Geotechnical studies on cemented and untreated Behshahr loess and Amol clay of Iran

Abstract

There has been little research into the effects of cement on the geotechnical properties of two types of fine-grained soil with roughly the same grain size. The cement percentages used in this investigation were 0, 4, and 8% by dry weight of soil. Compaction features, consolidation characteristics, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and Atterberg limits were all determined in the laboratory. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examinations were used to analyze the microstructures of cemented and untreated loess and clay. Notably, the MDD for loess and clay are 1.72 gr/cm3 and 1.57 gr/cm3 at CC = 0%, respectively, and 1.7 gr/cm3 and 1.55 gr/cm3 at CC = 4%. The OMC for loess and clay are 15% and 22% at CC = 0%, respectively, and 17% and 20% at CC = 4%. At CC = 0%, loess and clay have cohesion values of 25 kPa and 28.7 kPa, respectively, and 190 kPa and 140 kPa at CC = 8%. Internal friction degrees for loess and clay are 24 and 29 degrees at CC = 0%, respectively, and 36 and 34 degrees at CC = 8. The consolidation test findings demonstrated that increasing the cement proportion reduced cemented soils’ compressibility. The Plasticity Index (PI) rose as cement concentration increased. However, significant percentages of cement concentration reduced the plasticity index. Furthermore, adding cement agents resulted in significant improvements in elasticity modulus and UCS for both soils. The SEM results indicated that the cement-treated loess was denser and more homogenous than the cement-treated clay sample. Triaxial tests reveal that cement particles improve cohesiveness and internal friction angle.

Keywords:

• Cement
• loess
• clay
• geotechnical properties
• stabilization
• cohesion
• internal friction angle

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).