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Microstructural properties and compressive strength of lime or/and cement solidified silt: a multi-scale study

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Abstract

Because of its poor engineering properties, silt often needs to be treated to meet the design requirements. Solidification using binder is one of the most common methods to improve the engineering properties of silt. Lime or/and cement are often used to treat silt. However, the mechanical properties of soil are closely related to its microstructure. Although much research has been done on the mechanical properties and stabilization mechanism of lime or/and cement solidified silt, the multi-scale research between the microstructure and macroscopic mechanics properties of solidified silt has received no attention. Therefore, in this paper, unconfined compression, mercury intrusion, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests were conducted on lime, cement, and lime and cement mixtures (LC) solidified silt. The microstructure parameters of particle, pore, and contact zone were extracted from SEM images. Meanwhile, the effect of curing time and binder dosage on the microstructure parameters was analyzed. In addition, the relationship between micro-parameters and macro-mechanical strength was established. The results showed that the particle diameter, particle area, contact zone diameter, and contact zone area increased with increasing curing time and binder dosage, while the pore ratio, fractal dimension of particle size distribution (PSD), and fractal dimension of contact zone size distribution (CZSD) decreased with increasing binder dosage. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) decreased with the increase of particle roundness, pore area, pore diameter, pore ratio, and fractal dimension of PSD, and increased with increasing fractal dimension of pore size distribution (PPSD). In addition, there were no obvious relationships between UCS and pore roundness, contact zone area, and fractal dimension of CZSD.

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Abbreviations

A g :

Particle area

R g :

Particle roundness

A p :

Pore area

R p :

Pore roundness

A c :

Area of contact zone

R c :

Roundness of contact zone

q u :

Unconfined compression strength

PSD:

Particle size distribution

PPSD:

Pore size distribution

n p :

Pore area ratio from SEM images

D g :

Particle diameter

FD g :

Fractal dimension of particle size distribution

D p :

Pore diameter

FD p :

Fractal dimension of pore size distribution

D c :

Diameter of contact zone

FD c :

Fractal dimension of contact zone size distribution

IPP:

Image Pro Plus

CZSD:

Contact zone size distribution

LC:

Lime and cement mixtures

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing Jiangsu Province, 211189, China

    Shaoyun Pu, Zhiduo Zhu, Weilong Song, Yu Wan, Wangwen Huo & Hairong Wang

  2. Chongqing Energy College, Chongqing, 402260, China

    Liming Zhao

  3. Road Management Office, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China

    Kai Yao & Lele Hu

Authors
  1. Shaoyun Pu
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  2. Zhiduo Zhu
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  4. Weilong Song
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  5. Yu Wan
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Correspondence to Shaoyun Pu or Zhiduo Zhu.

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Pu, S., Zhu, Z., Zhao, L. et al. Microstructural properties and compressive strength of lime or/and cement solidified silt: a multi-scale study. Bull Eng Geol Environ 79, 5141–5159 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-020-01910-y

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