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Scale-up effects in alkali-activated soil blocks

Marsh, A and Heath, A and Reddy, BVV and Krishnamurthy, PR and Evernden, M and Patureau, P and Walker, P (2021) Scale-up effects in alkali-activated soil blocks. In: Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Construction Materials .

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1680/jcoma.19.00102

Abstract

Alkali activation is a novel method of soil stabilisation, which could be used for the production of compressed blocks as walling materials. Given that much of the fundamental research into the chemical behaviour of this process has been done for small specimens, there is a knowledge gap over the potential effects of increasing specimen size. In this study, blocks were made from a mix of soil, sand and sodium hydroxide solution using a manual block press. Their phase composition and microstructure were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy; drying behaviour and compressive strength were also measured. No major microstructural or phase differences were found between the central and edge regions of the blocks. Longer curing time had little effect on phase formation and microstructure, but resulted in increased compressive strength. There are no fundamental chemical issues obstructing the scale-up of this stabilisation method, but further research should focus on the measurement of properties in line with building standards and eliminating hazards in the manufacturing process. © 2020 ICE Publishing: All rights reserved.

Item Type: Journal Article
Publication: Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Construction Materials
Publisher: ICE Publishing
Additional Information: The copyright for this article belongs to ICE Publishing
Department/Centre: Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited: 31 Dec 2021 07:13
Last Modified: 31 Dec 2021 07:13
URI: http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/70783

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