA in terms of most tested properties.
Foamed concrete (FC) is a type of lightweight concrete characterized by a high void space ratio and cementitious binders. In this research, the fresh and mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced modified foamed concrete (made with fly ash, silica fume, and superplasticizer) with a density of 1300 kg/m³ were studied. Carbon fibers of different lengths (12 mm, 20 mm, and 28 mm) were introduced in two ways: as single fibers (12 mm) and as hybrid fibers combining lengths of 20 mm and 28 mm.
The results showed that the compressive and split tensile strengths increased by approximately 43% compared to the control mix (modified with additives) when using a single fiber of 12 mm at a volume proportion of 0.4%. In contrast, using hybrid fibers resulted in increases of about 65% and 66% in compressive and split tensile strengths, respectively. When compared to the single fiber method, the hybrid approach improved compressive and split tensile strengths by about 15% and 16%, respectively.