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Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
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Technical Paper

Expansive soil modified by waste steel slag and its application in

subbase layer of highways
Jun Wu a, Qianwen Liu b, Yongfeng Deng a,⇑, Xinbao Yu c, Qi Feng d, Chao Yan e
a
Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
b
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA
c
Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Texas at Arlington, USA
d
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
e
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China

Received 6 October 2018; received in revised form 24 January 2019; accepted 28 March 2019
Available online 6 June 2019

Abstract

Steel slag is a waste by-product of the steel industry. The recycling usage of steel slag is limited due to the mutative chemical com-
positions it contains and its low cementation. In this investigation, the composition adjustment and activation of steel slag were studied
to produce an optimal slag-based composite with improved cementation efficiency. The controlling moduli of cement clinker were intro-
duced to standardise the composite. Subsequently, the composite was used to modify Hefei expansive soil (a kind of engineering waste
for swelling properties) in embankment construction. The basic physical properties including free swelling ratio, California bearing ratio,
unconfined compressive strength, microstructure, and mineral evolution were evaluated to understand the engineering performance and
mechanism of modified expansive soils. The results show that the cementation of the slag was significantly improved after the compo-
sition adjustment and activation. Furthermore, the treated soil can satisfy the requirement of the Chinese standard for first-class road/
highway when the composite incorporation ratio is more than 5%. The microstructural and mineralogical analysis shows that the com-
ponent adjustment and activation enrich the cementation of the slag, resulting in the suppression of the swelling potential and improved
strength. The above findings improve the reuse efficiency of steel slag, especially in expansive soil modifications.
Ó 2019 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.

Keywords: Steel slag; Component adjustment and activation; Expansive soil; Subbase performance; Microstructure

1. Introduction
Expansive soils containing the clay mineral smectite usu-
ally exhibit evident volume change with the change in mois-
ture content, limiting their engineering application in
highways and other geo-infrastructure engineering activi-
Peer review under responsibility of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.
⇑ Corresponding author at: Southeast University, Institute of Geotech-
nical Engineering, School of Transportation, SEU Avenue 2, Jiangning
District, Nanjing 211189, China.
E-mail addresses: seuwujun@seu.edu.cn (J. Wu), qliu19@ncsu.edu
(Q. Liu), noden@seu.edu.cn (Y. Deng), xinbao@uta.edu (X. Yu),
qifeng@hfut.edu.cn (Q. Feng).
ties and turning into engineering waste (Seco et al., 2011;
Estabragh et al., 2013; Khemissa and Mahamedi, 2014).
To overcome the swelling and weakness of expansive soils,
soil modification using chemical additives is adopted using
lime, cement, fly ash, and calcium chloride, (Du et al., 1999;
Nalbantoğlu, 2004; Saride et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2014;
Wu et al., 2016; Deng et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2019). How-
ever, due to the recent increase in the cost and CO2 emis-
sions of the traditional stabilisers, alternative
modification agents (industrial by-products) have been
employed, such as bagasse ash, polypropylene, recycled
carpet fibre, and steel slag, (Dang et al., 2016; Shalabi
et al., 2017; Shahbazi et al., 2017).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sandf.2019.03.009
0038-0806/Ó 2019 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Japanese Geotechnical Society.
956 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
Nomenclature
AASS the optimum adjusted and activated steel slag
(containing 28.6% slag, 57.1% lime, 9.5% meta-
kaolin, and 4.8% Na2SO4)
LL liquid limit (%)
PL plastic limit (%)
PI plasticity index
CL low-plasticity clay
Large quantities of steel slag, a by-product of the metal-
lurgical industry produced during steel manufacturing pro-
cesses, are dumped largely because of the difficulty involved
in recycling. The dumping of the estimated100 million met-
ric tons of steel slag produced in China each year must be
considered a serious environmental disaster. However,
many studies have indicated that steel slag can be used to
improve the plasticity, uncured strength, and drainage
properties of problematic soils (Poh et al., 2006;
Malasavage et al., 2012; Akinwumi, 2014). The cation
exchange between the soil and steel slag was identified as
the major factor that controlled the engineering properties
of modified soils, reduced the diffusion layer, and led to the
agglomeration of clay-size particles in the soil-slag mixtures
(Akinwumi, 2014), Besides the ionic exchange that takes
place with soils, both the pozzolanic activity and adsorp-
tion property of steel slag are weak, indicating it has great
potential for use as an agent for soil modification (Manso
et al., 2013; Goodarzi and Salimi, 2015).
Since the main chemical components of both cement
and steel slag are CaO, SiO2, Fe2O3, MgO and Al2O, the
potential for steel slag to be used as a cementitious material
has been the subject of considerable research (Iacobescu
et al., 2013). Rosales et al. (2017) analysed the cementation
and pozzolanic reaction characteristics of steel slag to eval-
uate its strength activity and environmental influence. Fur-
ther mineral composition analysis indicates that the
content of Al2O3 is only 0–4.8% in steel slag, whereas the
value is 5–8% in cement, showing that shortage of Al phase
in steel slag limits its large-scale reuse (Gu et al., 2018). The
metakaolin, a kind of cementitious geopolymer that con-
tains large amount of Al2O3, can be used to supply the
Al phase of steel slag (Buchwald et al., 2007; Wu et al.,
2016). Moreover, previous researchers reported that highly
reactive metakaolin was widely used as an effective mineral
additive in the formulation of the high-performance con-
crete and cement paste (Wild et al., 1996; Curcio et al.,
1998; Poon et al., 2001; Philippe et al., 2007; Zhang
et al., 2014). Besides, since the composition of steel slag
varies depending on the production process and the raw
materials used, whether it originates from the Basic Oxygen
Furnace (BOF), Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) or Ladle
Refining Furnace (LRF) (Meng and Liu, 2009), it has been
suggested that its composition should be standardized for
further application.
CH high-plasticity clay
SM silicon modulus
IM aluminium modulus
KH lime saturation coefficient
MDD maximum dry density
OPC optimum moisture content
FSR free swelling ratio
In this investigation, the composition adjustment and
activation of steel slag was first carried out to improve its
activity by the moduli for controlling the components of
cement clinker. Hereinafter, the slag-based composite,
i.e., the adjusted and activated steel slag at the optimal
incorporation ratio (AASS), was used to modify Hefei
expansive soils for the subbase construction of highway
embankment. This experimental procedure allows for the
standardized preparation of the binder and to understand
the contribution and mechanism of each component. To
realise this objective, the compaction (via Proctor com-
paction), California bearing ratio (CBR), physical proper-
ties (via free swelling ratio (FSR) and consistency test), and
strength (via unconfined compressive strength (UCS) test)
were designed to evaluate the engineering performance of
the soils modified using AASS. Furthermore, X-ray diffrac-
tion (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and
mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) were employed to
understand the internal mechanism of this modification.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
A typical expansive soil was sampled from Hefei city in
China at a depth not less than 1.0 m under the ground sur-
face. The soil was sealed in a polythene bag to avoid mois-
ture loss during transportation. The physical properties of
the soil are listed in Table 1. Note that three parallel sam-
ples were tested and the mean is what is presented to avoid
discrete results. The liquid limit (LL), plastic limit (PL),
and plasticity index (PI) are 68.3%, 31.5%, and 36.8%,
respectively. According to the Unified Soil Classification
System (ASTM D2487-11), it can be classified as clay of
high plasticity (CH). The sand, silt, and clay fractions are
10.9%, 67.8%, and 21.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the
natural density, water content, and specific gravity are
1.95 g/cm3, 19.3%, and 2.72, respectively. Note that the
FSR is 59.5%, suggesting a medium-level expansive soil
which is not suitable for highway engineering. The mineral
content of the soil in Table 2 shows that this soil is mainly
composed of quartz, feldspar, plagioclase, and calcite, with
a quartz content of 48%. The secondary clay mineral com-
position includes kaolinite, illite, and mixed minerals (illite/
 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965 957

Table 1 2.2. Sample preparation and testing methods

Physical properties of expansive soils and steel slag.
Physical properties Expansive soil Steel slag To achieve the objectives of this study, a technological
Density q (g/cm )
3
1.95 process (Fig. 1) was designed to investigate the engineering
Natural water content w0 (%) 19.3 24.6 performance of the modified expansive soil. Note that
Specific density GS 2.72 3.3 before the slag-based composite was used to modify the
Maximum dry density MDD (g/cm3) 1.76 2.1
Optimum moisture content OMC (%) 18.1 12.9
expansive soils, the optimal proportion of composite was
Liquid limit LL (%) 68.3 first investigated using component adjustment and activa-
Plastic limit PL (%) 31.5 tion, and the strength of the composite was considered.
Plastic index PI (%) 36.8 The composite at the optimal composition was abbreviated
Sand (>0.075 mm, %) 10.9 80.9 as AASS. Subsequently, Atterberg limits, FSR, UCS, and
Silt (0.002–0.075 mm, %) 67.8 17.2
Clay (<0.002 mm, %) 21.3 1.9
CBR were designed for the soils treated using AASS. As
Free swelling ratio FSR (%) 59.5 the treated soils are used as the subbase materials, samples
were prepared under the conditions of optimum moisture
content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD).
Table 2
Mineral content of expansive soils.
2.2.1. Component adjustment and activation of slag
Mineralogy analysis
The oxides in Portland cement clinker are not presented
Primary mineral (%) Clay mineral (%) in the form of single component but are made up of various
Quartz Feldspar Plagioclase Calcite Kaolinite Illite Illite/ oxides. Therefore, it is necessary to not only control the
Smectite content of oxides in cement production, but also control
48.0 3.7 4.7 0.5 3.0 7.8 32.3 the ratio between the oxides. Chemical parameters based
on the oxide composition are very useful in describing
smecite). The dominant mixed-layer of minerals (illite/sme- the clinker characteristics.
cite) demonstrates strong swelling potential. After comparing the difference in the chemical composi-
The physical properties of the steel slag (BOF) obtained tions of the slag and cement clinker, the adjustment con-
from the processing factory at Jiaxing city, China, are cept was introduced. Metakaolin and lime were supplied
shown in Table 1. The initial water content, specific grav- to the steel slags to improve the Si/Al/Ca phase and alka-
ity, maximum dry density (MDD), and optimal water con- linity, and the controlling moduli of cement clinker (includ-
tent are 24.6%, 3.3, 2.1 g/cm3, and 12.9%, respectively. The ing silicon modulus SM, aluminium modulus IM, and lime
fine fraction (less than 76 lm) is approximately 20.0%. The saturation coefficient KH; Long et al., 2002) were intro-
chemical oxides of the slag are listed in Table 3. Semi- duced, to standardise the AASS component. The control-
quantitative analysis by XRD using Jade software revealed ling moduli can be calculated using Eqs. (1)–(3)
the slag has a high content of Ca, Si, and Al oxides, and the SiO2 C3 S þ 1:325C2 S
main mineral components of the slag are c-Ca2SiO4, b- SM ¼ ¼ ð1Þ
Al2 O3 þFe2 O3 1:434C3 A þ 2:046C4 AF
Ca2SiO4, and Ca3SiO5. The presence of the basic minerals
of cement clinker suggest potential for cementation. Al2 O3 1:15C3 A
IM ¼ ¼ þ 0:64 ð2Þ
Metakaolin is an amorphous aluminosilicate compound Fe2 O3 C4 AF
produced via the calcination of kaolinite over the tempera- ðCaO  1:65Al2 O3  0:35Fe2 O3 Þ
ture range 500–550 °C. Its chemical oxides are presented in KH ¼
2:8SiO2
Table 3. The predominant oxides of metakaolin are SiO2
C3 S þ 0:88C2 S
and Al2O3, and their total content is approximately 92%. ¼ ðwhen IM P 0:64Þ ð3Þ
In addition, the average particle size of metakaolin is less C3 S þ 1:33C2 S
than 2 lm, and the specific surface area is approximately where CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 represent the mass
10 m2/g. contents of the oxides, and the components 3CaOSiO2,
Pure chemical reagents (NaOH, NaCl, and Na2SO4) are 2CaOSiO2, 3CaOAl2O3, and 4CaOAl2O3Fe2O3 can be
used as the activation agents and industrial-grade lime is expressed as C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF, respectively, to cal-
employed to supply Ca phase and to provide an alkaline culate the mass content. Usually, for cement clinker, the
environment. range of SM is 1.7–2.7, that of IM is 0.9–1.7, and that of

Table 3
Oxides composition of slag and metakaolin.
Oxide content (%) SiO2 Al2O3 CaO Fe2O3 MgO Na2O Others
Slag 28.5–34.3 0–4.8 49.8–55.5 10.2–14.2 / / 0–5.7
Metakaolin 52 40 1 2.5 0.8 0.5 /
958 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
Fig. 1. Technological process.
KH is 0.9–1.0. In this investigation, the indexes (SM = 2,
2.2, 2.4; IM = 1.2, 1.4, 1.6; KH = 0.90, 0.92, 0.94) were
designed to adjust the slag component with the incorpora-
tion of metakaolin and lime.
To further improve the strength and cementation, it is
necessary to activate the slag-based composites using acti-
vator agents. Considering the results of previous studies
(Shi et al., 2011; Cristelo et al., 2012; Villa et al., 2010),
NaOH, NaCl, and Na2SO4 with the proportions of 3%,
5%, and 8%, respectively, were used for the activation in
view of economy and effectiveness.
2.2.2. Unconfined compressive strength test
Through the UCS test, the optimal component of the
slag-based composites after adjustment and activation
was determined. The UCS test was also performed on
specimens modified with AASS at the proportions of
0%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10% of the weight of the dry soil,
and subsequently, the samples at the MDD and OMC
were statically compacted in rigid stainless-steel rings
(50 mm in diameter and 50 mm in height). Subsequently,
the treated soil samples were cured for 7, 14, and 28 days
in a standard curing chamber (at 20 °C ± 2 °C and rela-
tive humidity of 95%). After sample preparation and cur-
ing, the weights and dimensions of the treated soils were
tracked before the UCS test. Note that three parallel sam-
ples were fabricated for each group to avoid discrete
results. Additionally, the deviation (dry density, moisture
content, diameter and height) among three parallel sam-
ples was controlled as below: within ±0.5% of MDD,
±0.5% of OMC, ±0.5 mm of the diameter and ±1 mm
of the height. In this test, the shearing rate was set as l
mm/min. After this test, the samples were crushed and
passed through 0.5 mm sieves for measuring the consis-
tency limits (ASTM D4318-17) and FSR (ASTM
D4546-03).
2.2.3. Compaction and CBR test
The modified proctor compaction test with the com-
paction energy of 2687 kJ/m (ASTM D1557-12) was
adopted to evaluate the compactability, including the
MDD and OMC of AASS-treated soils. Before the com-
paction tests, the soils and AASS agent (mass ratio of
AASS agent to dry soil at 0%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10%) were
first thoroughly mixed at the desired water contents, and
subsequently, these mixtures were divided into five parts
and successively compacted into a metal cylinder. The
wet/dry density and water content were calculated, and
the compaction curve, OMC, and MDD were obtained.
Note that the AASS content was designed as 3%, 5%,
7%, and 10%, according to the traditional content of
cement-/lime-treated soils.
 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965 959

In addition, CBR test (after compaction, directly soak- MIP is used to determine the pore-throat size distribu-
ing in water for 96 h before testing) was conducted on tion of porous materials based on the unique relationship
the treated soil at the MDD. between the intrusion pressure and equivalent pore-throat
diameter (Washburn, 1921). The expression used for the
2.2.4. Mineralogical and microstructural analysis calculation is shown in Eq. (4)
The mineralogy and microstructure of the treated soil 4ccosh
were studied using SEM, XRD, and MIP tests to clarify D¼ ð4Þ
p
the micro-mechanism of the AASS-treated soils. Cube
specimens far from the shearing surface were cut from where D is the pore-throat diameter, c is the surface tension
the cylindrical samples. For SEM and MIP tests, all the of mercury, h is the contact angle, and p is the applied pres-
samples were first lyophilised, and the following procedures sure. In this study, c of 0.48 N/m and h of 140° were recom-
were undertaken subsequently: immersion into liquid nitro- mended based on a previous study (Penumadu and Dean,
gen (196 °C) for instant freezing and transfer to a vacuum 2000). Note that the pressure p applied in this study ranged
chamber for sublimation for approximately 24 h from 3.7 kPa to 241.1 MPa, resulting in the range of pore
(Penumadu and Dean, 2000). In this investigation, four diameters 0.005–340 mm.
groups were selected, i.e., untreated soils, with 10% AASS
after 7 days of curing, with 10% AASS after 28 days of cur- 3. Results
ing, and with 3% AASS after 28 days of curing. For the
SEM test, lyophilised samples were injected with epoxy 3.1. Strength performance of slag after adjustment and
fix resin, and subsequently polished and coated with a gold activation
layer of thickness 200–300 Å (1 Å = 0.1 nm) to impart elec-
trical conductivity and to prevent an electric charge from The UCS of the adjusted slag after different curing peri-
accumulating on the surface (Al-mukhtar et al., 1996). ods is shown in Table 4 and Fig. 2. The average UCS after
An XRD analysis was carried out using a diffractometer 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days of curing was 2.63 MPa,
equipped with a copper anticathode. The samples were first 2.95 MPa, and 3.15 MPa, respectively. Overall, the growth
milled into fine powders (passed through 40# sieves), and rate gradually decreased with the curing period, indicating
scanned with a 2h value ranging from 5° to 70°. The testing a slow down in the reaction rate. When these results were
data were semi-qualitatively analysed using JADE 5.0 further evaluated, it was observed that the optimal moduli
software. for the highest strength of the UCS was achieved with SM,
Table 4
Composites and UCS of steel slag after adjustment.
Test number SM IM KH Slag (%) Lime (%) Metakaolin (%) 7 d UCS (MPa) 14 d UCS (MPa) 28 d UCS (MPa)
1 2.0 1.2 0.9 36.9 55.0 8.0 2.3 2.4 2.8
2 2.0 1.2 0.92 36.5 55.8 7.9 3.5 3.0 2.7
3 2.0 1.2 0.94 36.1 56.6 7.8 2.6 3.0 3.1
4 2.0 1.4 0.9 33.7 57.4 9.1 3.2 3.7 3.7
5 2.0 1.4 0.92 33.3 58.2 9.0 2.3 3.2 2.8
6 2.0 1.4 0.94 32.9 58.9 8.9 3.3 3.5 4.0
7 2.0 1.6 0.9 31.0 59.5 10.1 3.9 3.4 3.5
8 2.0 1.6 0.92 30.6 60.2 9.9 2.4 3.3 2.8
9 2.0 1.6 0.94 30.0 60.0 10.0 3.5 4.2 4.5
10 2.2 1.2 0.9 34.3 57.2 7.5 1.8 2.2 2.4
11 2.2 1.2 0.92 33.9 58.0 7.4 2.7 2.8 2.6
12 2.2 1.2 0.94 33.4 58.8 7.3 1.9 2.5 2.6
13 2.2 1.4 0.9 31.3 59.5 8.5 2.9 3.4 3.9
14 2.2 1.4 0.92 30.9 60.2 8.4 2.7 2.1 3.5
15 2.2 1.4 0.94 30.5 60.9 8.3 2.6 2.8 3.2
16 2.2 1.6 0.9 28.8 61.3 9.3 2.2 2.0 3.2
17 2.2 1.6 0.92 28.4 62.1 9.2 2.0 2.2 3.6
18 2.2 1.6 0.94 28.1 62.8 9.1 3.7 3.7 3.5
19 2.4 1.2 0.9 32.0 59.1 7.0 1.1 1.6 2.9
20 2.4 1.2 0.92 31.6 59.9 6.9 2.3 3.4 3.5
21 2.4 1.2 0.94 31.2 60.7 6.8 2.3 2.6 2.6
22 2.4 1.4 0.9 29.2 61.2 7.9 1.6 3.9 3.6
23 2.4 1.4 0.92 28.8 62.0 7.8 2.8 3.0 3.3
24 2.4 1.4 0.94 28.5 62.7 7.7 2.5 3.1 1.8
25 2.4 1.6 0.9 26.8 63.0 8.7 2.9 3.1 3.2
26 2.4 1.6 0.92 26.5 63.7 8.6 3.1 2.6 2.8
27 2.4 1.6 0.94 26.2 64.4 8.5 2.8 3.0 2.8
SM-Silicon modulus, IM-Aluminium modulus, KH-Lime saturation coefficient.
960 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
Fig. 2. UCS of adjusted steel-slags (SM: silicon modulus, IM: aluminium
modulus, KH: lime saturation coefficient.).
IM, and KH values at 2, 1.6, and 0.94, respectively, (i.e.,
the composite is composed of 30% slag, 60% lime, and
10% metakaolin). The strengths were 2.7 MPa, 4.2 MPa,
and 4.5 MPa after 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days of curing,
respectively.
Subsequently, the adjusted slag-based composite was
further activated with NaOH, NaCl, and Na2SO4, and
the strength is shown in Fig. 3. The optimal dosages of
NaOH, NaCl, and Na2SO4 were found to be 3%, 5%,
and 5%, respectively, with UCS values of 6.5 MPa,
8.2 MPa, and 10.9 MPa, after 28 days of curing, respec-
tively. These values indicate that the performance of the
slag-based composite was further enhanced.
After 28 days of curing, ettringite was produced in the
Na2SO4 activation environment, and Friedel’s salt was pro-
duced in the NaCl activation environment. These were
detected using the identification method proposed by
Taylor et al. (2001). Following the generation of ettringite
and Friedel’s salt, NaOH was also produced, promoting
the breakage of Si-O-Si in the slag and Al-O-Al in meta-
kaolin and resulting in the increase in the pH value in reac-
tion environments. The new hydration products promoted
Fig. 3. UCS of adjusted and activated steel-slags.
the cementation and suppressed the porosity of the slag-
based composites, indicating an enhancement of macro
strength. Note that the UCS of the slag-based composite
with 5% Na2SO4 can reach a peak strength of 10.9 MPa
after 28 days of curing, indicating that the slag-based com-
posite has significant cementitious potential. From the
combination of adjustment and activation results, it is
determined that the optimal AASS composite consists of
28.6% slag, 57.1% lime, 9.5% metakaolin, and 4.8% Na2-
SO4. Thereafter, this composition of the AASS composite
was used to further modify the expansive soils.
3.2. Compaction and CBR of AASS-treated soils
The compaction curve is shown in Fig. 4. Notably, the
AASS addition smooths the compaction curve, indicating
that AASS can suppress water sensitivity, resulting in more
convenience for in situ rolling compaction. The OMC and
MDD evolution of the treated soils is shown in Fig. 5.
When the soil is modified with AASS, the OMC slightly
increases with the increase in AASS content from 18.1%
to 19.7% due to the higher water consumption of AASS
hydration. This observation is similar to that reported in
previous studies on cement-based modified soils (Basha
et al., 2005; Hossain et al., 2007; Rahman, 1987; Miller
and Azad, 2000; Lim et al., 2002; Guneya et al., 2007;
Kavak and Akyarli, 2007; Kumar et al., 2007). The
MDD of the soils modified with AASS decreases slightly
from 1.76 g/cm3 to 1.66 g/cm3 when the AASS content
increases from 0% to 10%.
The CBR (after compaction, directly soaking in water
for 96 h before testing) of the treated soils at the MDD is
presented in Fig. 6a, indicating that it increases with the
AASS content. This satisfies the requirement for subbase
for first-class road/highway (more than 8%, CJJ194-2013,
Fig. 4. Compaction curves (AASS: the optimum adjusted and activated
steel slag).
 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
Fig. 5. Relationship between MDD, OMC, and AASS content (MDD:
maximum dry density, OMC: optimum moisture content, AASS: the
optimum adjusted and activated steel slag).
Chinese standard): an AASS content of more than 3% is
evidence of improvement efficiency.
3.3. Strength performance of AASS-treated soils
The incorporation of AASS has a significant influence
on the strength of expansive soils. As shown in Fig. 6b,
the UCS increases with the AASS content in the model
of the slow-rapid-slow strength growth. The UCS of 3%
AASS-treated soils was 0.52 MPa, 0.61 MPa, and
0.66 MPa after 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days of curing,
respectively. The UCS grows rapidly with the increase in
AASS content, i.e., it was 1.24 MPa, 1.48 MPa, and
1.60 MPa with 7% AASS addition after 7 days, 14 days,
and 28 days of curing, respectively. Subsequently, the
growth rate slows down, and the UCS value with 10%
AASS content is 1.31 MPa, 1.56 MPa, and 1.68 MPa after
7 days, 14 days, and 28 days of curing, respectively. Among
them, the strengths of the treated soils with 7% and 10%
AASS after 28 days of curing can both satisfy the require-
ments of subbase for second/third-class road (1.5–
2.0 MPa) and for first-class road/highway (1.5–2.5 MPa)
(JTJ 034-278, Chinese standard).
3.4. Atterberg limits and FSR of AASS-treated soils
The consistency limits (including LL, PL, and PI) of the
treated expansive soils decrease with the AASS content in
Fig. 6(c–e). These findings are similar to those of cement-
based treated soils (Guneya et al., 2007). The addition of
AASS to the expansive soils increases the cation concentra-
tion and cementation intensity, in effect emaciating the
electric double layer and expanding the dimension of clay
particles through flocculation and agglomeration (Maneli
et al., 2013).
FSR decreases with the increase in AASS content in
Fig. 6f, indicating that the AASS reaction suppresses the
961
Fig. 6. Relationship between the properties of treated soils and AASS
content (a) CBR; (b) UCS; (c) LL; (d) PL; (e) PI; (f) FSR (free swelling
ratio).
swelling potential of the expansive soils. It is found that
FSR is reduced from 59.5% without AASS, to 38.1% with
5% AASS, and to 33.3% with 10% AASS after 28 days of
curing. When the AASS content is more than 5%, the trea-
ted soils no longer belong to the category of expansive soil
(FSR < 40%, GB50112-2013).
As mentioned, the reduction in LL, PI, and FSR of the
treated soil is due to the cation exchange and cementation,
both known to affect the soil texture and water absorption.
Note that the AASS composite changes the physical
properties in Fig. 7, and consequently, the soil classification
(ASTM D2487-11) after 28 days of curing is changed from
initial CH (high plastic clay, without AASS) to MH (high
plastic silt, with 5% AASS), and to ML (low plastic silt,
with 10% AASS).
3.5. Microstructure of AASS-treated soils
Analysis by XRD, SEM, and MIP was performed to
investigate the micro-mechanism of the soils treated with
AASS. Among them, XRD and SEM methods were used
to analyse the hydration products, and the MIP method
was applied to evaluate the porosity distribution.
962 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
Fig. 7. Plasticity chart of treated soils at 28 days of curing (AASS: the
optimum adjusted and activated steel slag).
The XRD results in Fig. 8 indicate that the hydration
products are composed of portlandite (CH), calcium sili-
cate hydrates (CSH), and calcium aluminate hydrates
(CAH). Note that since the 2h value of 27° corresponds
to both quartz and CSH. To better distinguish their inten-
sity, a subgraph is drawn on the upper right. By compar-
ison, it is evident that the intensity of the hydration
products changed with the addition of AASS even at the
same 2h values. It is also evident that the strength is posi-
tively correlated with the hydration intensity. The hydra-
tion products, including CH, CSH, and CAH, are
observed in Fig. 9, which is consistent with the XRD
results. These generated hydration products cover the sur-
face of the soil particles, strengthening the bonding, and
also filling the pores of the modified soils.
The pore-entrance size distribution of the treated soils via
the MIP test is detailed in Fig. 10. Fig. 10a indicates that the
cumulative intrusion volume decreases with the increase in
Fig. 8. XRD diffraction grams (AASS: the optimum adjusted and
activated steel slag).
AASS content where the soils treated with 10% AASS at
28 days of curing are the densest. In the differential volumet-
ric curves (Fig. 10b), there is a tendency for the main pore-
entrance diameter (determined by the abscissa correspond-
ing to the peak value) to decrease in the following order:
without AASS, with 10% AASS after 7 days of curing, 3%
AASS after 28 days of curing, and 10% AASS after 28 days
of curing. This is mainly governed by the hydration prod-
ucts, including Ca(OH)2, CSH and CAH, which cover the
surface of the soil particles, strengthen the bonding, and also
fill the pores of the modified soils.
4. Discussions
Presently, lime is the most commonly used agent to
modify expansive soils, because the incorporation of lime
can produce a large number of Ca2+ ions and elevate the
alkalinity of the soil. This effectively reduces the swelling
and shrinkage potential of expansive soils for the cation
exchange and suppression of hydrophilicity. According to
a series of macro and micro investigations in this case,
AASS was shown not only to effectively suppress the swel-
ling potential, but also improve the engineering perfor-
mance of problematic soils. The modification efficiency
and mechanism of the expansive soils with lime and AASS
is clarified herein, as the AASS composite consists of 28.6%
slag, 57.1% lime, 9.5% metakaolin, and 4.8% Na2SO4.
As shown in Fig. 11, compared with pure additives of
3% lime in the stabilisation of Hefei expansive soils (Zha
et al., 2007), the FSR reduction and UCS are all signifi-
cantly improved when 5% AASS (containing 2.9% lime)
was added to the soils. When the addition of AASS is 7%
(containing 4.0% lime), the mechanical properties are con-
tinuously enhanced suggesting that the AASS-modified
soils can be used as subbase materials. Moreover, the
lime-treated expansive soils are usually adopted as sub-
grade (or embankment) materials. In other words, the
AASS-treated soils can be used as the more important layer
in highway structures.
The Ca-O bonds and Si-O bonds in the slag are
reconstructed with the incorporation of metakaolin, Ca2+
from lime, and SO2 4 from Na2SO4 under the alkaline
environment, resulting in the release of SiO2 3 and Ca2+
into the reaction matrix. These two elements can generate
CSH, CAH, and CH under OH environments; subse-
quently, the reaction (including cation exchange, adsorp-
tion, and cementation) between the hydration products
and primary and clay minerals occurs, leading to aggrega-
tion, densification, and solidification. These findings are
consistent with the microstructure and XRD analysis.
Above all, the addition of AASS results in a rapid hydra-
tion process and a simultaneous cation exchange that floc-
culates the clay mineral into larger clusters. The
cementation of these clusters through a pozzolanic reaction
produces new products responsible for the increase in the
strength of expansive soils. In other words, the mechanism
of soils modified with AASS is between those of the lime-
 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965 963

a b

CH

CSH/CAH
quartz/montmorillonite

c d

CSH/CAH

CSH/CAH
CH

Fig. 9. SEM photos (a) original soils; (b) 10% AASS, T = 7 d; (c) 10% AASS, T = 28 d; (d) 3% AASS, T = 28 d (CSH: Calcium silicate hydrates, CAH:
Calcium aluminate hydrates, CH: Ca(OH)2, AASS: the optimum adjusted and activated steel slag).

Fig. 11. Improvement performance of AASS and lime at 7 days of curing

Fig. 10. MIP results: (a) Cumulative volume vs. pore size diameter (lm);
(b) Log differential volume vs. pore size diameter (lm) (AASS: the
optimum adjusted and activated steel slag).
and cement-treated soils, suggesting higher strength beha-
viour and an advanced application in the subbase layer.
Despite the effectiveness of AASS and traditional sta-
bilisers in improving the physical and mechanical proper-
ties of expansive soils, it is known that the poor mixing
uniformity results in problems in the long term perfor-
mance of these treated soils. In the early stages of curing,
cation exchange, adsorption, and cementation reactions
(AASS: the optimum adjusted and activated steel slag).
occur, thereby forming a shell around the soils and enhanc-
ing the strength expansive soil. However, under the cycled
dry-wet, thawing-freezing, and loading-unloading environ-
ments, the shell is damaged, resulting the deterioration of
compacted modified soils. Wang et al. (2015, 2017a,
2017b) proposed this mechanism for the treated compacted
soils, and also suggested that the uniformity on the con-
struction control is a key factor dominating the long term
performance.
964 J. Wu et al. / Soils and Foundations 59 (2019) 955–965
Additionally, the AASS cost is about 360 RMB/t (lime:
450 RMB/t, 57.1%; Metakaolin, 800 RMB/t, 9.5%; Na2-
SO4: 700 RMB/t, 4.8%), and less than that of lime. Fur-
thermore, the unconfined compression strength of treated
soils with 6.0% lime in Hefei region after 28-day’s curing
can just arrived at 1.3 MPa (Zhang et al., 2015; Zha
et al., 2007), almost equal to that treated by 5.0% AASS.
The results of this study show that besides being an effec-
tive modifier of expansive soils, AASS composite allows
for the recycling of steelmaking slag, and is therefore an
environmentally-friendly option.
5. Conclusions
The potential for steelmaking-slag, a by-product of the
steel industry, for use in the modification of expansive soils
was investigated. To enhance the improvement efficiency,
the components of the slag were adjusted and then acti-
vated with an activator agent to form a slag-based compos-
ite with excellent performance. Subsequently, this
composite was used to modify the expansive soils. The
basic physical properties of the treated soils including
FSR, CBR, UCS, consistency limits, and microstructure
were evaluated to understand the engineering behaviour
and microstructural mechanism. The main results are listed
as follows:
(1) In keeping with the proportions of chemical compo-
nents in cement clinker, lime and metakaolin were
added to steel slag to enrich Ca, Si and Al elements.
Analysis for various component adjustments and
activation results indicates that the optimal AASS
composite consists of 28.6% slag, 57.1% lime, 9.5%
metakaolin, and 4.8% Na2SO4. The UCS was
10.9 MPa after 28 days of curing, which is close to
that of the Portland cement 10#.
(2) Modified expansive soil shows a suppressed plasticity
index and swelling potential and enhanced CBR and
UCS with the increase in AASS content and curing
period. The performance of the compacted soils with
5%–7% AASS content satisfies the requirements for
subbase according to the Chinese standards.
(3) The pozzolanic reaction was shown to produce new
pozzolanic reaction products (CH, CSH, and CAH)
in the AASS, thus improving the density of the
microstructure and cementation bonding. The cation
exchange and cementation between the composite
and the expansive soils affect the soil texture and
swelling potential, with the properties of soils modi-
fied with AASS between those of the lime- and
cement-treated soils.
(4) Considering the cost and stabilisation efficiency when
using cement and lime, AASS composite was shown
to be a more effective method for modifying expan-
sive soils. By providing an avenue for the recycling
of steelmaking slag, it is also an environmentally-
friendly option.
Acknowledgements
This study is supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41572280, 51878159)
and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation
Program of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. KYCX17-0131).
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