Peak and residual strength characteristics of cement-treated soil cured under different consolidation conditions

The shear strength of cement-treated soil can be changed by both cementation and consolidation during the early stages of hardening because of cement hydration. Based on the results of triaxial and unconfined compression tests, this paper describes the effects of isotropic and one-dimensional consolidation stress, applied during the curing period, on the undrained peak and residual shear strengths of cement-treated soil. The sample used was a mixture of fine-grained sand and ordinary Portland cement. A consolidated undrained triaxial compression test (ICU) was conducted on the specimens immediately after the cement treatment. Each test was conducted under different consolidation pressures, curing times and delayed loading times. The following conclusions were developed from the results and discussions: (1) the undrained peak shear strength of cement-treated soil, cured under different consolidation conditions, increases with an increase in either the consolidation pressure or the curing time, whereas it gradually decreases with an increase in the delayed loading time. (2) The rate of undrained strength increase resulting from consolidation differs significantly between isotropic and one-dimensional consolidations. (3) For a curing time of between one and seven days, the rate of strength increase by isotropic consolidation exceeds that by one-dimensional consolidation. The simultaneous volumetric change of cement-treated soil during consolidation depends on the stress conditions of the specimen, that is, the difference between isotropic and one-dimensional consolidations. (4) When the test is not conducted under nearly in-situ conditions, the undrained shear strength may be underestimated, depending on the time interval between the cement treatment and the start of consolidation. (5) The shear strength in the residual state is influenced by the consolidation pressure during curing. (6) As the consolidation pressure during curing increases, the specimens exhibit a higher residual strength.     

High-Strengthening of Cement-Treated Clay by Mechanical Dehydration

A technique called the cement-mixing and mechanical dehydration method (CMD) as one of recycling techniques for soft clay slurry is developed. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the CMD for increasing the strength of soft clay, a series of unconfined compression tests and several durability tests were performed together with the literature review of unconfined compressive strength in cement-treated soils. Moreover, a series of constant strain rate consolidation tests were also performed to evaluate the effects of cement content and dehydration speed on the permeability of cement-treated clay. The following conclusions are obtained: 1) Literature review and theoretical considerations on the shear strength of cement-treated soils show that an additional treatment for the purpose of increasing the density of cement-treated specimen is effective for increasing the shear strength of cement-treated soil. 2) The mechanical dehydration of soft clay with high pressure is accelerated by cement mixing, where the coefficient of consolidation of cement-treated clay increases as the cement content increases. 3) The high-strength specimen having the unconfined compressive strength of more than 20 MPa can be created from soft clay treated by the CMD with the cement content of over 20% and the dehydration pressure of 20 MPa.     

Undrained Shear Strength of Cement-Treated Soils

In order to evaluate the effects of cementation on the mechanical properties of cement-treated soil, a series of isotropic consolidation and undrained triaxial compression shear tests were performed for cement-treated specimens of Ariake clay, Akita sand, Rokko Masado and Toyoura sand. This paper evaluates factors affecting the shear strength of these cement-treated soils. The following conclusions are obtained: 1) Cement-treated soil has a normally consolidated line in e-ln p' space which depends on the mixing cement content. The consolidation yield stress, p'_y, of cement-treated soil increases with increasing cement content and initial specimen density. 2) Changes in cohesive strength due to cement-treatment can be represented by a tensile effective stress, p'_r. Strength properties can then be normalized by the augmented consolidation stress, (p'_c+p'_r). 3) The shear strength properties of quasi-overconsolidated clay can be represented by the yield stress ratio, R=(p'_y+p'_r)/(p'_c+p'_r). 4) The undrained shear strength of cement-treated soils can be represented as a power law relation of the yield stress ratio, R, and the augmented consolidation stress.     

Influence of applying overburden stress during curing on the unconfined compressive strength of cement-stabilized clay

In the case of cement-stabilized soils cured under the influence of overburden stress, it is necessary to consider two different timelines of cementation and consolidation, along which the structures of stabilized soils evolve. These two timelines are interrelated and ought not to be considered separately, especially in the early stage of curing when significant structural changes occur. In this study, the strength and deformation characteristics of cement-stabilized clay subjected to overburden stress during curing was investigated using an unconfined compression test apparatus. For this purpose, three types of specimens were prepared by stabilizing very soft clay with different amounts of cement. Overburden stress was applied for three different time durations during curing. In the series of unconfined compression tests conducted on the specimens with no overburden stress applied during curing, the axial stress initially increases rapidly, then was maintained before finally dropping. In the series of tests with overburden stress applied during curing, the axial stress continues to increase gradually before rapidly declining. The values of unconfined compressive strength are larger for the specimens subjected to overburden stress during curing. The values of the unconfined compressive strength also increase linearly as the duration of applied overburden stress increases. The increase in strength apparently occurs due to increasing dry density accompanied by a decrease in the water content due to the drainage of pore water during the application of overburden stress.     

Basic parameters governing the behaviour of cement-treated clays

Although extensive research has been conducted on the mechanical behaviour of Portland cement-treated soft clays, there has been less emphasis on the correlation of the observed behaviour with clay mineralogy. In this study, experimental results from the authors have been combined with the data found in the literature to investigate the effect of parameters such as curing time, cement content, moisture content, liquidity index, and mineralogy on the mechanical properties of cement-treated clays. The findings show that undrained shear strength and sensitivity of cemented clays still continue to increase after relatively long curing times; expressions are proposed to predict the strength and sensitivity with time. This parametric study also indicates the relative importance of the activity of the soil, as well as the water–cement ratio, to the mechanical properties of cementitious admixtures. Two new empirical parameters are introduced herein. Based on the results of unconfined compression, undrained triaxial, and oedometer tests on cement-enhanced clays, expressions that use these parameters to predict undrained shear strength, yield stress, and the slope of the compression line are proposed. The observed variations in the mechanical behaviour with respect to mineralogy and the important effect of curing time are explained in terms of the pozzolanic reactions. The possible limitations of applying Abrams׳ law to cement–admixed clays are also discussed.     

上海水泥固化黏土的强度与硬度相关性研究

现场施工过程中,往往需要对水泥固化土的无侧限抗压强度进行快速检测。针对目前水泥固化黏土无侧限抗压强度检测中存在的操作不简便、试验时间长、测试费用高等缺点,提出通过水泥土硬度估计强度的方法,对现场水泥土强度进行快速检测。本文以上海地区黏性土为研究对象,对上海地区水泥固化黏土强度与硬度的相关性进行了试验研究;探讨了加固土的硬度与养护时间、水泥掺量以及强度与硬度之间的关系。试验结果表明:上海黏土水泥土强度和硬度呈正比相关,对数坐标下的强度和硬度有着形如lnq_u=ap+b的线性关系。养护初期,硬度增长速度大于水泥土强度增长速度。养护后期,强度增速大于硬度增速。     

Stress-Deformation Behavior Under Anisotropic Drained Triaxial Consolidation of Cement-Treated Soft Bangkok Clay

In this study the compression behavior of high water content cement-treated soft Bangkok clay is further investigated by conducting a constant stress ratio (CSR) test at various stress ratios (η). The test utilized cement-treated clay specimens with cement contents (A_w) of 10% and 15%, each of which was in combination with 100% and 130% total clay water contents. The test results confirmed that the ratio of after-curing void ratio to cement content (e_ot/A_w) can effectively characterize the compression behavior of cement-treated clay. The specimens with higher values of e_ot/A_w yielded higher volumetric and shear strains at the same stress ratio. While those with lower values of e_ot/A_w resulted in lower shear strains, with consequent higher values of strain increment ratios (dɛ_v/dɛ_s) both before and after transitional yield points. Significantly, the e_ot/A_w ratio has described the relationship of the compression yield loci of cement-treated clay at various stress ratios and mixing conditions.     

Influence of Curing Stress on One-Dimensional Yielding of Cement-Admixed Bangkok Clay at High Water Content

The influence of curing stress on the one-dimensional compression characteristics of cement-admixed clay at high water content is investigated by oedometer tests, with special attention paid to the primary vertical yield stress. From the test results, the stress acting during the formation of cementation plays an important role in the one-dimensional compression characteristics of cement admixed clay. The stress compresses the treated clay and results in an increase in the vertical yield stress. For the cement-admixed clay studied, the effect of the curing stress inherently reflects on the after-curing void ratio. Therefore, the primary vertical yield stress in one-dimensional compression is a function of the after-curing void ratio and the ratio of the clay water content to the cement content ratio.     

土的自适应应力认识与研究

设计了一种0K状态不同等应变或等应力速率连续对土样轴向加载的单轴固结试验方案,该试验方案可让土样同时经受不同荷重率、应力历时、应力路径、应力历程的作用。经过对重塑饱和黄土的单轴连续加荷、三轴连续加荷、分级加荷单轴固结试验研究,结果表明:若定义土在单轴压缩不同侧向约束条件下反应的侧压力为自适应应力;单轴侧限压缩试验主动施加的竖向压力与实测的侧向土压力之差为土的自适应剪应力,除了不受孔隙水压力的影响外,更重要的是,实测与分析结果证明,土的单轴侧限压缩应变量与自定义的自适应剪应力具有唯一的影响关系。     

An approach for characterising electrical conductivity of cement-admixed clays

This paper proposes a framework for relating electrical conductivity of cement-treated marine clay to its strength. The feasibility of relating conductivity to strength is first examined by measuring the two quantities over a range of water-cement and soil-cement ratios as well as curing periods. The results indicate that, within a limited curing period, conductivity changes are sufficiently monotonic to permit its correlation to strength. This leads to the proposal of two empirical relationships, which relate the strength and conductivity to the water-cement and soil-cement ratios of the treated soil. By assuming that there is no diffusion of water from the binder during the relatively short mixing duration, the water-cement and soil-cement ratios can be related to the in-situ water content, water-cement ratio of the binder and the binder mass fraction. If the first two quantities are constant over the site and only the last quantity is a variable, then the conductivity can be uniquely related to the strength. This provides the framework for correlating strength and conductivity measurements, which would allow electrical resistivity measurements to be used to infill point strength data from core samples for quality control of cement-treatment works.     

含水量变化对红粘土变形和强度特性的影响研究

对击实后的红粘土土样在饱和前、饱和后进行了三轴剪切试验和无侧限抗压强度试验,研究其抗剪强度特征的变化规律。针对原状土样和重塑土样在脱湿或加湿过程中无侧限抗压强度的变化进行了研究。研究表明,在脱湿过程中,土体的抗剪强度逐渐增大,而且原状土的应力应变关系曲线一般呈应变软化的特点,而重塑土的应力应变关系曲线则一般呈现硬化的特点;在加湿过程中,原状土无侧限抗压强度峰值并不明显。分析表明,脱湿过程或加湿过程中土样强度随含水率的变化是显著的。     

活性MgO碳化固化土的干湿循环特性试验研究

碳化固化技术是一种利用二氧化碳对搅拌有活性氧化镁的土体进行碳化,以达到快速提高强度的低碳搅拌处理软土的创新技术。通过室内试验研究干湿循环对碳化固化土物理力学特性的影响,并与相同掺量下水泥固化土进行对比。结果表明:活性Mg O固化粉土碳化3 h试样的无侧限抗压强度可达5 MPa,粉质黏土碳化24 h试样可达2.6 MPa;干湿循环后碳化固化土的干密度降低,而水泥土干密度基本不变;6次干湿循环后粉土碳化试样的无侧限抗压强度仍然能达到4 MPa以上,为水泥固化粉土强度的2倍,具有较好的抗干湿循环性能;经过6次干湿循环后,粉质黏土碳化试样的残余强度仅为35%,而水泥固化粉质黏土降到65%,表明固化粉质黏土的抗干湿循环性能均较差,且粉质黏土碳化试样的抗干湿循环能力不及水泥固化粉质黏土试样。通过X射线衍射(XRD)、电镜扫描(SEM)及压汞试验(MIP)测试表明干湿循环对粉土碳化试样的累计孔隙影响不大,因此粉土试样仍然具有比较大的密实度来保证试样强度;粉质黏土碳化试样因孔隙增加明显而变得疏松,因此强度显著降低。     

Lime Treated Clay: Salient Engineering Properties and a Conceptual Model

In order to study stress-strain-strength and yielding characteristics of lime treated clay, an extensive testing program was conducted on lime treated clay. It was found that the main effect of lime treatment was to change the soft clay from normally consolidated to overconsolidated behavior. Heavily overconsolidated characteristics were observed for stress states inside the volumetric yield locus obtained from anisotropic consolidation tests. The volumetric yield loci of lime treated clays were found to be more pronounced than distortional or strain path yield locus. Outside the volumetric yield locus, the behavior was found to consist of an initial pseudo-elastic phase followed by a stage where the behavior appears to be similar to that of a work-hardening plastic material as the stress path proceeds towards the curved failure envelopes. The treated clays strain-softened after failure with the residual stress states lying close to the critical state line of the untreated clay. A conceptual model to describe the behavior of lime treated clay is introduced, in which the presence of distortional yield locus shifts with lime content and curing time.     

非饱和黏土变形和强度特性试验研究

 利用双压力室非饱和三轴仪,进行非饱和黏土脱湿、等吸力固结和排水剪切试验,研究非饱和黏土的体变、屈服和强度特性,结果表明：在低吸力范围内,非饱和黏土在脱湿过程中的体积收缩呈弹塑性体变性状,验证了非饱和土本构模型中SI屈服曲线的存在;在等吸力固结试验中,黏土固结屈服应力随着吸力增加而增加,LC屈服曲线呈二次抛物线变化,固结压力的增长比基质吸力的增长对体变性状的影响效应要大。在剪切试验中,非饱和黏土应力应变关系依赖于净围压和基质吸力的不同组合,基质吸力增强土体应力–应变关系的硬化特性;在不同的吸力条件下,固结排水剪的有效内摩擦角基本不变,黏聚力的增长与吸力的增长基本呈线性关系。     

不同制样方法非饱和土的持水特性研究

以一种黏土为研究对象,对其压实样和预固结样进行一系列的持水特性试验和压汞试验,研究了不同制样方法对持水特性和内部孔隙结构分布的影响及在不同各向等应力作用下的持水特性。结果表明:预固结样的内部孔隙分布为单峰孔隙结构,孔隙大小分布较为均匀;压实样则为双峰孔隙结构,但压实样在20 k Pa的竖向压力作用下浸水饱和后,其内部孔隙分布变为单峰孔隙结构。此外,在相同各向等应力条件下初始孔隙比相近的预固结样和压实样的持水特性试验结果表明,预固结样的进气值要比压实样的大,其原因是前者孔隙分布较均匀;其次,受各向等应力越大的预固结样其进气值越大。最后,利用压汞试验的结果对预固结样和压实样的脱湿段的持水曲线进行了推算,并与实测值进行了对比。     

上海奉贤粉质粘土与水泥加固体的强度试验研究

以上海奉贤区粉质粘土与水泥混合后的加固体为研究对象,对其进行了多组无侧限抗压强度试验,通过对试验数据的整理分析,得出了以下两方面的结果：不同掺量下无侧限抗压强度与龄期的关系;不同龄期的无侧限抗压强度与掺量的关系。     

Strength properties of xanthan gum and guar gum treated kaolin at different water contents

Nowadays, using biopolymer as a ground improvement method has become very popular. However,since biopolymers are organic and degradable, their long-term effect is not fully known. In this study, the effects of biopolymers on the mechanical behavior of kaolin clay were investigated through a comprehensive program of experiments. Two types of biopolymer, i.e. xanthan gum and guar gum were chosen to investigate the effect of biopolymer type. For this purpose, specimens were prepared using standard Proctor energy at four different water contents(25%, 30% 35% and 40%) with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%biopolymer inclusions. The specimens were cured for 1 d, 7 d, 28 d and 90 d. Moreover, some of the specimens were kept in the curing room for 3 years to observe the long-term effect of the biopolymers.At the end of the curing periods, the specimens were subjected to unconfined compression test, and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis was performed to observe the mechanism of strength improvement. The results revealed that the unconfined compressive strength(UCS) of the specimens treated with biopolymers increased in all biopolymer inclusion levels and water contents up to a 90-d curing period. For specimens containing xanthan gum, the maximum strength increase was observed at 25% water content and 2% xanthan gum with 90-d curing. The strength increased 5.23 times induced by xanthan gum addition when compared to the pure clay. Moreover, the increase in strength reached 8.53 times in specimens treated with guar gum. Besides, increasing water content caused more ductile behavior, thus increasing the axial deformation.     

Model for predicting the unit weight of cement-treated soils

In this paper, a rational method for estimating the unit weight of cement-treated clay is proposed, which takes into account the relationship between the various phases and changes in these phases during curing. The simplest unit weight estimate is the unreacted unit weight which may be used as a lower-bound estimate of the cured unit weight. More accurate estimates of the unit-weight are possible by considering the effects of hydration of the cement-water paste during curing period, using the “drained” and “undrained” estimates of the unit weights. The drained and undrained assumptions refer to the drainage conditions during curing. Both are consistently closer to the measured unit weights than the unreacted unit weight, with undrained assumption having a slightly better agreement. An empirical relationship is also proposed for estimating the effect of the change of volume arising from consolidation during curing. This may be significant if the treated soil layer lies deep in the ground, where the effective stress levels are high. Comparison with unit weight measurements from a soil mixing project indicate that the calculated unit weight agrees well with the range of unit weight measurements for soft clay. For the loose sand, the calculated unit weight is higher than the measured unit weight, possibly owing to the dilation of sand when sheared, ahead of the mixing shaft.     

Effects of primary curing and subsequent disturbances on strength development of steel slag-treated marine clay

Steel slag-treated marine clay (SSTC) is a novel geomaterial used for recycling steel slag. This article reports the effects of the primary curing (the time delay between mixing and fill work) and the subsequent disturbances (the processes of remolding, handling, and placement) on the strength development of the geomaterial. The results of a series of experiments point to the possibility of improving the initial strength of SSTC for maritime fill work. Laboratory tests were performed to investigate the changes in and the recovery of the geomaterial strength brought about by one to three days of primary curing and the subsequent disturbances during various secondary curing times. In the field tests, three embankments, using SSTC that had previously undergone one or two days of primary curing, were constructed in seawater with an actual construction machine. The test results indicated that the initial strength of SSTC previously treated with one, two, or three days of primary curing increased to approximately 14 kN/m². The loss in strength that occurred at the primary stage of curing was recovered at a later stage of curing, namely, after 28 days, and the strength of the SSTC in the three embankments was 52–70% of the sample that was cured without primary disturbance. Larger amounts of disturbances were applied to the SSTC in the field tests than in the laboratory tests. The field tests produced submerged embankments, 1.8 m in height, with average slopes of 1:2.1–1:2.9, by undergoing one to two days of primary curing. The strength of the SSTC in all the embankments recovered significantly with time after construction, and the unconfined compressive strength of the SSTC exceeded 200 kN/m² at 100 days, which is deemed sufficient for the construction of embankments. Overall, it was confirmed that the one-day primary curing and the sea-bottom fill method presented better results than the two-day primary curing and the sea-surface fill method, considering the gradient of the slope and the strength-recovery characteristics of the SSTC.     

Estimation of In-Situ Undrained Strength of Soft Soil Deposits by use of Unconfined Compression Test with Suction Measurement

Unconfined compression tests have been widely used in Japan for the purpose of determining undrained strengths of clay samples, but the unconfined compressive strengths are usually scattered even if specimens tested seem to have been subjected to the same stress history. This is due to the characteristic of the test itself, which is performed under unstable confining stress given by capillary pressure of the sample itself. In order to make clear the cause of scattering of measured strengths, three series of tests simulating the process from sampling to unconfined and triaxial compression tests on saturated soil samples are performed with three remolded and three undisturbed clays together with an undisturbed peat, and the influence of stress release and mechanical disturbance of the test specimen on the undrained strength is examined. Based on the test results, a practical method for estimating the in-situ undrained strength of soft soils from the results of a routine unconfined compression (UC) test together with suction measurement is proposed. From comparisons of the undrained strength profiles estimated by the proposed method with the strength profiles obtained by in-situ sounding test, it is found that the strength obtained by UC test can be reasonably corrected to estimate the in-situ undrained strength of soft soil deposits.