Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Investigation of the effect of the coal wastes on the mechanical

properties of the cement-treated sandy soil
Mobina Taslimi Paein Afrakoti, Asskar Janalizadeh Choobbasti, Moein Ghadakpour,
Saman Soleimani Kutanaei ⇑
Dept. of Civil Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, 4714871167 Babol, Iran

h i g h l i g h t s

Estimation of UCS and ITS cemented sand consisting CW using ultrasonic wave velocity.

For samples containing 6% cement, the optimum weight ratio for CW is 5%.

The minimum pH value for the samples containing 3% and 6% cement, occurs for 10% and 5% of CW.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Owing to the environmental pollution of industrial waste materials and the consideration of pozzolanic
Received 25 August 2019 materials of the coal wastes (CW), the availability and economic cost of its combination with cement,
Received in revised form 24 November 2019 these materials can be utilized for soil stabilization. In this investigation, CW was used as an additive
Accepted 10 December 2019
material to improve the properties of cement sand. For this purpose, different tests including standard
Available online 26 December 2019
Proctor, unconfined compressive strength, indirect tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, pH, and
SEM are performed on the Babolsar sand containing 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% coal waste (by weight
Keywords:
of cement) with 3% and 6% of cement (by dry weight of the used sandy). Samples were cured for 14,
Sand
Cement
28, and 60 days. The results of this study indicate that the addition of optimum amount of CW (5%) at
Coal wastes 28 and 60 days improves the mechanical characteristics of samples containing 6% cement. However,
SEM for samples containing 3% cement, the replacement of cement with CW constantly reduces mechanical
Unconfined compressive strength properties.
Indirect tensile Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Sometimes the present soil in the site of the projects is not ide-
ally appropriate from the engineering point of view for construc-
tion [1,2]. There exist some soils with inappropriate behavioral
characteristics; consequently, some changes should be applied to
attain the desired geotechnical conditions. Soil stabilization is
some operational activities that eliminate inappropriate soil beha-
viours [3,4]. Various reinforcing methods such as using geotextiles
and fibers, as well as stabilizing additives include various types of
cement, lime and pozzolanic additives [5], can be utilized in order
to rise shear strength as well as bearing capacity of soils, and tol-
eration applied loads [1,2,6–9]. Cement effects have been studied
widely on soil improvement [2–4,8–10]. Energy consumption in
cement production has a significant impact on the environment.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: samansoleimani16@yahoo.com (S. Soleimani Kutanaei).
Cement factories are among the main sources of carbon dioxide
emissions as a greenhouse gas. The carbon dioxide emission is
one of the considerable reasons for the temperature increase of
the earth. On the other hand, today, along with the reduction of
these harmful gases, the storage and preservation of non-
renewable resources and the reduction of waste materials require
more environmental-friendly building materials [11]. 7% of the
total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is due to the annual pro-
duction of 1.6 billion tons of cement in the world [12]. A sustain-
able solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the cement
production is to replace it with supplementary cementitious mate-
rials (SCMs) such as ground granulated blast furnace (GGbF), rice
husks ash, fly ash and other materials with pozzolanic properties
[13]. Coal is an essential energy source that is expected to approx-
imately cover 50% of the global energy consumption by 2030 [14].
However, about 15 to 20 wt% of coal production is waste material
[14,15], which is a serious threat to the environment [14–16]. In
spite of atmospheric pollution, coal waste materials cause harmful

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117848
0950-0618/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848
impacts on the environment, such as land occupation and subsi-
dence, dust dispersal, the leakage of heavy metals into the surface,
and underground resources, as well as mineral acid drainage. CW
contains carcinogenic substances and toxic heavy metals [17]. This
acid drainage acidity is transmitted to lands and surface waters,
which significantly reduces the water quality and has a profound
effect on the destruction of aquatic organisms and plants of the
area [17,18]. Owing to the leachate production and its infiltration
into the ground and contamination of groundwater and plants,
the abundance of these waste materials, and their enormous
potential for application in such engineering fields as road sub-
base or base, as well as ground improvement [19], they have been
taken in to account by previous researchers [16,17,19–29]. In the
investigations, carried out in the scientific and technical fields for
the use of CW as a new additive, significant improvement has been
observed in the function of the obtained mixed cement. Determi-
nation of the CW value indicates that these substances can be used
as an alternative source of consumable materials in the concrete
production, as well as cement substitutes, in stabilization and
improvement; therefore, using these waste materials in road con-
struction and soil stabilization as one of the beneficial methods in
order to avoid environmental damage can be considered. Rossi dos
Santos et al. [24] used CW as fine materials in concrete blocks for
pavements. When CW is combined with cement, it prevents the
acidification as a result of oxidation of these waste materials. In
fact, the cement stabilizes the CW. Modarres et al. [19] reported
that the combination of coal wastes and ash of coal wastes
together with lime, compared to the function of each of them,
significantly increases the compressive strength and California
Bearing Ratio (CBR), especially in saturated conditions. Frias et al.
[23] investigated the effects of the three types of activated coal
mining wastes (ACW) as the partial alternatives of the blended
cement. They expressed that in the blended cements containing
10% and 20% ACW, the silico-aluminous nature of activated coal
mining waste led to the higher contents of the silica and alumina
in comparison with the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and up
to 7 days the compressive strength of the blended cement contain-
ing ACW is lightly higher than the OPC one. Moreover, they
declared that the use of the ACW as a pozzolanic material is tech-
nically viable. Modarres et al. [30] compared the mechanical prop-
erties of the cold recycling mixture (CRM), containing the coal
waste with the ordinary Portland cement for pavement. To do so,
such tests, including Marshall Stability, resilient modulus, indirect
tensile strength, fatigue, and dynamic creep tests were carried out.
They expressed that by the application of coal waste (CW) powder,
the mechanical properties of CRM had been improved—the
Marshall Stability, indirect tensile strength, and resilient modulus
of CRM increased compared to ordinary Portland cement. However,
the CW did not have any positive effect on the moisture sensitivity
of CRM. Modarres et al. [27,29] also applied the coal waste power
(CWP), as well as coal waste ash (CWA), in the hot mix asphalt as
the filler rather than the conventional and traditional fillers
(zeolite powder (ZP), and limestone (LS)). They reported that the
stability of the mixture increased up to 17% and 44%, due to the
addition of the CWP and CWA. Moreover, the indirect tensile
strength, resilient modulus, toughness, and energy absorbency of
the hot mix asphalt (HMA) containing CWP and CWA are higher
than the HMA ones, containing the traditional fillers. Kamei et al.
[25] investigated the impact of the recycled basanite—produced
from gypsum waste—and coal ash on the stabilization and strength
of the very soft clayey soil (VSCS) as well as its durability in the
wet-dry cycles. Based on their results, due to the addition of the
recycled coal ash and bassanite, the strength and durability of
the VSCS significantly increased. However, the addition of the coal
ash without the bassanite has a slightly negative effect on the VSCS
strength. Also, Kamei et al. [26] evaluated the cement-treated
clayey soil (CCS) in the freeze-thaw cycles. They declared that
the addition of the coal ash, in conjunction with bassanite,
improves the durability of the CCS, so that the index of the
freeze-thaw durability, after five cycles of the freeze-thaw,
enhanced from 50% to 85%. Most of the conducted researches are
on the replacement of cement in the concrete, which provides
appropriate alkaline conditions. On the other hand, unlike clay soil,
sandy soil does not contain pozzolanic materials. Therefore, in this
research, the effect of CW as a pozzolanic substitute material with
cement is investigated on the mechanical properties of sandy soil.
2. Experimental program
In this study, 55 standard density tests, 30 unconfined compres-
sive strength tests, 30 Splitting tensile strength tests, 30 pH tests,
70 ultrasonic pulse velocity tests, and 6 SEM tests were done.
2.1. Materials
In this research, Babolsar sand from the Caspian coast was used.
The Babolsar sand with the average grain size of 0.214 mm, unifor-
mity coefficient of 1.932, curvature coefficient of 1.102 and density
of solid grains were used in this study. Based on the Unified Soil
Classification System [31], this soil is classified as poorly-graded
sand (SP). The grain-size distribution curve is shown in Fig. 1. Port-
land cement (type II) was used in this investigation. The specific
gravity of the cement was 3.51. The chemical composition of
cement is presented in Table 1. CW was formed as a black powder
in the Los Angeles device and passed through a 200-size sieve. The
chemical characteristics of the applied CW are given in Table 2.
Fig. 2 shows the SEM image of CW.
2.2. Sample preparation
Samples in this study were made with a density of 95% of max-
imum dry density and optimum moisture content of the Standard
Proctor test. Initially, sand, cement, and coal wastes were mixed in
a dry form—cement contents were selected by the dry weight of
the sand. Subsequently, water was added gradually, and the
mixing process continued to form a homogeneous mixture. The
samples were made in 5 layers with a diameter of 52 mm and a
height of 104 mm. Then, the samples were cured for 14, 28, and
60 days at 25 °C inside two plastic bags. To ensure the reliability
of the obtained results, three identical samples were made from
each mixing design and were tested. The presented results are
the closest result to their average. To evaluate the homogeneity,
Fig. 1. Particle size distribution.
 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848
Table 1
Chemical compositions of cement (wt%).
Oxide SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3
PC 21.90 4.86 3.30
*Loss on ignition.
Table 2
Chemical compositions of coal waste (wt%).
Oxide SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3
(%) 34.4 14.4 3.4
Fig. 2. SEM images of coal waste.
some samples were cut in the diameter direction, and the dry
density of the various fragments was controlled with each other.
2.3. Testing program
Standard Proctor tests were performed based on the ASTM
D698 [32]. In this study, To investigate the influence of the addition
of cement and CW to sand in terms of being alkalinity and acidity,
pH was measured in distilled water and 0.1 M of calcium chloride
solution according to the ASTM D4972 [33]. The unconfined com-
pressive strength test was performed on samples at the velocity of
1.2, according to the ASTM D2166 [34]. The indirect tensile
strength test was performed according to the ASTM D3967 [35].
The ultrasonic pulse velocity test on samples was performed on
the basis of the ASTM D2845 [36]. At first, the ultrasonic pulse
velocity test was performed on the prepared samples; next, the
unconfined compressive strength and indirect tensile strength
tests were immediately performed on the samples.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Maximum dry weight and optimum moisture content
The impact of the weight ratio of cement and CW on the
maximum dry weight and optimum moisture content is shown
in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 shows that increasing the weight ratio of CW for a sample
with 3% cement increases the maximum dry weight. The reason for
this behavior can be related to the increase of fine-grained materi-
als that fill the pores and homogenize the mixture. On the other
side, for a sample with 6% cement, the addition of 10% CW
increases the dry weight and then reduces the specific weight. As
3
CaO MgO SO3 CaCO3 LOI*
63.33 1.15 2.10 – 2.40
K2O CaO MgO TiO2 Na2O LOI
3.5 1.3 0.93 1.2 0.34 38.7
mentioned above, the addition of CW due to fine grains enhances
the density of the mixture. The CW has a lower specific gravity
(1.7) than cement particles; therefore, the replacement of a part
of cement with CW in a constant volume, reduces the dry weight.
Thus, in mixtures with low cement content, adding CW increases
the dry weight, and for samples with high cement content, adding
CW reduces the dry weight. A behavior similar to the present study
results was reported by Choobbasti et al. [3] about the use of
nanosilica, which has a lower specific gravity than cement. About
the effect of CW on optimum moisture content, it can be noted that
increasing the weight ratio of the waste materials decreases the
optimum moisture content. In fact, increasing the percentage of
CW due to increased fine grains volume and filling of the cavities
lead to a smaller amount of water in the pores of the sample; a
lower amount of water is required to achieve a higher dry weight.
3.2. pH measurement
The results of the pH tests on samples with CW contents of 0%,
5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, at 14, 28, and 60 days for cement percent-
ages of 3% and 6% are shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen that replacing
a part of the cement with CW decreases the pH value compared to
the samples without CW. CW possesses 1/3% CaO while, cement
has 64% CaO; therefore, because of the lower CaO content,
replacing part of the cement with CW reduces the calcium ions
concentration in the sample; consequently, leads to pH values
decrease. Another considerable note is that because of the high
amounts of SiO2 and Al2O3, pozzolanic reactions with CH are as
follows:
CaðOHÞ2 þ SiO2 ! C  S  H gel ð1Þ
CaðOHÞ2 þ Al2 O3 ! C  A  H gel ð2Þ
In Eqs. (1) and (2), Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (CSH) and Calcium-
Aluminate Hydrate (CAH) gels are highly strength crystals. As a
result of these pozzolanic reactions, higher amounts of calcium
ions are consumed and considering this point of view; it can be
expected that the replacement of cement with CW reduces pH
values. Further analysis of Fig. 4 indicates that the replacement
of cement with CW reduces pH values at first; however, after a
certain replacement ratio, an increase in the replacement ratio
causes an increase in pH value. In order to have optimal pozzolanic
reactions, and as a result the use of calcium ion, the ratio of
pozzolanic material to CaO is needed to be appropriate. In other
words, if this ratio is not considered, pozzolanic materials cannot
react with calcium ion, and thus, the concentration of this ion
and the pH value will not decrease. Similar results on the soil sta-
bilization by lime (CaO-bearing material) and industrial waste ash
(as pozzolanic material) are reported by previous researchers
[37,38]. The minimum pH value for samples containing 3% and
6% of the cement occurs for 10% and 5% of CW, respectively. It
can be due to the appropriate ratio of CW to cement and the higher
4 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848

Fig. 3. Effect of the weight ratio of cement and coal waste on, a) optimum moisture content b) maximum dry density.

Fig.4. Effect of curing time and coal waste content on the pH values, a) samples with 6% cement, b) samples with 3% cement.

production of cement products (calcium ion consumption). There-
fore, it can be expected that the resistance of samples containing
3% and 6% cement, for the replacement ratio of 10% and 5%, be
more than other replacement ratios.
3.3. Unconfined compressive strength and indirect tensile strength
Fig. 5 shows the stress-strain graphs obtained from the uncon-
fined compressive strength test, for a sample containing 6% cement
and different weight ratios of CW, at 14 and 28 days, respectively.
The comparison of these graphs shows that at 14 days, the addition
of CW reduces the strength and stiffness of the samples. While, at
28 days, the strength and stiffness are increased for sample with 5%
CW, and for other replacement ratios of cement by CW such as
14 days, the stiffness and strength are reduced.
Fig. 6 shows the unconfined compressive strength on the basis
of the curing period for various CW replacement percentages for
the samples with 3% and 6% cement, respectively. As well, the
effect of the mentioned factors on the indirect tensile strength is
presented in Fig. 7. The analysis of the demonstrated graphs indi-
cates that for all samples, the increase of the curing period
enhances the compressive and indirect tensile strength. In other
words, the development of hydration reactions and the increase
of cement products are the reason for this phenomenon.
The improvement of the strength due to increased curing period
was also expected owing to the decrease of the sample’s pH
because of the calcium ion consumption. As expressed earlier, a
decrease of alkalinity occurs due to reactions between calcium
and other ions in the environment, which is indicative of the pro-
duction of cement materials and, consequently, increased strength.
The addition of CW at 28 and 60 days increases the sample
strength. As an example, replacing cement with 5% CW reduces
compressive strength by 20% at the 14 days and increases the men-
tioned strength by 4.5% and 5% at 28, and 60 days. The increase of
indirect tensile strength of the samples due to the replacement of
cement with 5% CW for 14, 28 and 60 days, are 0%, 7%, and 13%,
respectively. This phenomenon can be justified by pozzolanic reac-
tions. CW as a pozzolanic material [16,19,29,30] does not have
adhesion properties. These materials only play a role in strength
when there is sufficient amount of CH crystals in the alkaline envi-
ronment [38] as a result of the hydration reaction. As the quantity
of CH crystals increases over a period of time, therefore, at higher
curing periods, it provides more suitable conditions for the reac-
tion of the present SiO2, Fe2O3, and Al2O3 in CW, and leads to
the production of CSH and CAH or CASH [38]. While, at lower cur-
ing periods, there are not enough CH crystals in the sample to lead
 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848
Fig. 5. Effect of cement and CW content on unconfined stress-strain behavior of
sand, a) at the age of 14 days, b) at the age of 28 days.
to pozzolanic reactions, and since the sample strength in this age is
dependent on CH crystals, the replacement of cement with CW
reduces the amount of CaO in the sample and consequently
reduces the strength. In other words, the pozzolanic reactions are
time-dependent ones and it can be expected that because of the
reduction of C3A and C4AF due to the replacement of cement with
CW, the needed time for stabilization (curing time) is increased.
The same behavior, about the effect of the curing period on the
compressive strength, due to the replacement of cement with
CW, was reported by Naghipour et al. [39]; They reported that by
the replacement of cement with 5% CW (by cement weight ratio)
at 7 days, the concrete strength decreased 15% and increased 1%
at 28 days of the curing.
Comparison of the results of compressive strength and indirect
tensile strength from the viewpoint of the cement weight ratio
indicates that for the sample containing 3% cement, replacing
cement with CW in all weight ratios and curing periods reduces
the strength. While, for samples with 6% cement, the strength is
increased owing to the weight ratio of 5% CW replacement at 28
and 60 days. According to pH test results, this behavior can be rea-
sonable. Since the alkalinity of the environment with 6% cement is
higher than the alkalinity of the environment with 3% cement,
therefore, a more suitable environment is provided for the
5
Fig. 6. Unconfined compressive strength of sample with a) 3% cement, b) 6%
cement.
activation of the CW; thus, the presence of the optimum replace-
ment percentage for the sample containing 6% cement is more
probable. On the other hand, due to the low cement content in
the weight ratio of 3% (because of less amount of CW), the possibil-
ity of a homogeneous distribution of CW in the cement is not avail-
able. Also, the low amount of cement causes the strength to be
highly dependent on CaO content. Consequently, the reaction
between the low quantity of CaO content and water does not pro-
duce sufficient CH, and the possibility of appropriate reaction with
the present silica and alumina in coal wastes is not provided. Thus,
due to the lack of suitable conditions for pozzolanic reactions as
well as the reduction of CaO content by increasing the CW content,
it can be expected for the samples containing 3% cement that
replacing the CW in all weight ratios and curing periods reduces
the strength of the samples.
The optimum weight ratio leads to maximum strength due to
the replacement of cement with CW; therefore, it can be said that
for samples containing 6% cement, the weight ratio of 5% CW is
optimal. However, for samples containing 3% cement, the weight
ratio of 10% CW is optimal (although it decreases the strength com-
pared to the CW-free samples, among other replacement ratios
with CW has the highest quantity of strength). According to the
pH test, the optimum amount of cement replacement with CW
was expected. In the optimum percentage for the various cement
ratios, the lowest pH value was obtained, which is indicative of
6 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848
Fig. 7. Indirect tensile strength of sample with a) 3% cement, b) 6% cement.
the maximum consumption of calcium owing to pozzolanic mate-
rials [40–43]. In fact, for the appropriate proportion of calcium to
pozzolanic materials, the high resistance CSH, CAH, and CASH
phases are produced, which increase the strength. SiO2, Fe2O3,
and Al2O3 react with the CH—formed by the hydration process—
as a result, some materials are produced that have a higher specific
area and greater van der Waals force, compared to the Ettringite
and CH which increases the strength. Naghipour et al. [39]
reported the similar value (5%) for the replacement ratio of cement
with CW (similar to samples containing 6% cement) to achieve the
maximum compressive strength of the concrete. As well, Modares
et al. [17] declared that the optimum replacement ratio to achieve
the best behavior of roller concrete, is 5%; but in another
investigation, Modarres et al. [19] pointed out that the optimum
replacement amount of lime with CW for soil stabilization is equal
to 9%. This increase in optimal percentage can be due to the lack of
active materials (silica, alumina, and iron) in lime compared to the
cement; therefore, more pozzolanic materials are needed to
improve the behavior.
3.4. Ultrasonic pulse velocity
The effect of the replacement ratio of cement with CW at differ-
ent curing time on ultrasonic pulse velocity for samples with 3%
and 6% cement is shown in Fig. 8. The analysis of Fig. 8 indicates
that for samples containing 3% cement at all curing periods,
Fig. 8. Ultrasonic pulse velocity tensile strength of sample with a) 3% cement, b) 6%
cement.
replacing the cement with CW reduces the ultrasonic pulse
velocity. As an example, the addition of 10% CW decreased the
ultrasonic wave velocity by about 5%. The reason for this decrease
in ultrasonic pulse velocity can be the low amount of cement mate-
rials and the lack of suitable alkaline conditions for CW-bearing
pozzolanic reactions. For the samples containing 6% cement, the
addition of 5% CW at the ages of 28 and 60 days increases the ultra-
sonic pulse velocity. The increasing amount of ultrasonic pulse
velocity for the addition of 5% CW at 28 and 60 days are
14.82 m/s and 10.28 m/s, respectively. While, for the other replace-
ment ratios of cement with CW and different curing periods, the
addition of CW reduces the ultrasonic pulse velocity. The maxi-
mum reduction in ultrasonic pulse wave velocity for samples
containing 6% cement is about 12%. The reason for the reduction
of ultrasonic pulse wave velocity after the addition of CW (>5%)
is the proportion of calcium to pozzolanic materials, which is also
shown in pH tests. This leads to the lack of formation of dense and
high-strength phases.
3.5. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
In order to evaluate the microstructure of samples, the SEM
images of the samples containing 6% cement and different values
of CW were taken at the 60 days. Fig. 9 shows the microstructure
images of the samples with 6% cement and the different replace-
ment ratios of cement with CW at the 60 days. Fig. 9 shows that
 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848
Fig. 9. SEM image: a) specimen without CW, b) specimen containing 5% CW, c) specimen containing 15% CW, d) specimen containing 20% CW.
the addition of 5% CW improves the microstructures compared to
the CW-free samples. In the microstructure of a sample containing
5% CW, more cluster phases are observed compared to the other
samples. For the samples containing 15% and 20% of CW, due to
the decrease in CaO content as well as the absence of an appropri-
ate proportion of calcium to pozzolanic materials, non-condensing
crystals of Ettringite and CH are observed abundantly. Also,
Modarres et al. [19] conducted some X-ray diffraction tests on soils
stabilized by lime and CW and indicated that CSH, CAH, and CASH
cluster phases are produced by pozzolanic reactions. The
mentioned phases show more strength and higher density than
other crystals produced by hydration processes. On the other hand,
the addition of CW improves the properties of the area between
the cement paste and the sand grains. In the cement stabilized
soils, the area between the cement paste and the surface of the
sand grains plays an important role in permeability, durability,
and strength properties. The transition area has a different
microstructure compared to the cement paste and possesses more
porosity and more micro-fractures than it. In the transition area,
CH crystals are plane in shape and are usually perpendicular to
stone grains. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the stated notes,
the SEM images of the transition area are shown in Fig. 10. In these
images, the smooth parts represent the sand grains that are
separated from the cement soil matrix. As can be seen, in the tran-
sition area, there is an uncompressed structure with Ettringite
crystals and large crystals of CH, which are perpendicular to the
sand grains (transition area). The thickness of the transition area
7
depends on various factors, including the type of utilized cement,
the type of used pozzolanic material, the ratio of water to cement,
and the curing period [1]. The Ettringite crystals and CH crystals,
which are hexagonal and placed in the transition area between
the cement paste and the sand grains are harmful to the strength
of the samples. The transition area is the flimsiest part of the
samples. It causes the cemented soil to be raptured due to lower
stresses than the grains’ strength and the cement paste. Due to
the presence of aluminates and silicates, CW reacts with CH and
forms dense phases of CSH, CAH, and CASH; therefore, because of
pozzolanic reactions, the quantity and the size of CH crystals
decrease and also prevents the presence of water in the transition
area. Finally, the created cluster phases by filling the cavities,
increase the density of the transition area and decrease the thick-
ness of the mentioned area, while enhancing the durability,
strength and ultrasonic pulse velocity of the samples.
The effect of the replacement ratio of cement with CW on the
process of attaining ultrasonic wave velocity for samples up to
100 days is shown in Fig. 11. As it can be observed, replacing
cement with CW at short curing periods reduces the ultrasonic
wave velocity. This can represent the dependence of pozzolanic
reactions to time and replacement of CaO with active particles.
By increasing the curing period and developing pozzolanic reac-
tions, the wave velocity of samples with 5% of CW is higher than
CW-free samples velocity. On the other hand, Kutanaei et al. [1]
reported that the addition of nanosilica to cement improves the
ultrasonic wave velocity and the strength in short curing periods
8 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848

Fig. 10. SEM image of the transition zone.

Fig. 11. Effect of replacement ratio of cement with CW at different curing time on
ultrasonic pulse velocity.

(2 days). The reason for this difference in behavior can be related to

the very small dimensions of the nanosilica, which makes it highly
reactive and also provides some spots for hydration products. The
analysis of the process of velocity attainment specifies that during
the long curing periods, the increase dip of ultrasonic wave veloc-
ity for CW-containing samples is more than CW-free samples. The
maximum velocity was obtained for 5% of CW, which represents
the appropriate proportion of calcium to pozzolanic material and
the continuation of pozzolanic processes and strength achieve-
ment. Previous researchers [43,44,45] have presented that the
equation between the UCS, ITS, and ultrasonic pulse velocity,
which can be estimated by the following exponential function:

ITS or UCS ¼ A  V B ð3Þ

where UCS and ITS are the unconfined compressive strength and
indirect tensile strength, respectively; V is the ultrasonic pulse Fig. 12. Relationships between ultrasonic pulse velocity and a) indirect tensile
velocity (km/s), A and B are empirical constants. The relationships strength, b) unconfined compressive strength.
between the indirect tensile strength and the unconfined compres-
sive strength with the ultrasonic pulse velocity for all of the samples
are presented in Fig. 12. In Fig. 12, regression of the curve on the
data with the formula of the regressed curve and also Regression 4. Conclusions
Coefficient (R2) for all the samples are presented. The closer the
R2 to 1, the lesser the dispersion. Finally, it can be concluded that In this research, the influence of replacement of cement with
the ultrasonic pulse velocity has a strong relationship with the ITS CW on the behavior of cement stabilized sands was evaluated.
and UCS. According to the results, the following conclusions are obtained:
 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848

The increase of the weight ratio of coal wastes for the samples
with 3% cement increased the maximum dry weight. On the
other hand, for the samples containing 6% cement, the addition
of CW up to 10%, increased the dry weight, then reduced it. Also,
increasing the weight ratio of coal wastes decreased the opti-
mum moisture content.

In general, replacing part of the cement with CW compared to
the CW-free samples reduces the pH value. Replacing
cement with CW decreases pH value at first, but after a certain
replacement percentage, the enhancement of replacement
proportion increases the pH value. The minimum pH value for
the samples containing 3% and 6% cement, occurs for 10% and
5% of CW, respectively. This can be due to the appropriate ratio
of CW to cement and, consequently, the production of cement
products (calcium ion consumption).

The analysis of tensile strength and compressive strength of the
samples containing 6% cement and 5% CW indicate that short
curing periods (14 days), the replacement of cement with CW
reduces the strength of the samples. However, the addition of
CW at 28 and 60 days increases the strength of the samples.
For the samples containing 3% cement, the replacement of
cement with CW in all weight ratios and curing periods reduces
the strength.

For samples containing 6% cement, the optimum weight ratio
for CW is 5%. While, for the samples containing 3% cement,
the optimum weight ratio for CW is 10% (although it decreases
the strength compared to the CW-free sample, among other
replacement ratios of cement with CW has the highest strength
value).

For the samples containing 3% cement at all curing periods, the
replacement of cement with CW reduced the ultrasonic pulse
wave velocity. As an example, adding 10% CW decreased the
ultrasonic wave velocity by approximately 5%. For the samples
containing 6% cement, the addition of 5% CW at the ages of
28 and 60 days increased the ultrasonic pulse wave velocity.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Saman Soleimani Kutanaei: Data curation and Investigation,
Formal Analysis, Writing- Original draft preparation, Writing-
Reviewing and Editing. Moein Ghadakpour: Data curation and
Investigation, Formal Analysis, Writing- Original draft preparation,
Writing- Reviewing and Editing. Mobina Taslimi Paein Afrakoti:
Data curation and Investigation, Formal Analysis, Writing- Original
draft preparation. Asskar Janalizadeh Choobbasti: Project admin-
istration and Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
References
[1] S.S. Kutanaei, A.J. Choobbasti, Effects of nanosilica particles and randomly
distributed fibers on the ultrasonic pulse velocity and mechanical properties of
cemented sand, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 29 (2017) 1–9.
[2] S.S. Kutanaei, A.J. Choobbasti, Experimental study of combined effects of fibers
and nanosilica on mechanical properties of cemented sand, J. Mater. Civ. Eng.
28 (2016) 6016001.
[3] A.J. Choobbasti, A. Vafaei, S.S. Kutanaei, Mechanical properties of sandy soil
improved with cement and nanosilica, Open Eng. 5 (2015).
[4] S.S. Kutanaei, A.J. Choobbasti, Prediction of combined effects of fibers and
cement on the mechanical properties of sand using particle swarm
optimization algorithm, J. Adhes. Sci. Technol. 29 (2015) 487–501.
[5] Y.-X. Zang, W. Gong, H. Xie, B.-L. Liu, H.-L. Chen, Chemical sand stabilization: a
review of material, mechanism, and problems, Environ. Technol. Rev. 4 (2015)
119–132.
9
[6] I. Pakar, M. Bayat, Analytical solution for strongly nonlinear oscillation systems
using energy balance method, Int. J. Phys. Sci. 6 (2011) 5166–5170.
[7] I. Pakar, M. Bayat, M. Bayat, Accurate periodic solution for nonlinear vibration
of thick circular sector slab, Steel Compos. Struct. 16 (2014) 521–531.
[8] M. Ghadakpour, A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei, Investigation of the
deformability properties of fiber reinforced cemented sand, J. Adhes. Sci.
Technol. 33 (2019) 1913–1938.
[9] A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei, M. Ghadakpour, Shear behavior of fiber-
reinforced sand composite, Arab. J. Geosci. 12 (2019) 157.
[10] A.J. Choobbasti, S.S. Kutanaei, Microstructure characteristics of cement-
stabilized sandy soil using nanosilica, J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 9 (2017)
981–988.
[11] P.C. Jacoby, F. Pelisser, Pozzolanic effect of porcelain polishing residue in
Portland cement, J. Cleaner Prod. 100 (2015) 84–88.
[12] K. Celik, M.D. Jackson, M. Mancio, C. Meral, A.-H. Emwas, P.K. Mehta, P.J.M.
Monteiro, High-volume natural volcanic pozzolan and limestone powder as
partial replacements for portland cement in self-compacting and sustainable
concrete, Cem. Concr. Compos. 45 (2014) 136–147.
[13] K.-H. Yang, Y.-B. Jung, M.-S. Cho, S.-H. Tae, Effect of supplementary
cementitious materials on reduction of CO2 emissions from concrete, J.
Cleaner Prod. 103 (2015) 774–783.
[14] L. Li, Y. Lei, D. Pan, Economic and environmental evaluation of coal production
in China and policy implications, Nat. Hazards 77 (2015) 1125–1141.
[15] B.J. Zhan, C.S. Poon, Study on feasibility of reutilizing textile effluent sludge for
producing concrete blocks, J. Cleaner Prod. 101 (2015) 174–179.
[16] A. Modarres, P. Ayar, Coal waste application in recycled asphalt mixtures with
bitumen emulsion, J. Cleaner Prod. 83 (2014) 263–272.
[17] A. Modarres, S. Hesami, M. Soltaninejad, H. Madani, Application of coal waste
in sustainable roller compacted concrete pavement-environmental and
technical assessment, Int. J. Pavement Eng. 19 (2018) 748–761.
[18] C.-S. Tang, B. Shi, L.-Z. Zhao, Interfacial shear strength of fiber reinforced soil,
Geotext. Geomembr. 28 (2010) 54–62.
[19] A. Modarres, Y.M. Nosoudy, Clay stabilization using coal waste and lime—
technical and environmental impacts, Appl. Clay Sci. 116 (2015) 281–288.
[20] S. Hesami, A. Modarres, M. Soltaninejad, H. Madani, Mechanical properties of
roller compacted concrete pavement containing coal waste and limestone
powder as partial replacements of cement, Constr. Build. Mater. 111 (2016)
625–636.
[21] S.A.M. Rad, A. Modarres, Durability properties of non-air entrained roller
compacted concrete pavement containing coal waste ash in presence of de-
icing salts, Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 137 (2017) 48–59.
[22] M.P. Kuz’min, L.M. Larionov, V. V. Kondratiev, M.Y. Kuz’mina, V.G. Grigoriev, A.
S. Kuz’mina, Use of the burnt rock of coal deposits slag heaps in the concrete
products manufacturing, Constr. Build. Mater. 179 (2018) 117–124.
[23] M. Frías, M.I. Sanchez De Rojas, R. García, A. Juan Valdés, C. Medina, Effect of
activated coal mining wastes on the properties of blended cement, Cem. Concr.
Compos. 34 (2012) 678–683.
[24] C.R. dos Santos, J.R. do Amaral Filho, R.M.C. Tubino, I.A.H. Schneider, Use of
coal waste as fine aggregates in concrete paving blocks, Geomaterials 3 (2013)
54.
[25] T. Kamei, A. Ahmed, T. Shibi, The use of recycled bassanite and coal ash to
enhance the strength of very soft clay in dry and wet environmental
conditions, Constr. Build. Mater. 38 (2013) 224–235.
[26] T. Shibi, T. Kamei, Effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the strength and physical
properties of cement-stabilised soil containing recycled bassanite and coal ash,
Cold Reg. Sci. Technol. 106–107 (2014) 36–45.
[27] A. Modarres, M. Rahmanzadeh, Application of coal waste powder as filler in
hot mix asphalt, Constr. Build. Mater. 66 (2014) 476–483.
[28] S.G. Lu, F.F. Sun, Y.T. Zong, Effect of rice husk biochar and coal fly ash on
some physical properties of expansive clayey soil (Vertisol), Catena. 114
(2014) 37–44.
[29] A. Modarres, M. Rahmanzadeh, P. Ayar, Effect of coal waste powder in hot mix
asphalt compared to conventional fillers: mix mechanical properties and
environmental impacts, J. Cleaner Prod. 91 (2015) 262–268.
[30] A. Modarres, P. Ayar, Comparing the mechanical properties of cold recycled
mixture containing coal waste additive and ordinary Portland cement, Int. J.
Pavement Eng. 17 (2016) 211–224.
[31] ASTM, Standard Classification of Soils for Engineering Purposes (Unified Soil
Classification System). ASTM D2487 (2011).
[32] ASTM, Standard Test Methods for Laboratory Compaction Characteristics of
Soil Using Standard Effort. ASTM D698 (2012).
[33] ASTM, Standard test method for pH of soils. ASTM D4972 (2001).
[34] ASTM, Standard test method for unconfined compressive strength of cohesive
soil. ASTM D2166 (2006).
[35] ASTM, Standard test method for splitting tensile strength of intact rock core
specimens, ASTM D3967 (2008).
[36] ASTM, Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Pulse Velocities
and Ultrasonic Elastic Constants of Rock. ASTM D2845 (2008).
[37] D.-F. Lin, K.-L. Lin, M.-J. Hung, H.-L. Luo, Sludge ash/hydrated lime on the
geotechnical properties of soft soil, J. Hazard. Mater. 145 (2007) 58–64.
[38] X. Li, X. Yin, B. Ma, J. Iiuang, J. Li, Cement-fly ash stabilization of cold in-place
recycled (CIR) asphalt pavement mixtures for road bases or subbases, J. Wuhan
Univ. Technol. Mater. Sci. Ed. 28 (2013) 298–302.
[39] M. Naghipour, M. Tazikeh, B. Hoseinian, The use of coal waste in
concrete construction & survey of compressive strength, Concr. Res. 9 (2)
(2017) 43–53.
10 M. Taslimi Paein Afrakoti et al. / Construction and Building Materials 239 (2020) 117848

[40] Z. Metelková, J. Boháč, R. Přikryl, I. Sedlářová, Maturation of loess treated with
variable lime admixture: pore space textural evolution and related phase
changes, Appl. Clay Sci. 61 (2012) 37–43.
[41] Y.J. Du, N.J. Jiang, S.Y. Liu, F. Jin, D.N. Singh, A.J. Puppala, Engineering properties
and microstructural characteristics of cement-stabilized zinc-contaminated
kaolin, Can. Geotech. J. 51 (2014) 289–302.
[42] A.K. Jha, P.V. Sivapullaiah, Mechanism of improvement in the strength
and volume change behavior of lime stabilized soil, Eng. Geol. 198 (2015) 53–64.
[43] R.A. Shirvani, R. Noorzad, Effectiveness of sludge ash of wood and paper mill as
nontraditional additive for clayey soil treatment, J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 31 (2019)
04019230.
[44] R.S. Ravindrarajah, Strength evaluation of high-strength concrete by ultrasonic
pulse velocity method, NDT E Int. 4 (1997) 261.
[45] A.J. Choobbasti, M.A. Samakoosh, S.S. Kutanaei, Mechanical properties soil
stabilized with nano calcium carbonate and reinforced with carpet waste
fibers, Constr. Build. Mater. 211 (2019) 1094–1104.