Key parameters controlling electrical resistivity and strength of cement treated soils

Abstract

The improvement of question soils with cement shows great technical, economic and environmental advantages. And interest in introducing electrical resistivity measurement to assess the quality of cement treated soils has increased markedly recently due to its economical, non-destructive, and relatively non-invasive advantages. This work aims to quantify the effect of cement content (a_w), porosity (n_t), and curing time(T) on the electrical resistivity (ρ) and unconfined compression strength (UCS) of cement treated soil. A series of electrical resistivity tests and UCS tests of cement treated soil specimen after various curing periods were carried out. A modified Archie empirical law was proposed taking into account the effect of cement content and curing period on the electrical resistivity of cement treated soil. The results show that n_t/(a_w·T) and n_t/(a_w·T^1/2) ratio are appropriate parameters to assess electrical resistivity and UCS of cement treated soil, respectively. Finally, the relationship between UCS and electrical resistivity was also established.

Keywords

cement treated soil / electrical resistivity / unconfined compression strength / cement content / porosity / curing time

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