Abstract
Cemented soil structures are frequently exposed to the corrosive environment of seawater for an extended period, severely affecting their interior structure and mechanical qualities. This study presents laboratory-based approach to investigate the effect of nano-SiO2 on the structural and mechanical properties of cemented soil in a simulated seawater environment. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus and other mechanical properties of cemented soil mixed with nano-SiO2 and ordinary silicate cemented soil were evaluated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to deduce the crystalline composition and microstructure characteristics of the modified cemented soil. The results show that the addition of nano-SiO2 greatly increased the compressive strength and corrosion resistance of the cemented soil. In a 3C (105% salinity) simulated saltwater curing environment, the compressive strength of the cemented soil containing 2% nano-SiO2 increased by 86% and 158% at 30days and 60days, respectively. XRD and SEM showed that nano-SiO2 enhanced the interface structure of cemented soil and increased the compactness of the cement-soil system. The current study demonstrates that nano-SiO2 could considerably improve the mechanical characteristics and corrosion resistance of cemented soil when exposed to simulated seawater.
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Abbreviations
- Aw :
-
Amount of cement admixture (unit: g)
- C :
-
Mass of dry cement particles (unit: g)
- 1C:
-
Artificial seawater environment with a salinity of 35‰
- C wl :
-
Total artificial seawater content (unit: %)
- C w2 :
-
Initial water content of the soil sample (unit: %)
- E :
-
Young’s modulus (unit: Mpa)
- E 0 :
-
Elastic modulus (unit: Mpa)
- Fr :
-
Loss rate of qu (unit: %)
- IP :
-
Plasticity index
- N S :
-
Nano-SiO2 admixture (unit: %)
- q u :
-
Unconfined compressive strength (unit: Mpa)
- q ui :
-
qu of seawater concentration (unit: Mpa)
- q uj :
-
qu of nano-SiO2 cement soil sample (unit: Mpa)
- q u0 :
-
qu of clean water environment (unit: Mpa)
- q ul :
-
qu of ordinary silicate cement soil (unit: Mpa)
- Rs :
-
Growth rate of qu (unit: %)
- S :
-
Mass of dry soil (unit: g)
- W :
-
Mass of artificial seawater (unit: g)
- WL :
-
Liquid limit (unit: %)
- WP :
-
Plastic limit (unit: %)
- ε :
-
Strain (unit: %)
- σ :
-
Stress (unit: Mpa)
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The research is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51978248).
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Chen, Q., Zhang, H., Ye, J. et al. Corrosion Resistance and Compressive Strength of Cemented Soil Mixed with Nano-Silica in Simulated Seawater Environment. KSCE J Civ Eng 27, 1535–1550 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-023-1240-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-023-1240-4