Effect of Thermal Stabilization of Soil, Bentonite, Calcium Carbonate and Fibers on Behavior Properties of Clay Soil

Abstract

Various factors, including the thermal stabilization and the presence of chemicals such as bentonite for the protection of nuclear waste lead to the exposure of clay soil to the heat. Besides, the presence of large amounts of carbonate as one of the main components of clay soils, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions, and its effect on the soil engineering properties emphasize the necessity to study the combined effect of heat and carbonate on the engineering behavior of clay soils. Accordingly, the present paper studies the interaction of clay-bentonite, clay-lime, and clay-fiber at high temperatures and its effect on the properties of clay soils. In this regard, a series of macro-structural experiments are conducted. The different thermal levels considered in the present study, according to the previous research, are 0 to 900. The soil behavior is investigated using numerical and laboratory methods. The experiments conducted in this area include the weight changes and the unconfined compressive strength of the soil. The effect of using the bentonite and fiber on the strength indicates that at a given temperature, increasing the percentage of bentonite leads to increased strength. In addition, the rate of increase is different at different temperatures, so that the highest increase occurs for the addition of 30% bentonite to the soil, reaching the unconfined compressive strength to 1.88 times the control sample. However, adding 0.5% fiber and 4% lime shows the maximum strength.