Study on the Deterioration of Geopolymer Solidified Loess under Dry-Wet Cycles Effect

Li Haojie; Tang Xianxi; Zhang Xujun; Li Mingze; Wang Zhilu

doi:10.20174/j.JUSE.2025.02.17

Chinese Journal of Underground Space and Engineering >

2025 , Vol. 21 >Issue 2: 506 - 516

DOI: https://doi.org/10.20174/j.JUSE.2025.02.17

Study on the Deterioration of Geopolymer Solidified Loess under Dry-Wet Cycles Effect

Li Haojie ,
Tang Xianxi ,
Zhang Xujun ,
Li Mingze ,
Wang Zhilu

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1. School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, P. R. China;
2. China Railway Lanzhou Group Co., Ltd., Lanzhou 730000, P. R. China

Received date: 2025-01-08

Online published: 2025-05-06

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Abstract

In recent years, the frequent occurrence of extreme weather conditions, coupled with intensified human activities, has led to frequent fluctuations in groundwater levels in the northwest region, exerting significant impacts on stabilized soils. This paper explores the utilization of fly ash and steel slag as raw materials, activated by an alkaline sodium silicate solution, to form a high-strength geopolymer gel material for the stabilization of loess soil. Through unconfined compressive strength tests, direct shear tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examinations, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, the mechanical properties and microstructure changes of the stabilized soil after wet-dry cycles were investigated. The results indicate that: The degree of wetness during wet-dry cycles is a crucial factor contributing to the degradation of stabilized soil, with an increase in degradation observed as the wetness level rises. Notably, the incorporation of geopolymers effectively mitigates this degradation process. The cohesion of the stabilized soil exhibits a linear and continuous deterioration with an increasing number of cycles. A geopolymer-stabilized soil with a 20% additive content demonstrates superior resistance to wet-dry stability. After 15 cycles, both the internal friction angle of the untreated soil and the stabilized soil decrease within the first 7 wet-dry cycles but show a flattened trend subsequently. SEM and XRD analyses reveal that, in the early stages of wet-dry cycling, a small amount of unreacted steel slag and fly ash are present in the stabilized soil. These materials undergo further hydration reactions to form C-S-H and C-A-S-H cementitious compounds, which fill the voids between soil particles and thereby reduce the extent of degradation during the stabilization process.

Key words： solidified loess; dry and wet cycle; geopolymer; steel slag powder; deterioration

Cite this article

Li Haojie , Tang Xianxi , Zhang Xujun , Li Mingze , Wang Zhilu . Study on the Deterioration of Geopolymer Solidified Loess under Dry-Wet Cycles Effect[J]. Chinese Journal of Underground Space and Engineering, 2025 , 21(2) : 506 -516 . DOI: 10.20174/j.JUSE.2025.02.17

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