Experimental Study on Strength and Microstructure of Glacial Till Stabilized by Ionic Soil Stabilizer

Abstract

Glacial till, widely distributed in southwest China, is a special soil directly deposited by detritus formed from melting Quaternary glaciers. In this paper, the F1 ionic soil stabilizer was adopted for stabilizing the glacial till to improve its mechanical strength. A series of micro and macro tests were carried out to study the mechanical properties and microstructure of stabilized soil with the F1 ionic soil stabilizer. The results show that the F1 ionic soil stabilizer can destroy the diffuse double layer structure on the surface of glacial till particles and reduce the thickness of the adsorbed water layer through strong cation exchange and hydrophobic interactions of active sulfonated oil, which reduce the spacing of glacial till particles, enhance the aggregation of glacial till particles, and effectively suppress the swelling deformation of the glacial till. It can be concluded that the water sensitivity and compaction characteristics of glacial till can be significantly improved by the stabilization of the F1 ionic soil stabilizer. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the glacial till can be significantly improved by the stabilization of the F1 ionic soil stabilizer. This article is helpful as a guideline for practical design and future research on applying the F1 ionic soil stabilizer to improve the bearing capacity of foundations in glacial till areas.

Keywords

• glacial till
• ionic soil stabilizer
• strength characteristics
• stabilization mechanism
• microstructural