Triaxial Shear Test on Hydrochloric Acid-Contaminated Clay Treated by Lime, Crushed Concrete, and Super Absorbent Polymer

Abstract

Acid pollution weakens the bearing capacity of subgrade, and discarded concrete occupies land. The mechanical properties of hydrochloric acid-contaminated clay were investigated by triaxial consolidation undrained tests. Also, the theory of diffusion double electric layer was employed to explain the change principle of cohesion and compression characteristics of hydrochloric acid-contaminated clay. In addtion, the curing effects of lime, crushed concrete, and SAP on the shear strength of hydrochloric acid-contaminated clay were compared. The triaxial test results show that cohesion decreased with the increase of hydrochloric acid concentration. The internal friction angle firstly increased and then decreased, and the change of internal friction angle was less affected by acid concentration. The curing effect of crushed concrete was similar to that of lime, which was better than lime. SAP could only improve the cohesion of the hydrochloric acid-contaminated clay; the internal friction angle decreased significantly; the three kinds of curing materials could significantly improve the cohesion of acid-contaminated clay to be higher than the natural clay, improving the shear strength to a certain extent. Additionally, the theory analysis illustrated that due to the change in the thickness of the diffusion layer between the clay particles, the van der Waals force between the particles changed, and the colloidal formation of the micelles led to changes in cohesion. The study can provide references to the treatment of contaminated soil in engineering practice.