Application of Geopolymer in Stabilization of Soft Clay
Arun.E1, P.D.Arumairaj2, S Janaki Raman3
1Arun.E, PG, Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Karunya Institute of technology and Sciences, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), India.
2P.D.Arumairaj, Professor and Head, Department of Civil Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), India.
3S Janaki Raman, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), India.
Manuscript received on 07 June 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 30 June 2019 | Manuscript Published on 04 July 2019 | PP: 996-999 | Volume-8 Issue-1S4 June 2019 | Retrieval Number: A11830681S419/2019©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Stabilization of soil has become imperative in the recent past. This study mainly concentrates on the application of geopolymers in stabilization of soft clay. Geopolymers are materials that are covalently bonded which forms amorphous network. Fly ash, metakaolin, ground granulated blast furnace slag, rice husk ash, and few more materials were earlier used for geopolymerization. In this study, ash from Prosopis juliflora was used. Prosopis juliflora is an invasive plant which has created a negative biodiversity that sucks too much of groundwater by deep penetration of their roots. This results in quick ground water depletion. Mass cutting of this plant makes this as a waste material. Geopolymer generally needs an alkali material to be added to it. Sodium hydroxide and Sodium silicate were used as alkali activators. The molar concentration of Sodium hydroxide was varied between 4 M, 8 M and 12 M. 8M gave maximum UCS value. The addition of Prosopis juliflora ash was varied between 5%, 15% and 25%. Addition of 15% ash gave maximum UCS value. The soil was characterized by performing Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) test before and after stabilization. The microstructural studies of Prosopis juliflora ash was performed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDAX) tests.
Keywords: Geopolymer, Soft Clay, Prosopis Juliflora, UCS Test, SEM, EDAX.
Scope of the Article: Civil and Environmental Engineering