Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep 24;13(19):4251.
doi: 10.3390/ma13194251.

Stabilization of a Clayey Soil with Ladle Metallurgy Furnace Slag Fines

Alexander S Brand  1 , Punit Singhvi  2 , Ebenezer O Fanijo  1 , Erol Tutumluer  2
Affiliations

Stabilization of a Clayey Soil with Ladle Metallurgy Furnace Slag Fines

Alexander S Brand et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

The research study described in this paper investigated the potential to use steel furnace slag (SFS) as a stabilizing additive for clayey soils. Even though SFS has limited applications in civil engineering infrastructure due to the formation of deleterious expansion in the presence of water, the free CaO and free MgO contents allow for the SFS to be a potentially suitable candidate for clayey soil stabilization and improvement. In this investigation, a kaolinite clay was stabilized with 10% and 15% ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) slag fines by weight. This experimental study also included testing of the SFS mixtures with the activator calcium chloride (CaCl2), which was hypothesized to accelerate the hydration of the dicalcium silicate phase in the SFS, but the results show that the addition of CaCl2 was not found to be effective. Relative to the unmodified clay, the unconfined compressive strength increased by 67% and 91% when 10% and 15% LMF slag were utilized, respectively. Likewise, the dynamic modulus increased by 212% and 221% by adding 10% and 15% LMF slag, respectively. Specifically, the LMF slag fines are posited to primarily contribute to a mechanical rather than chemical stabilization mechanism. Overall, these findings suggest the effective utilization of SFS as a soil stabilization admixture to overcome problems associated with dispersive soils, but further research is required.

Keywords: dynamic modulus; ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) slag; slag characterization; soil stabilization; steel furnace slag (SFS); unconfined compressive strength.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cylindrical specimen and configuration for testing the longitudinal resonance frequency.
Figure 2
Figure 2
TGA result of the LMF slag, which indicates the weight loss and the derivative of the weight loss.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Moisture-density relationships for unmodified clay, and clay modified with 10% SFS, and 15% SFS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) comparison of clay samples.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Average UCS for each mixture. Error bars indicate one standard deviation.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Average stress-displacement curve for each mixture.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Average estimated elastic modulus for each mixture.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Comparison of the dynamic modulus generated by the 8-mm impactor for each mix.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Relationships between UCS and modulus with the SFS content (without CaCl2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Knodel P.C. Characteristics and Problems of Dispersive Clay Soils. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Denver, CO, USA: 1991. Report No. R-91-09.
    1. Wagner J.-F. Mechanical properties of clays and clay minerals. In: Bergaya F., Lagaly G., editors. Handbook of Clay Science. Elsevier; Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 2013. pp. 347–381.
    1. Bell F.G. Engineering Properties of Soil and Rocks. 4th ed. Blackwell Science; Malden, MA, USA: 1999.
    1. Gutiérrez F., Desir G., Gutiérrez M. Causes of the catastrophic failure of an earth dam built on gypsiferous alluvium and dispersive clays (Altorricón, Huesca Province, NE Spain) Environ. Geol. 2003;43:842–851. doi: 10.1007/s00254-002-0700-2. - DOI
    1. Ramalho-Ortigão J.A., Werneck M.L.G., Lacerda W.A. Embankment failure on clay near Rio de Janeiro. J. Geotech. Eng. 1983;109:1460–1479. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9410(1983)109:11(1460). - DOI

LinkOut - more resources