Elastic modulus, water stability and resistivity for loess solidified with white mud based solid waste cementing material: Mechanism analysis and relationship establishment

To increase the engineering application value of white mud based solid waste cementing materials: white mud-slag and white mud-slag-Calcium Carbide Residue (CCR), this paper explored the changes in elastic modulus, water stability and resistivity of loess solidified with white mud based solid waste cementing material. Furthermore, relationships between elastic modulus, water stability and resistivity were established. The following conclusions can be obtained: The alkaline activation effect of CCR was stronger than white mud, therefore the formation rate of C-S-H and C-A-(S)-H cementitious products in CCR-containing solidified loess was more faster than that without CCR. At the same time, white mud not only served as an alkaline activator, but its finer CaCO 3 components also helped fill pores, while the irregular fine particles provided nucleation sites for the formation of cementitious products. Consequently, slag-white mud-CCR solidified loess exhibited the best performance in terms of elastic modulus and water stability coefficient. This was followed by slag-white mud solidified loess and lime solidified loess. In addition, the analysis of the relationship between the resistivity of solidified loess and factors such as curing age, dry density, water content, elastic modulus, and water stability coefficient revealed that the main reasons for the increased resistivity of solidified loess were the consumption of internal water and the increase in cementitious products with poor conductivity. Furthermore, the modified resistivity formula was applied to establish the fitting relationships between the resistivity of solidified loess and various parameters. The formula has been successfully applied in the slag-white mud-CCR solidified loess, where the fitting of resistivity with various parameters yielded an R 2 of 0.94. This paper facilitates the resistivity method (non-destructive testing) of loess treated with slag, white mud, CCR and promotes the application of these curing agents, contributing to their broader adoption in geotechnical engineering.