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Sustainable Stabilization of Compacted Clay Using Sodium Alginate for Subgrade Application

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International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sodium alginate, a low-carbon cementing agent, was used to control the swelling of compacted clay for subgrade applications in this research. A series of geotechnical tests, including Atterberg limits, free swell ratio, standard compaction, and free swelling was conducted on the control (unstabilized) and stabilized soil specimens at different concentrations of sodium alginate (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1%, and 1.25%). The specimens were prepared by mixing and spraying methods and cured for 1 and 14 days. The plasticity index (PI) and free swell ratio (FSR) of the stabilized soil were reduced with increasing the sodium alginate concentration due to the reduction in water holding capacity. The lowest PI and FSR (largest soil cluster size) were found at 0.75% sodium alginate concentration and this concentration was designated as the fixation point. Beyond the fixation point, PI and FSR increased with the increasing sodium alginate concentration. This fixation point is simply obtained from the index test and is practically used to determine the optimum sodium alginate concentration providing the lowest swelling. The growth of cementation bonds at the optimum sodium alginate concentration played a significant role in the improvement of swelling potential over curing time. The results of the extensive microstructural tests on the stabilized specimens confirmed that the cementation bonds were due to the presence of palygorskite filling in the pore space; hence the enhancement of inter-particle forces and the reduction in free swelling. The outcome of this research results in the promotion of sodium alginate as an environmental-friendly additive for sustainable subgrade applications and other relevant applications.

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Acknowledgements

This research paper was conducted at the advanced soil mechanics laboratory of the Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz, Iran. The last author appreciated the support from by the National Science and Technology Development Agency under the Chair Professor program Grant No. P-19-52303.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

    Saeid Torfi & Navid Khayat

  2. School of Civil Engineering, and Center of Excellence in Innovation for Sustainable Infrastructure Development, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, 30000, Thailand

    Suksun Horpibulsuk

  3. Academy of Science, The Royal Society of Thailand, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand

    Suksun Horpibulsuk

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  1. Saeid Torfi
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  2. Navid Khayat
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  3. Suksun Horpibulsuk
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Contributions

Conceptualization and methodology, ST and NK; software and validation, ST and NK; writing—original draft preparation, ST, NK, SH; writing—review and editing, ST, NK, SH; supervision, SH.

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Correspondence to Navid Khayat or Suksun Horpibulsuk.

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The manuscript is not submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration. The submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full). This study is split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (i.e. ‘salami-slicing/publishing’). Concurrent or secondary publication is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. Examples include: translations or a manuscript that is intended for a different group of readers. Results are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation (including image based manipulation). No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (‘plagiarism’). Proper acknowledgements to other works are given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks (to indicate words taken from another source) are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions secured for material that is copyrighted.

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Torfi, S., Khayat, N. & Horpibulsuk, S. Sustainable Stabilization of Compacted Clay Using Sodium Alginate for Subgrade Application. Int. J. of Geosynth. and Ground Eng. 7, 82 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40891-021-00322-6

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