Impact of the Activating Agent Concentration in Geopolymer on the Bearing Capacity of Soft Clay Soil
Received: 20 February 2025 | Revised: 13 March 2025, 23 March 2025, and 30 March 2025 | Accepted: 2 April 2025 | Online: 4 June 2025
Corresponding author: Abd Hameed Khalaf Al-Fahdawi
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of different geopolymer concentrations (11%, 13%, 15%, 17%, and 19%) on soft clay stabilization over treatment periods of 7, 14, and 28 days. The materials, sourced from Baghdad Governorate, Iraq, were analyzed for their physical and chemical properties. Laboratory tests, including compressive strength, flexural strength, and bearing capacity were conducted. The results demonstrated that the addition of geopolymer and Fly Ash (FA) significantly improved soil properties by increasing bearing capacity and reducing settlement. The most effective concentration was identified at 15%. Furthermore, the study examined multiple injection depths of geopolymer materials with depth ratios (L/D) of 3, 4, and 5. The highest depth ratio (L/D = 5) exhibited the greatest improvement, indicating a positive correlation between the depth ratio and soil enhancement. Additionally, a progressive increase in improvement was observed over the treatment period, with the most significant results achieved after 28 days. Based on these findings, geopolymer and FA are considered effective materials for enhancing the properties of weak Clay Soils (CLs).
Keywords:
fly ash, soft clay, settlement, bearing stress, activatorsDownloads
References
N. K. Sharma, S. K. Swain, and U. C. Sahoo, "Stabilization of a Clayey Soil with Fly Ash and Lime: A Micro Level Investigation," Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 1197–1205, Oct. 2012.
A. Pannu, "Effect of soil stabilization in construction of roads and strength improvement," International Journal of All Research Education & Scientific Methods, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 99–103, 2016.
W. R. Azzam, "Behavior of modified clay microstructure using polymer nanocomposites technique," Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 143–150, Mar. 2014.
H. H. Karim, Z. W. Samueel, and S. F. Ahmed, "Geotechnical Properties of Soft Clay Soil Stabilized by Reed Ashes," in 2nd International Conference of Buildings, Construction, and Environmental Enginerring, Beirut, Lebanon, 2015.
M. O. Aboubacar, J. N. Thuo, and O. Alphonse, "Performance Assessment of Coconut Shell Ash as Partial Replacement of Cement in Compressed Earth Blocks," The Seybold Report, vol. 19, no. 01, pp. 485–498, Apr. 2024.
M. M. Ahmat, M. Zumrawi, O. Alphonce, and M. M’tulatia, "Performance of Sodium Chloride Blended with Silica Fume for Stabilizing Expansive Soils in Road Subgrade Applications," SSRG International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 5–67, Mar. 2024.
L. Z. Wongbae, C. Kabubo, and A. Owayo, "The Effect of Waste Marble Dust and Corncob Ash on the Engineering and Micro-Structural Properties of Expansive Soil for Use in Road Subgrades," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 13765–13772, Apr. 2024.
B. M. Sithole, J. N. Thuo, and A. Owayo, "Alum Sludge-Rice Husk Ash based Geopolymerization for the Improvent of Expansive Clays used in Road Pavements," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 22401–22410, 2025.
H. Karim and K. Al-Soudany, "Improving geotechnical properties of clayey soil using polymer material," in the 3rd International Conference on Buildings, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 2018.
O. S. B. Al-Amoudi, A. A. Al-Homidy, M. Maslehuddin, and T. A. Saleh, "Method and Mechanisms of Soil Stabilization Using Electric Arc Furnace Dust," Scientific Reports, vol. 7, no. 1, Apr. 2017, Art. no. 46676.
J. Davidovits, "Geopolymers and geopolymeric materials," Journal of thermal analysis, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 429–441, Mar. 1989.
J. Davidovits, "Geopolymers: Ceramic-like inorganic polymers," Journal of Ceramic Science and Technology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 335–350, 2017.
R. R. Lloyd, J. L. Provis, and J. S. J. van Deventer, "Microscopy and microanalysis of inorganic polymer cements. 1: remnant fly ash particles," Journal of Materials Science, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 608–619, Jan. 2009.
A. Palomo, M. W. Grutzeck, and M. T. Blanco, "Alkali-activated fly ashes: A cement for the future," Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1323–1329, Aug. 1999.
H. Xu and J. S. J. Van Deventer, "The geopolymerisation of alumino-silicate minerals," International Journal of Mineral Processing, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 247–266, Jun. 2000.
Z. Wenfeng, L. Junfeng, and W. Jianlong, "Solidification of spent radioactive organic solvent by sulfoaluminate and Portland cements," Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, vol. 52, no. 11, pp. 1362–1368, Nov. 2015.
J. L. Provis and J. S. J. van Deventer, Geopolymers: Structures, Processing, Properties and Industrial Applications. Cambridge, UK: Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2009.
J. Davidovits, "Properties of Geopolymer Cements," in 1st International Conference on Alkaline Cements and Concretes, Scientific Research Institute on Binders and Materials, Kiev, Ukraine, 1994.
P. Duxson, J. L. Provis, G. C. Lukey, and J. S. J. van Deventer, "The role of inorganic polymer technology in the development of ‘green concrete," Cement and Concrete Research, vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1590–1597, Dec. 2007.
Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars (Using 2-in. or [50 mm] Cube Specimens), ASTM C109/C109M, 2021.
Standard Test Method for Flexural Strength of Concrete (Using Simple Beam with Center-Point Loading) 1, ASTM C293, 2016.
S. K. Al-Mousawi and S. H. Fadhil, "Improving the Engineering Properties of Highly Expansive Soil by adding Psyllium Seed Biogel," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 20328–20334, Feb. 2025.
B. M. Das and N. Sivakugan, Principles of Foundation Engineering, 9th ed. Boston, MA, USA: Cengage, 2018.
S. S. Patil and A. A. Patil, "Study of mechanical properties of steel fiber reinforced Geopolymer concrete," International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 70–74, 2015.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Abd Hameed Khalaf Al-Fahdawi, Mohammed Jawad Kadhim, Mustafa Ahmed Yusef
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
