Effect of polyester polymer resin on Atterberg Limits and Unconfined Strength of Bentonite Soil

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
H. Soltani-Jigheh
A. Abri
A. Asadiyan Tarakomeh
Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University
DOI: 10.22034/22.2.17
Abstract
Fine-grained soils, especially those consist of high content clay minerals, generally have high strength in dry state, but they loss their strength when subjected to absorb water as well as they may be swell. These phenomenon may lead to damage the structures located on them and it is required to stabilize them with different additive materials. Common additives for stabilization of problematic soils are cement, lime, fly ash, etc., which are almost costly and have environmental consequences. Nowadays, non-traditional material such as polymeric materials were added to the soils in order to their stabilization.

In this research, the effect of polyester polymer resin on the physical and mechanical properties of fine-grained bentonite soil, with liquid limit and plasticity index of 226% and 179% respectively, was studied by performing Atterberg limits and unconfined strength tests. For this purpose, a polyester polymer resin were added to bentonite soil with various amount of 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 percent in dry weight. Soil mixtures were cured about 7 days and Atterberg tests were performed on them. Moreover, cylindrical specimens with 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height were prepared and cured during 7, 14 and 28 days. Soil specimens compacted in a splitted steel mold at four equal thickness layers. Then, the unconfined compression tests were carried out on these specimens with loading rate of 0.5 mm/min.

The results of Atterberg tests indicated that the addition of polyester resin reduces liquid limit and increases plastic limit of bentonite and consequently it is led to decrease in plasticity index of the soil. Maximum decrements in liquid limit and plasticity index observed in treated soil with 7.5 percent polyester, which are about 41.0 and 65.0 percent respectively. In addition, the polyester resin improves the unconfined compressive strength of the soil and the rate of increment is high when the polyester amount rises from 0 to 7.5%. It was revealed that the polyester resin influences the unconfined strength considerably in a short time, and the rate of improvement gradually decreases with passing time. For example, adding 5.0 percent polyester polymer resin to bentonite soil improves the strength up to 2.05, 2.11 and 2.58 times respectively after curing times of 7, 14 and 28 days. It also means that after 7 day curing time the improvement effect of stabilizer is considerable and by passing time its effect diminishes. Moreover, adding polyester polymer resin to the soil decreases deformability of soil; it means that this additive cause the treated soil exhibits more brittle behavior rather than the pure soil. The photos of specimen after failure explain that failure surface of pure bentonite is inclined in relation with horizontal, while it tends to vertical direction in treated specimens. Analysis of SEM images, results of XRD analysis and FTIR spectroscopy suggest that polyester stabilizer penetrates into the layers of soil particles and, by inducing effective interaction makes the layers closer or sticks them together. These phenomena decrease water absorbing tendency in soil minerals and improve the plastic characteristics and shear strength of the soil.

Keywords

Subjects

1. Cherian, R.A. and Shyla Joseph, A. “A comparative study on the influence of traditional, non-traditional and by-product stabilizers on geotechnical properties of Kuttanad clay”, International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (RJET), 4(3), pp. 2521-2536 (2017).
2. Zarei, Y., Nikoodel, M.R. and Orumiyei, A. “Study and comparison of the effect of cement and lime addition on strength properties of soft clay soils in Mahshahr port in saturated conditions”. 6th National Congress of Civil Engineering, Semnan, Semnan University (2011) (In Persian).
3. Wallace, A., Wallace, G.A. and Abouzamzam, A.M. “Amelioration of sodic soils with polymers”, Soil Science, 141(5), pp. 359-362 (1986).
4. Cheshomi, A., Eshaghi, A. and Hassanpour, J. “Effect of lime and fly ash on swelling percentage and Atterberg limits of sulfate-bearing clay”, Applied Clay Science, 135, pp. 190-198 (2017).
5. Budaghpour, S. and Kalhor, K. “Stabilization of lime soils using its lime and its environmental and economic impacts”, The First National Conference on Soil Mechanics and Pioneering Engineering, Tehran Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran (2014) (In Persian).
6. Fenjanchi, M. “Environmental impact assessment of Sufian cement factory and determination of effective strategies for reducing environmental pollution in the cement industry of Iran”, 7th National Conference and Specialized Exhibition of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran (2014) (In Persian).
7. Malhotra, V.M. “Making concrete" greener" with fly ash”, Concrete International, 21(5), pp. 61-66 (1999).
8. Shakrkhizadeh, M. “Reducing the environmental impact of concrete”, Quarterly Journal of Iranian Concrete Institute, 5, pp. 18-24 (2001).
9. Latifi, N., Marto, A., and Eisazadeh, A. “Physicochemical behavior of tropical laterite soil stabilized with non-traditional additive”. Acta Geotechnica, 11(2), pp. 433-443 (2016).
10. Scholen, D.E., “Stabilizer mechanisms in nonstandard stabilizers”, In: Proceeding of 6th International Conference on Low-Volume Roads, 2, TRB, National Academy Press, June 25-29, Washington, DC, pp. 252-260 (1995).
11. Abadjieva, T. “Chemical stabilization for low cost roads in Botswana”, In: Proceeding of First Road Transportation Technology Transfe Conference in Africa, Arusha, Tanzania, pp. 409-414 (2001).
12. Rauch, A.F., Harmon, J.S., Katz, I., and Liljestrand, H.M., “Liquid soil stabilizer: Measured effects on engineering properties of clay” In: Proceedings of 81th Annual Transportation Board Meeting, Washington, DC, pp. 33-41 (2001).
13. Zandieh, A.R. and Yasrobi, S.S. “Study of factor affecting the compressive strength of sandy soil stabilized with polymer”, Department of Civil Engineering, Tarbiatmodares University, Tehran, Iran (2007).
14. Santoni, R.L., Tingle, J.S., and Nieves, M. “Accelerated strength improvement of silty sand with non-traditional additives”, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1936, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., pp. 34–42 (2005).
15. Oztas, T., A. Ozbek, and L. Aksakal. “Structural developments in soil treated with polyvinyl alcohol”, In: Proceedings of International Conference on Sustainable Land Use and Management, Kanakkale, Turkey, 10-13, pp.143-148, (2007).
16. Abootalebi-Esfahani, M. and Ataee, M. “Improving the properties of road bonding with polymer”, 8th Conference on Asphalt and Asphalt Mixes, Road, Housing & Urban Development Research Holder, Road Transportation Agency, Tehran, Iran, (2016) (In Persian).
17. Al-Khanbashi, A., and El-Gamal, M., “Modification of sandy soil using water borne polymer”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 88 (10), pp. 2484-2491 (2003).
18. Farzi, Gh.A. and Nasiriyan, N., “Study the effect of Methyl Methacrylic emulsion copolymer-Acrylic Butyl on mechanical properties of clayey soil”, 2st National Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Qom, Iran, 14-15 (2015) (In Persian).
19. Tingle, J.S., Larson, S.L., Weiss, C.A., Newman, J.K., and Peters, J.F., “Constitutive analyses of nontraditional stabilization additives”, No. ERDC-TR-04-5 (2004).
20. Georgees, R.N., Hassan, R.A., Evans, R.P., and Jegatheesan, P. “Effect of the use of a polymeric stabilizing additive on unconfined compressive strength of soils”, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2473), pp. 200-208 (2015).
21. Chen, Y., Dai, W.T., and Wang, L. “Test study on road performance of soils stabilized by liquid stabilizer in seasonally frozen regions”, In ICCTP: Integrated Transportation Systems: Green, Intelligent, Reliable, pp. 3245-3252 (2010).
22. Samadi, A. and Hosseini, S.M. “Study of morphology and thermal stability of polyester-clay nanocomposites”, Third National Conference on New Technologies in Chemistry, Petrochemical and Nano, Iran, Tehran, Industrial Research Center, (2017) (In Persian).
23. Richardson, T.L., and Lokensgard, E. “Industrial plastics: Theory and applications”, Cengage Learning, (2004).
24. Arasan, S., Isik, F., Akbulut, R.K., Zaimoglu, A.S. and Nasirpur, O. “Rapid stabilization of sands with deep mixing method using polyester”, Periodica Polytechnica. Civil Engineering, 59 (3), pp. 405-411 (2015).
25. Shadi, K. “Bentonite of soil with thousands of uses”, Art Ganj Publishing, Tehran (2012) (In Persian).
26. Hosterman, J.W. and Patterson, S.H. “Bentonite and fuller’s earth resources of the United States”, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1522, 45 p (1992).
27. ASTM D422-63(2007)e2, Standard Test Method for Particle-Size Analysis of Soils (Withdrawn 2016), ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, (2007).
28. ASTM D4318-10e1, Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, (2010).
29. ASTM D698-12e2 Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort (12,400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3)), ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, (2012).
30. ASTM D854-14 Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Soil Solids by Water Pycnometer, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, (2014).
31. Bonyankala, “Technical Information Unsaturated polyester resin BUP 612”, (http://www.bonyankala.com) Site of the manufacturer of the product, (2014).
32. ASTM D2166M-16, Standard Test Method for Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cohesive Soil, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, (2016).
Modares Civil Engineering journal
Volume 22, Issue 2
May and June 2022
Pages 261-271