Strength properties of epoxy resin–soil–cement mixtures

Abstract

The use of new materials for soil strengthening is crucial for geotechnical engineering, especially in methods that are commonly used for ground improvement, such as deep mixing. The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential use of two-component water-soluble epoxy resins to improve the mechanical properties (compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, elastic modulus, shear strength parameters) of clay soils, because the efficacy of these resins on soil strengthening has not yet been properly investigated. The experiments were conducted using soil mixes with different epoxy resin-to-water ratios, solid-to-water ratios and cement content. The results of this study indicate that epoxy resin, when combined with cement, improves the mechanical properties of the clay soil significantly, and could provide a suitable solution for deep mixing method applications or other geotechnical operations. Based on the experimental results, a non-linear regression analysis was performed to correlate the mechanical properties of the mixes with epoxy resin, water, solid, cement content and curing time. The accuracy of the produced model was found to be satisfactory.