Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Clay soil is one of the most unusual and widely used soil types in geotechnical engineering and construction due to its various physical and chemical properties that make it a key material in many engineering applications. This research focuses on studying the effect of changes in pH resulting from acidic contaminants, an important indicator of chemical reactions inside the soil, and their effect on the geotechnical characteristics of clayey soil. These contaminants simultaneously alter pH values, making the study of these changes essential for understanding the extent of deterioration in soil mechanical and chemical properties and assessing the damage caused by contamination. The study covered fundamental geotechnical checks, such as the Atterberg limits, Proctor check, unconfined compression check, SEM, and pH check. Clayey soil samples were artificially contaminated using four different contaminant ratios (10%, 20%, 30%, and 50%) relative to the weight of water used for soaking for 24 hours. The results showed that the variations in chemical and physical characteristics were slight, as pH values gradually increased and stabilized after three weeks. From a mechanical perspective, resistance showed a significant increase, recording a ratio of 10,921% increase at 20% concentration after four weeks, followed by a further ratio of 2,851% increase at 50% concentration compared to uncontaminated soil. However, after 56 days, this significant increase began to decline, with resistance decreasing to a ratio of 51% at 20% concentration and a ratio of 5.15% at 50% concentration, compared to values recorded four weeks after the test. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images also showed an increase in the ratio of voids with increasing contaminant concentration, indicating a negative impact of contamination on the soil microstructure.
Article Details
Abdulhussein Saeed, K., Kassim, K. A., & Nur, H. (2014). Physicochemical characterization of cement treated kaolin clay. Gradevinar, 66, 513‒521. https://doi.org/10.14256/JCE.976.2013 (Crossref)
Al-Amoudi, O. S., Alshammari, A. M., Aiban, S. A., & Saleh, T. A. (2018). Volume change and microstructure of calcareous soils contaminated with sulfuric acid. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 120, 227–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.08.035 (Crossref)
Alshammari, A. M., Al-Amoudi, O. S. B., Aiban, S. A., & Saleh, T. A. (2019). Phosphoric acid contaminated calcareous soils: Volume change and morphological properties. Powder Technology, 352, 340–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2019.04.039 (Crossref)
ASTM Intrenational Intrenational [ASTM]. (2010). Standard test method for unconfined compressive strength of cohesive soil (ASTM D2166). ASTM.
ASTM Intrenational [ASTM]. (2013). Standard test method for pH of soils (ASTM D4972-13). ASTM.
ASTM Intrenational Intrenational [ASTM]. (2023). Sulfate ion in water (ASTM D516). ASTM.
Aubaid, K. S. (2004). Effect of sulphuric acid on the geotechnical properties of clayey silt soil containing calcite (MSc. thesis). Civil Engineering Department, Baghdad University.
Caselles, L., Balsamo, B., Benavent, V., Trincal, V., Lahalle, H., Patapy, C., Montouillout, V., & Cyr, M. (2023). Behavior of calcined clay based geopolymers under sulfuric acid attack: Meta-illite and metakaolin. Construction and Building Materials, 363, 129889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.129889 (Crossref)
Chari, C. T. S., Heimann, J. E., Rosenzweig, Z., Bennett, J. W., & Faber, K. T. (2023). Chemical transformations of 2D kaolinic clay mineral surfaces from sulfuric acid exposure. Langmuir, 39(20), 6964–6974. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00113 (Crossref)
Chen, Y., Tang, L., Sun, Y., Cheng, Z., & Gong, W. (2023). Physical–mechanical properties and microstructure degradation of acid–alkali contaminated granite residual soil. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment, 36, 100501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gete.2023.100501 (Crossref)
Gratchev, I., & Towhata, I. (2013). Stress–strain characteristics of two natural soils subjected to long-term acidic contamination. Soils and Foundations, 53(3), 469–476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2013.04.008 (Crossref)
Jain, S., & Jain, R. (2015). Change in engineering properties of black cotton Soil due to acid contamination. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, 4(11), 256‒259. (Crossref)
Khodabandeh, M. A., Nokande, S., Besharatinezhad, A., Sadeghi, B., & Hosseini, S. M. (2020). The effect of acidic and alkaline chemical solutions on the behavior of collapsible soils. Periodica Polytechnica Civil Engineering, 64(3), 939–950. https://doi.org/10.3311/PPci.15643 (Crossref)
Liu, H., He, J. T., Zhao, Q., & Wang, T. H. (2021). An experimental investigation on engineering properties of undisturbed loess under acid contamination. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 29845‒29858. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12749-5 (Crossref)
Min, Y., Wu, J., Li, B., Zhang, M., & Zhang, J. (2023). Physicochemical and mechanical behavior of the one-part geopolymer paste exposed to hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 35(3), 04022456. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0004621 (Crossref)
Mohan, S. D., & Ramesh, H. N. (2014). Effect of pH on the geotechnical properties of soil. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 4(3), 1–6.
Momeni, M., Bayat, M., & Ajalloeian, R. (2020). Laboratory investigation on the effects of pH-induced changes on geotechnical characteristics of clay soil. Geomechanics and Geoengineering, 17(1), 188‒196. https://doi.org/10.1080/17486025.2020.1716084 (Crossref)
Panda, A. K., Mishra, B. G., Mishra, D. K., & Singh, R. N. (2010). Effect of sulphuric acid treatment on the physico-chemical characteristics of kaolin clay. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 363(1), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2010.04.022 (Crossref)
Prasad, C. R. V., & Reddy, P. H. P. (2016). Influence of acid contamination on morphology and mineralogy of black cotton soil. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(30), 1‒5. https://doi.org/10.17485/ijst/2016/v9i30/99190 (Crossref)
Prasad, C. R. V., Reddy, P. H. P., Murthy, V. R., & Sivapullaiah, P. V. (2018). Swelling characteristics of soils subjected to acid contamination. Soils and Foundations, 58(1), 110‒121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2017.11.005 (Crossref)
Shan, Y., Cai, G., Zhang, C., Wang, X., Shi, Y., & Li, J. (2023). Effects of acidic/alkaline contamination on the physical and mechanical properties of silty clay. Sustainability, 15(2), 1317. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021317 (Crossref)
Sivapullaiah, P. V., Prasad, G. B., & Allam, M. (2008, October 1‒6). Volume change behaviour of soil influenced with sulfuric acid. The 12th International Conference of International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG), Goa, India.
Sivapullaiah, P. V., Prasad, B. G., & Allam, M. M. (2009). Effect of sulfuric acid on swelling behavior of an expansive soil. Soil & Sediment Contamination, 18(2), 121–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320380802660289 (Crossref)
Sunil, B. M., Nayak, S., & Shrihari, S. S. N. A. (2006). Effect of pH on the geotechnical properties of laterite. Engineering Geology, 85(1‒2), 197‒203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2005.09.039 (Crossref)
Umesh, T. S., Sharma, H. D., Dinesh, S. V., Sivapullaiah, P. V., & Basim, S. C. (2011). Physico-chemical changes in soil due to sulphuric acid contamination. Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference, 2011, 765‒768.
Umesha, T. S., Dinesh, S. V., & Sivapullaiah, P. V. (2012). Effects of acids on geotechnical properties of black cotton soil. International Journal of Geology, 6(3), 69‒76.
Wang, X., Yang, B., Jin, L., Zhang, Z., & Xu, X. (2020). Management and fractal analysis of desiccation cracks of soils with acid contamination. Advances in Civil Engineering, 2020(1), 6678620. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6678620 (Crossref)
Venkataraja Mohan, S. D. & Ramesh, H. N. (2014). Effects on pH behaviour of expansive and non expansive soils contaminated with acids and alkalis. International Research of Research in Engineering and Technology, 3(6), 61‒66. (Crossref)
Downloads
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.