Properties of Soil-Based Flowable Fill under Drying–Wetting and Freeze–Thaw Actions

Zheng Huang, Teng Tong (), Hao Liu and Wen Qi
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Zheng Huang: Economics and Technology Research Institute, Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211103, China
Teng Tong: School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Hao Liu: Economics and Technology Research Institute, Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211103, China
Wen Qi: Economics and Technology Research Institute, Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd., Nanjing 211103, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Flowable fills are a type of fill material with many construction applications, including transportation engineering, building engineering, water conservancy constructions, etc. Flowable fills usually consist of cementing agents, water, and aggregates such as soils or other waste or cheap materials. Flowable fills have the characteristics of high flowability, self-leveling, self-compacting, high and adjustable strength, and the ability to adopt waste and cheap materials. In this study, a waste soil-based flowable fill was investigated under drying–wetting and freeze–thaw actions. Under six drying–wetting cycles, flowable fill specimens underwent a continuous reduction in strength, accompanying the mass losses and the changes in micro-structures. The level of strength reduction increased with decreased addition of Portland cement and increased addition of water. After six drying–wetting cycles, the specimens showed a 27–51% strength reduction as compared to their counterparts with no drying–wetting actions. Under freeze–thaw cycles, the specimens also showed noticeable but insignificant degradation. After six freeze–thaw cycles, the level of strength reduction ranged from 9–20%. Most of the strength reduction occurred during the first three cycles. Based on the test data, an empirical model was proposed to predict the strength reduction under drying–wetting cycles. The results proved that flowable fills may undergo a relatively large reduction in their engineering performance under adverse environments, especially drying–wetting actions. The implications of the results for construction are also discussed in the paper.

Keywords: flowable fill; drying–wetting cycles; freeze–thaw cycles; durability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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