Assessing the impact of GBFS on mechanical behaviour and microstructure of soft clay

In the present study, the kaolinite clay was mixed with different amounts of granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) ranging from 0% to 30% by dry weight, and various experiments were performed such as pH, one-dimensional consolidation, unconfined compressive strength and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Stabilised specimens were placed in curing conditions at 20 and 45 degrees C for 7, 28 and 90 days in order to investigate the interaction of soil and GBFS in normal and high temperatures. The results show that an increase in temperature leads to the faster growth of cementitious products such that the compressive strength of the samples containing 30% GBFS after 90 days of treatment at 20 and 45 degrees C increased by as much as 2.33 and 9.33 times as compared to that of untreated soil, respectively. In addition, based on SEM images, the formation of more and faster cemented structures is confirmed by an increase in temperature.

Automated summary

The study found that higher temperatures led to accelerated growth of cementitious products and increased compressive strength in samples with added GBFS. SEM images confirmed the formation of more and faster cemented structures with increasing temperature.