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Fly ash is an industrial waste material that is repurposed as a soil stabiliser worldwide. In Thailand, many ground improvement projects utilise mixtures of cement and fly ash to stabilise weak soils. In this study, leaching mechanisms of arsenic, chromium, lead, and zinc from cement and fly ash stabilised soils were investigated in the laboratory. Leaching tests were performed, with different leachants and pH conditions, on cement and fly ash stabilised soils used for soil improvement in road embankment construction projects in Northern Thailand. The results suggested that chemical compounds (CaO and MgO) on fly ash surfaces can control the pH of the fly ash and soil leachant. The dissolution of chromium and zinc was found to be amphoteric and controlled by oxide minerals at a high or low pH. Arsenic leaching was found to be oxyanionic where AsO43- prevented the adsorption of arsenic onto the negatively charged fly ash surface. Different types of leachant also leached out in different amounts of heavy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an investigation of the effects of cement addition to expansive clay on its deformation characteristics and stress responses during swelling. The effects were evaluated by focusing on the unconfined compressive strength, swelling-shrinkage strains under various conditions, and the lateral coefficient of earth pressure during one-dimensional deformation for artificial mixtures of two different clays at three different ratios. The clays used in this study were a Na-montmorillonite bentonite and a non-expansive Bangkok clay, mixed at different proportions to simulate naturally encountered expansive clays with different degrees of swelling potential. The experimental programme involved unconfined compression, areal shrinkage strain by unconfined drying, vertical free swelling strain, and confined swelling pressure tests. The experimental results show that the cement addition led to marked decreases in the areal shrinkage strain and vertical free swelling strain in addition to the obvious improvement of strength and stiffness of soils. The confined swelling pressure test results indicated that the cement had a greater effect in reducing vertical swelling pressure than the lateral swelling pressure of the soils during one-dimensional swelling. The measured lateral coefficient of earth pressure and stress paths of untreated and cement-treated soils and their engineering implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Polypropylene fibers extracted from recycled surgical face masks (FMs) are used in mortar. • An optimal content of 0.15 % FMs is recommended based on the strength of the mortar. • A direct tensile strength of 0.15 % FMs showed an increase of 44.8 % compared to the mortar without FM fibers. • A flexural strength of 0.15 % FM enhanced by 34.8 % compared to the mortar without FM fibers. • It is highly beneficial to recycle disposable and single-use FMs into concrete. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly single-use surgical face masks (FMs), has increased drastically owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing recycled FM fibers in cement mortar. For this, FMs were used by removing the inner nose wires and ear loops and cutting them into two different sizes: 10 mm × 5 mm and 20 mm × 5 mm. The FMs were then introduced into five mixtures at 0 (control), 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25 % by volume. The following mechanical properties of the mixtures were then tested: workability, density, porosity, water absorption, and the related strengths (compressive, direct tensile, and flexural). In addition, the microstructures of the mixtures were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. The results revealed that introducing FM fibers, particularly an FM with a 5 mm diameter and 10 mm length, in the mortar increased both the tensile and flexural strengths. Among the various combinations of FMs studied, a mixture containing 0.15 % FMs exhibited the best performance. The findings of this research reveal that FMs can be reused as fibers to enhance the tensile and flexural strengths of cement mortar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]