A Comprehensive Study on the Assessment of CaCO3-, Nano-CaCO3-, and Glass Fiber Chopped Strand (GFCS)-Treated Clay in Terms of Bearing Capacity and Settlement Enhancements
Source abstract
Abstract
Nanomaterials have been one of the latest trends used by geotechnical engineers for improving insufficient soil criteria. This study aims to assess the usability of CaCO3, nano-CaCO3 and Glass Fiber Chopped Strands (GFCSs) in the improvement procedures for clay soil media by performing traditional and laboratory model experiments. Clay samples mixed with CaCO3 at 5%, nano-CaCO3 at 0.75% and GFCSs at 2.0% separately provided 1.49, 1.68 and 1.86 times increments in the bearing capacity values in comparison with plain clay, respectively. Mixtures of clay, GFCSs at 1.5% and nano-CaCO3 at 0.75% enabled the most optimal result of 2.58 times improved bearing capacities. Curing durations had a significant effect on increasing the bonding between nano-CaCO3 and clay which led to further improved conditions. Settlement enhancements of up to 6.80% were recorded for the mixtures of nano-CaCO3, GFCSs and clay as well. Thus, improvements were reached in terms of bearing capacity and settlements along with the applicability and economy of the related procedures, of which the details can be seen in the following sections of this study.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Grouting, Rheology, and Soil Mechanics · Innovative concrete reinforcement materials · Concrete and Cement Materials Research
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Turkey
Construction Department, Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin 33110, Turkey
Mining Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Turkey
References (51)
Show source-provided references
1. Sustainable application of waste tire chips and geogrid for improving load carrying capacity of granular soils10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.287 ↗
2. Reuse of waste tire textile fibers as soil reinforcement10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.09.253 ↗
3. Cyclic mechanical properties of sandy soils by mixing recycled asphalt pavement material
4. Bearing capacity of strip footing resting on fibre-reinforced pond ash overlying soft clay10.1007/s41062-019-0221-4 ↗
5. Chemical stabilization of Sarawak soil with class F fly ash
6. Stabilizing soft clay using geo-foam beads and cement bypass dust10.1016/j.undsp.2019.05.003 ↗
7. Pastor, J.L., Tomás, R., Cano, M., Riquelme, A., and Gutiérrez, E. (2019). Evaluation of the improvement effect of limestone powder waste in the stabilization of swelling clayey soil. Sustainability, 11.10.3390/su11030679 ↗
8. A new experimental approach to the improvement of sandy soils with construction demolition waste and cement10.1007/s12517-020-05493-6 ↗
9. Soil stabilization with fly ash and rice husk ash
10. Model experiments on coarse-grained soils treated with xanthan gum biopolymer10.1007/s12517-021-08134-8 ↗
11. Sustainable Implementation of Glass Manufacturing Waste and Geogrids in the Improvement of Fine-Grained Soils10.1007/s12205-021-1344-7 ↗
12. Calcium carbide residue: Alkaline activator for clay–fly ash geopolymer10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.07.018 ↗
13. Mechanical and compressibility characteristics of a soft clay stabilized by slag-based mixtures and geopolymers10.1016/j.clay.2019.105390 ↗
14. Agricultural wastes as aggregate in concrete mixtures: A review10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.11.074 ↗
15. Experiences from environmental risk management of chemical grouting agents used during construction of the Romeriksporten tunnel10.1016/S0886-7798(01)00006-2 ↗
16. A review of carbon nanotube toxicity and assessment of potential occupational and environmental health risks10.1080/10408440600570233 ↗
17. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sorption behavior unaffected by the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in a natural soil system10.1039/c3em00099k ↗
18. Environmental applications of carbon-based nanomaterials10.1021/es8006904 ↗
19. Experimental studies on nanomaterials for soil improvement: A review10.1007/s12665-015-5118-8 ↗
20. Occurrence, behavior and effects of nanoparticles in the environment10.1016/j.envpol.2007.06.006 ↗
21. A review of stabilization of soils by using nanomaterials
22. Stabilization of residual soil using SiO2 nanoparticles and cement10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.04.086 ↗
23. Effect of nano-silica on the geotechnical properties of cohesive soil10.1007/s10706-015-9962-9 ↗
24. Microstructure characteristics of cement-stabilized sandy soil using nanosilica10.1016/j.jrmge.2017.03.015 ↗
25. Full-scale field testing of colloidal silica grouting for mitigation of liquefaction risk10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2007)133:2(186) ↗
26. Stabilization of liquefiable soils using colloidal silica grout10.1061/(ASCE)0899-1561(2007)19:1(33) ↗
27. Cyclic shear characteristics of treated sand with colloidal silica grout
28. Rosales, J., Agrela, F., Marcobal, J.R., Diaz-López, J.L., Cuenca-Moyano, G.M., Caballero, Á., and Cabrera, M. (2020). Use of Nanomaterials in the Stabilization of Expansive Soils into a Road Real-Scale Application. Materials, 13.10.3390/ma13143058 ↗
29. Sobolev, K., Flores, I., Hermosillo, R., and Torres-Martínez, L.M. (2006, January 7). Nanomaterials and nanotechnology for high-performance cement composites. Proceedings of the ACI Session on Nanotechnology of Concrete: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives, Denver, CO, USA.
30. Zhang, G. (2007, January 18–21). Soil nanoparticles and their influence on engineering properties of soils. Proceedings of the Geo-Denver 2007 Congress: New Peaks in Geotechnics, Reston, VA, USA.
31. Nano science and engineering in mechanics and materials
32. Arabania, M., Haghib, A.K., and Moradic, Y. (2012, January 12–14). Evaluation of mechanical properties improvement of clayey sand by using carbon nanotubes. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Nanostructures (ICNS4), Kish Island, Iran.
33. Rugg, D.A., Yoon, J., Hwang, H., and Mohtar, C.S.E. (2011, January 13–16). Undrained shearing properties of sand permeated with a bentonite suspension for static liquefaction mitigation. Proceedings of the Geofrontiers, Dallas, TX, USA.10.1061/41165(397)70 ↗
34. Witthoeft, A.F., Santagata, M.C., and Bobet, A. (2012, January 25–29). Numerical study of the effectiveness of bentonite treatment for liquefaction mitigation. Proceedings of the GeoCongress 2012: State of the Art and Practice in Geotechnical Engineering, Oakland, CA, USA.10.1061/9780784412121.201 ↗
35. Cyclic response of a sand with thixotropic pore fluid
36. Howayek, A.E., Bobet, A., Johnston, C.T., Santagat, M.V., and Sinfield, J. (2014). Microstructure of Sand-Laponite-Water Systems using Cryo-SEM. Geo-Congress 2014 Technical Papers, ASCE.10.1061/9780784413272.067 ↗
37. Investigation of Nano-clay effect on geotechnical properties of rasht clay
38. (2017). Standard Test Methods for Particle-Size Distribution (Gradation) of Soils Using Sieve Analysis (Standard No. ASTM D6913/D6913M-17).
39. (2012). Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of Soil Using Standard Effort (12400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3)) (Standard No. ASTM D698-12e2).
40. (2017). Standard Test Methods for Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, and Plasticity Index of Soils (Standard No. ASTM D4318-17e1).
41. (2017). Standard Practice for Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil Classification System) (Standard No. ASTM D2487-17e1).
42. (2025, May 23). Available online: https://www.webqc.org/molecular-weight-of-CaCO3.html.
43. (2025, May 23). Available online: https://www.owenscorning.com.
44. (2025, May 23). Available online: https://www.ssnano.com.
45. (2020). Standard Specification for Mixing Rooms, Moist Cabinets, Moist Rooms, and Water Storage Tanks Used in the Testing of Hydraulic Cements and Concretes (Standard No. ASTM C511).
46. (2019). Testing Hardened Concrete—Part 2: Making and Curing Specimens for Strength Tests (Standard No. EN 12390-2).
47. Model studies on circular footing supported on geocell reinforced sand underlain by soft clay10.1016/S0266-1144(03)00017-7 ↗
48. Tanzadeh, M., Salimi, M., and Tavakoli Mehrjardi, G. (2019, January 13–17). Comparative study of the effect of lime and nano-lime on the improvement of clay soils. Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA. Available online: https://trid.trb.org/View/1627311.
49. Experimental study on the use of nano-calcium carbonate for stabilizing marly soil
50. Effect of CaCO3 additives on compaction and strength properties of clay soils
51. Optimization of CaCO3 dosage in clay stabilization using CBR tests