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Mechanical and Physical Properties of Silt-Based Foamed Concrete with Different Silt Types

  • Research Article-Civil Engineering
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Abstract

Silt-based foamed concrete, in which the cement is partially replaced with silt, has become a novel material in road construction projects. However, at present, only a small number of studies have been completed which have focused on different types of silt material and their influence. Therefore, to address these issues, this research investigation conducted experiments regarding silt-based foamed concretes to analyze their mechanical and physical properties. The compressive strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, pore structure, dry shrinkage and water absorption were studied and analyzed in detail. Furthermore, the respective densities of foamed concrete, silt content and plastic index of silt were regarded as the influence factors. The results revealed that the compressive strength, flexural strength and elastic modulus of the samples increased with the increasing density, and decreased with the increasing silt content and plastic index. In most of the cases, the silt-based foamed concrete could satisfy the requirements as a subgrade filler, and the addition of silt was an effective measure by which to reduce the cost and pollution produced by cement. It was found that the increase of plastic index of silt will transform pore structures from uniformly dispersed closed pores into coalesced opening pores, in turn forming silt-based agglomerates. In addition, the increase in silt content and decrease in plastic index were observed to reduce the drying shrinkage. Furthermore, water absorption increased to average levels of 12% and 2.42%, respectively, as the silt content increased by 10% and the plastic index of silt increased from 7.2 to 15.4. The influence of silt on the properties of foamed concrete depended on the properties of silt and the effect of addition of the silt on pore structure of foamed concrete. The results of this study may provide an important reference to the application of silt-based foamed concrete in engineering projects.

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Abbreviations

C c :

Curvature coefficient, Cc = d302/(d10 × d60)

C u :

Non-uniform coefficient, Cu = d60/d10

d 10 :

The particle size for finer 10%, (mm)

d 30 :

The particle size for finer 30%, (mm)

d 60 :

The particle size for finer 60%, (mm)

I p :

Plastic index of the silt

m c :

The mass of cement in the per cubic meter of foamed concrete, (kg/m3)

m f :

The mass of foam in the per cubic meter of foamed concrete, (kg/m3)

m s :

The mass of silt in the per cubic meter of foamed concrete, (kg/m3)

m w :

The mass of water in the per cubic meter of foamed concrete, (kg/m3)

Vf :

The bubble volume in the per cubic meter of foamed concrete, (L/m3)

W/S:

The water-to-solid ratio, 0.55 in this test

α :

Silt content

ρ :

Target wet density

ρ c :

The density of cement, 3100 kg/m3

ρ f :

The density of foam, 55 kg/m3

ρ s :

The density of silt, 1850 kg/m3

ρ w :

The density of water, 1000 kg/m3

ω L :

Liquid limit

ω P :

Plastic limit

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Shandong Express Co., Ltd. of China for the financial support of this project. This paper was also supported party by the Qilu Young Scholar Program of Shandong University, part by the Technical Program of Shandong Department of Transportation under grant number 2020BZ01-03, part by the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province under grant number 2020CXGC010118 and 2019GSF109045.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China

    Hongbo Zhang, Mingpeng Liu & Xiuguang Song

  2. Shandong High-Speed Engineering Consulting Group Co. Ltd., Jinan, 250002, China

    Jintao Yu

  3. Shandong Transportation Planning and Design, Institute Group Co. Ltd., Jinan, 250031, China

    Yuhai Sun & Jie Song

  4. Shangdong Hi-Speed Company Limited, Co. Ltd., Jinan, 250061, China

    Pengfei Zhou

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  1. Hongbo Zhang
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Correspondence to Xiuguang Song.

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Zhang, H., Liu, M., Yu, J. et al. Mechanical and Physical Properties of Silt-Based Foamed Concrete with Different Silt Types. Arab J Sci Eng 47, 12803–12815 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-021-06551-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-021-06551-1

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