An Environmentally Friendly Approach to Soil Improvement with by-Product of the Manufacture of Iron

Abstract

Blast furnace slag has been used for many years in various applications related to civil engineering. Many studies have created a wide variety of cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions for this industrial by-product. This study aims to contribute to the performance evaluations of the usability of the blast furnace slag for soil improvement and the effects of the additive ratio and curing time. Bentonite samples were prepared with the addition of blast furnace slag at 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% ratios by weight at optimum water content (w_opt). Results were evaluated using the liquid limit, plastic limit, unconfined compressive strength, and swelling tests performed after 1, 7, 14, and 28 days of curing time. Results revealed that the liquid limit value decreased, and the unconfined compressive strength increased with increasing curing time and blast furnace slag ratio in the mixture. Additionally, swelling pressure generally decreased with increasing slag contribution and curing time. The lowest values of the unconfined compressive strength were observed on the 7^th day of curing time, and the minimum value was obtained at 10% mixing ratio. The highest unconfined compressive strength values were observed on the 28^th days of curing time. The optimum mixing ratio was 5%.