Parameters Controlling Tensile and Compressive Strength of Artificially Cemented Sand

The enhancement of local soils with cement for the construction of stabilized pavement bases, canal lining, and support layer for shallow foundations shows great economical and environmental advantages, avoiding the use of borrow materials from elsewhere, as well as the need of a spoil area. The present research aims to quantify the influence of the amount of cement, the porosity, and the voids/cement ratio in the assessment of unconfined compressive strength (qu) and splitting tensile strength (qt) of an artificially cemented sand, as well as in the evaluation of qt/qu relationship. A program of splitting tensile tests and unconfined compression tests considering three distinct voids ratio and seven cement contents, varying from 1 to 12%, was carried out in the present study. The results show that a power function adapts well qt and qu values with increasing cement content and with reducing porosity of the compacted mixture. The voids/cement ratio is demonstrated to be an appropriate parameter to assess both qt and qu of the sand-cement mixture studied. Finally, the qt/qu relationship is unique for the sand-cement studied, being independent of the voids/cement ratio.