Hydraulic conductivity characteristics of carbonated reactive magnesia-treated silt.

Carbonation of reactive magnesia (MgO) has recently received increasing attention in the area of soil stabilization and ground improvement. However, as a critical parameter in terms of long-term seepage behavior in the geotechnical analysis, the hydraulic conductivity of carbonated reactive MgO-stabilized silt has not been fully studied. In this context, the effect of water-MgO ratio (ratio of initial water content to MgO content, w0/c) and carbonation time on hydraulic conductivity (or permeability) characteristics was systematically investigated. Serial microstructural tests including mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses were applied to elucidate the intrinsic mechanisms. The obtained results indicate that as the initial water-MgO ratio decreases, the void ratio gradually decreases and the reduction of hydraulic conductivity becomes less prominent because of the little presence of flow paths. The hydraulic conductivity of carbonated MgO-admixed silt similar to that of PC-treated silt is mainly governed by the porosity, and its correlation with void ratio is proposed in the article. The variations of permeability with void ratio are consistent with those of the cumulative pore volume from MIP results in general, and the medium pores (3–30 μm) are substantiated to be the primary contributor in controlling the permeability. SEM and DSC analyses reveal that the cementation of soil particles and filling of hydrated magnesium carbonates marginally reduce the voids and permeability. The reasons for changes of permeability behaviors have been confirmed by the pore-size distribution and microstructure characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]