Fatigue Life of Green Stabilized Fiber-Reinforced Sulfate-Rich Dispersive Soil

Abstract

Sulfate-rich dispersive soils are worldwide responsible for damaging earthworks, such as roadway roadbeds and embankments. One of the causes for such behavior is the high amount of exchangeable sodium ions adsorbed on their clay particles vastly increasing erosion susceptibility, being responsible for problems as piping, ravines, and water turbidity. In order to reduce the erodibility, it is usual to treat such soils with calcium-based stabilizers. However, in the presence of sulfates, when combined with calcium-based stabilizers in the soil, reactions take place between stabilizers and sulfates to form expansive minerals. Namely, these minerals are known as ettringite and thaumasite and are responsible for excessive volumetric swell. In this context, the present research aims to develop alternative soil stabilizers (industrial byproducts plus artificial pozzolans) and reinforcements (fiberglass) to solve problems associated with sulfate-rich dispersive soils. Thus, a binder composed of carbide lime and ground glass was used. In addition, fiberglass was applied to look for enhanced mechanical properties of the materials. To assess the efficiency of the proposed stabilization and reinforcement, unconfined compressive and splitting tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, wet and dry durability, and fatigue life tests were carried out. Soil–ground glass–carbide lime-fiberglass blends were molded at different porosities, carbide lime, ground glass, and fiberglass contents. Results show that unconfined compressive and split tensile strength and initial shear modulus are highly dependent on changes in porosity and lime content. Durability, expressed as the accumulated loss of mass, could be assessed through the adjusted porosity/lime index (η/Liv). Fiberglass inclusion resulted in higher tensile strength. The fatigue life was correlated to the η/Liv index through a negative exponent. The greater the carbide lime level, the smaller was the fatigue life for all treated specimens. An increase in porosity results in fewer contacts between particles, whereas an increase in carbide lime content enhanced the specimen’s rigidity.