Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement

This paper focuses on the strength development and pore structure evolution of high-plasticity clay mixtures treated with metakaolin- (MK-) blended ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The unconfined compressive strength (fcu) of treated soil mixtures is measured to study the effect of MK replacement. Th...

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Main Authors: Qian Guo, Mingli Wei, Haochen Xue, Changhui Gao, Guangyin Du
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:Advances in Civil Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2527892
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author Qian Guo
Mingli Wei
Haochen Xue
Changhui Gao
Guangyin Du
author_facet Qian Guo
Mingli Wei
Haochen Xue
Changhui Gao
Guangyin Du
author_sort Qian Guo
collection DOAJ
description This paper focuses on the strength development and pore structure evolution of high-plasticity clay mixtures treated with metakaolin- (MK-) blended ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The unconfined compressive strength (fcu) of treated soil mixtures is measured to study the effect of MK replacement. The microstructural study is carried out by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the MK replacement led to the decrease of unconfined compressive strength of OPC-treated soil mixture cured for 28 days, but the influence on 7 days strength was negligible. However, the MK addition also enhanced the unconfined compressive strength significantly. The MK addition provided more cementitious products by secondary hydration and pozzolanic reaction, which would give rise to a notable filling effect by turning the large pores (1 to 10 μm) into smaller ones (0.1 to 1 μm). However, the MK replacement led to a decrease of cementitious products due to the lack of calcium hydroxide (CH) in soil mixture, and thus the effect on pore structure refinement was reduced. Nevertheless, the presence of MK enhanced the unconfined compressive strength cured for 7 days, due to the high reactivity of MK with CH.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1687-8086
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language English
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher Wiley
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series Advances in Civil Engineering
spelling doaj-art-7fe34bbfc1f24339b9360ef8ff2416292025-08-20T03:35:19ZengWileyAdvances in Civil Engineering1687-80861687-80942019-01-01201910.1155/2019/25278922527892Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended CementQian Guo0Mingli Wei1Haochen Xue2Changhui Gao3Guangyin Du4Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Engineering & Environmental Safety Nanjing, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, ChinaInstitute of Communications Planning, Design & Research, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, ChinaInstitute of Geotechnical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Engineering & Environmental Safety Nanjing, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, ChinaInstitute of Geotechnical Engineering, Southeast University, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Urban Underground Engineering & Environmental Safety Nanjing, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211189, ChinaThis paper focuses on the strength development and pore structure evolution of high-plasticity clay mixtures treated with metakaolin- (MK-) blended ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The unconfined compressive strength (fcu) of treated soil mixtures is measured to study the effect of MK replacement. The microstructural study is carried out by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the MK replacement led to the decrease of unconfined compressive strength of OPC-treated soil mixture cured for 28 days, but the influence on 7 days strength was negligible. However, the MK addition also enhanced the unconfined compressive strength significantly. The MK addition provided more cementitious products by secondary hydration and pozzolanic reaction, which would give rise to a notable filling effect by turning the large pores (1 to 10 μm) into smaller ones (0.1 to 1 μm). However, the MK replacement led to a decrease of cementitious products due to the lack of calcium hydroxide (CH) in soil mixture, and thus the effect on pore structure refinement was reduced. Nevertheless, the presence of MK enhanced the unconfined compressive strength cured for 7 days, due to the high reactivity of MK with CH.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2527892
spellingShingle Qian Guo
Mingli Wei
Haochen Xue
Changhui Gao
Guangyin Du
Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement
Advances in Civil Engineering
title Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement
title_full Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement
title_fullStr Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement
title_full_unstemmed Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement
title_short Strength and Pore Structure Development of High-Plasticity Clay Treated with MK-Blended Cement
title_sort strength and pore structure development of high plasticity clay treated with mk blended cement
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2527892
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AT mingliwei strengthandporestructuredevelopmentofhighplasticityclaytreatedwithmkblendedcement
AT haochenxue strengthandporestructuredevelopmentofhighplasticityclaytreatedwithmkblendedcement
AT changhuigao strengthandporestructuredevelopmentofhighplasticityclaytreatedwithmkblendedcement
AT guangyindu strengthandporestructuredevelopmentofhighplasticityclaytreatedwithmkblendedcement