Triaxial shear behavior of calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA)-treated sand under high confining pressures

Abstract

Cementitious materials such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), fly ash, lime, and bitumen have been employed for soil improvement over the years. However, due to the environmental concerns associated with the use of OPC, substituting OPC with calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement offers good potential for ground improvement because it is more eco-friendly. Although earlier research has investigated the stabilizing effects of CSA cement-treated sand, no attempt has been made to examine soil behavior under high confining pressure. As a result, this study aimed to investigate the shear strength and mechanical behavior of CSA cement-treated sand using a consolidated drained (CD) triaxial test with high confining pressure. The microstructure of the examined sand samples was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. This study used sand with CSA cement contents of 3%, 5%, and 7% and confining pressures of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 MPa. It revealed that the confining pressures and CSA cement content significantly affected the stress-strain and volumetric change behavior of CSA cement-treated sand at high confining pressures.