Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics

The seismic stability of port structures is highly influenced by the submerged unit weight of the backfill material. Conventional light weight treated soils (LTS) often fall short in meeting the stability requirements under seismic conditions due to their limited weight. To address this limitation,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jung-goo Kang, Gyeong-o Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-12-01
Series:Case Studies in Construction Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525009246
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849240437005484032
author Jung-goo Kang
Gyeong-o Kang
author_facet Jung-goo Kang
Gyeong-o Kang
author_sort Jung-goo Kang
collection DOAJ
description The seismic stability of port structures is highly influenced by the submerged unit weight of the backfill material. Conventional light weight treated soils (LTS) often fall short in meeting the stability requirements under seismic conditions due to their limited weight. To address this limitation, the present study proposes a high weight backfill material incorporating industrial by-products specifically, basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFs) and marine dredged clay (MDC) soils. The study utilized aged, aggregate type BOFs and a small amount of cement as the primary binder, along with marine dredged clay soil as the main matrix, to evaluate the frictional properties, unit weight, microstructure, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) behavior. These evaluations were conducted using surface roughness measurements, direct shear tests, and UCS tests, considering key mix design variables such as BOFs particle size and content, cement addition and dosage, water content, and curing times. The results of this study indicate that an increase in BOFs particle size significantly enhances interfacial roughness and shear strength parameters, such as cohesion and internal friction angle. Additionally, the unit weight of the mixture tends to increase with both the particle size and content of BOFs. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) was notably improved under conditions of low water content and high BOFs content. Although the effects of particle size and content varied, the inclusion of a small amount of cement (5 %) led to a marked improvement in strength development. These findings are well supported by the microstructural observations obtained through SEM analysis. In addition, a predictive model for the UCS of BOFs-MDC weight soil was developed based on the BOFs volume fraction, curing time, and a particle size coefficient. The findings of this study elucidate the fundamental mechanical behavior of BOFs-MDC weight soil mixtures and offer a foundation for optimal mix design and practical field applications in seismic-prone port environments.
format Article
id doaj-art-6cb3898513ae4e4eb3acd6e5dbc5cf39
institution Kabale University
issn 2214-5095
language English
publishDate 2025-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Case Studies in Construction Materials
spelling doaj-art-6cb3898513ae4e4eb3acd6e5dbc5cf392025-08-20T04:00:34ZengElsevierCase Studies in Construction Materials2214-50952025-12-0123e0512610.1016/j.cscm.2025.e05126Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristicsJung-goo Kang0Gyeong-o Kang1Department of Civil Engineering, Gwangju University, 277 Hyodeck-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju 61743, Republic of KoreaCorresponding author.; Department of Civil Engineering, Gwangju University, 277 Hyodeck-ro, Nam-gu, Gwangju 61743, Republic of KoreaThe seismic stability of port structures is highly influenced by the submerged unit weight of the backfill material. Conventional light weight treated soils (LTS) often fall short in meeting the stability requirements under seismic conditions due to their limited weight. To address this limitation, the present study proposes a high weight backfill material incorporating industrial by-products specifically, basic oxygen furnace slag (BOFs) and marine dredged clay (MDC) soils. The study utilized aged, aggregate type BOFs and a small amount of cement as the primary binder, along with marine dredged clay soil as the main matrix, to evaluate the frictional properties, unit weight, microstructure, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) behavior. These evaluations were conducted using surface roughness measurements, direct shear tests, and UCS tests, considering key mix design variables such as BOFs particle size and content, cement addition and dosage, water content, and curing times. The results of this study indicate that an increase in BOFs particle size significantly enhances interfacial roughness and shear strength parameters, such as cohesion and internal friction angle. Additionally, the unit weight of the mixture tends to increase with both the particle size and content of BOFs. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) was notably improved under conditions of low water content and high BOFs content. Although the effects of particle size and content varied, the inclusion of a small amount of cement (5 %) led to a marked improvement in strength development. These findings are well supported by the microstructural observations obtained through SEM analysis. In addition, a predictive model for the UCS of BOFs-MDC weight soil was developed based on the BOFs volume fraction, curing time, and a particle size coefficient. The findings of this study elucidate the fundamental mechanical behavior of BOFs-MDC weight soil mixtures and offer a foundation for optimal mix design and practical field applications in seismic-prone port environments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525009246Basic Oxygen Furnace Slag (BOFs)Marine Dredged Clay (MDC)High weight Backfill MaterialShear(friction) CharacteristicsUnconfined Compressive Strength (UCS)
spellingShingle Jung-goo Kang
Gyeong-o Kang
Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics
Case Studies in Construction Materials
Basic Oxygen Furnace Slag (BOFs)
Marine Dredged Clay (MDC)
High weight Backfill Material
Shear(friction) Characteristics
Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS)
title Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics
title_full Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics
title_fullStr Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics
title_short Engineering characteristics of high-weight aged BOFs-dredged soil backfill for port structure: Shear properties, unit weight, strength, and microstructure characteristics
title_sort engineering characteristics of high weight aged bofs dredged soil backfill for port structure shear properties unit weight strength and microstructure characteristics
topic Basic Oxygen Furnace Slag (BOFs)
Marine Dredged Clay (MDC)
High weight Backfill Material
Shear(friction) Characteristics
Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS)
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525009246
work_keys_str_mv AT junggookang engineeringcharacteristicsofhighweightagedbofsdredgedsoilbackfillforportstructureshearpropertiesunitweightstrengthandmicrostructurecharacteristics
AT gyeongokang engineeringcharacteristicsofhighweightagedbofsdredgedsoilbackfillforportstructureshearpropertiesunitweightstrengthandmicrostructurecharacteristics