Frost Heave and Thaw Settlement Characteristics of Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Modified Soil

doi:10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2025.0618

Abstract

Abstract: Geopolymer is a kind of inorganic cementitious material formed by the process of depolymerization, monomer reconstruction and polycondensation reactions under alkali activation with solid industrial waste rich in aluminosilicate as precursor, which can be used to replace cement in treating weak soil layers. In order to study the frost heave and thaw settlement characteristics of geopolymer modified soil, metakaolin-based geopolymer was used to treat marine sedimentary silty clay in Fuzhou. The frost heave and thaw settlement tests of the modified soil were conducted under different levels of multiple factors, including curing age, cold end temperature, activator modulus, sodium silicate to metakaolin (S-MK) mass ratio and geopolymer content. The results show that the frost heave and thaw settlement characteristics of the modified soil are significantly weakened. The frost heave rate and thaw settlement coefficient decrease with the increase of curing age and geopolymer content, and improve with the increase of activator modulus and S-MK mass ratio. When the cold end temperature decreases, both of them reduce linearly. Through comparison, it is found that the frost heave rate and thaw settlement coefficient of geopolymer modified soil are significantly lower than those of cement modified soil under the same geopolymer content.

Key words: geopolymer, metakaolin, modified soil, silty clay, frost heave rate, thaw settlement coefficient

CLC Number:

TU59

FAN Houchao, ZHU Jie, WU Haibo, ZHANG Zhonglun, YAN Zigang, LI Lin, TANG Wencheng. Frost Heave and Thaw Settlement Characteristics of Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Modified Soil[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2025, 44(12): 4395-4405.

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