Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, August 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-135).

This research was conducted to investigate the possibility of devising and utilizing an accelerated curing procedure in order to estimate the 7-day and 28-day normal curing (72(DEGREES)F and 100% humidity) compressive strengths of soil-cement mixes. Based on information reported in the literature on accelerated curing in lime stabilization and concrete, the accelerated curing procedure adopted in this research was a modified version of the boiling water method given by ASTM 684-81. By this procedure compacted soil-cement specimens were boiled in distilled water for certain periods of time. After a 30-minute cooling period, the specimens were soaked in water for 24 hours and then tested for strength. Mechanical as well as physico-chemical tests were conducted on accelerated- and normally cured specimens. Mixtures of clay (kaolinite Hydrite 10), sand and portland cement (Type I/II) were utilized in preparing the specimens. The unconfined compression test results indicated that accelerated strength values increased with increasing boiling time and with increasing cement content. The strength values also increased with decreasing clay content down to 30%. Below 30% clay content the strength decreased. As for predicting normal curing strengths from accelerated curing strengths, two procedures were adopted. Procedure A predicted the 7-day and 28-day strengths by boiling specimens for 3 hours and 40 minutes and 4 hours and 20 minutes, respectively. Procedure B predicted the normal-cure strengths using linear regression equations. The predictions by both procedures were found to be satisfactory, within (+OR-) 15% of the normal-cure strengths. X-ray diffraction data suggested less hydration had occurred in the accelerated-cure specimens than in the normal-cure specimens. This probably was due to the shielding of cement grains by clay and hydration gels. pH measurements showed that specimens cured by both procedures exhibited highly alkaline environment. Electron micrographs of selected samples appeared to confirm the existence of more unhydrated and/or partially hydrated cement in the accelerated-cure samples.

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A maior preocupação deste trabalho é com as moradias das populações de baixa renda que na maioria dos casos são precárias não atendendo aos requisitos mínimos de habitabilidade. Para encarar este problema utilizamos como instrumento o conceito de tecnologia apropriada tendo em vista que as tecnologias tradicionais e modernas não tem apresentado bons resultados neste campo. Isto não quer dizer que estamos defendendo apenas uma saída tecnológica para os problemas da habitação popular. Para exemplificar a viabilidade deste enfoque, estudamos duas aplicações, em tijolos e em paredes monolíticas de solo-cimento, onde se colocaram as questões de escolha do solo, dosagem e ensaios de avaliação tais como: resistência à compressão, durabilidade, absorção d\'água, impermeabilidade. Procuramos também, através das aplicações, disseminar a metodologia empregada, que acreditamos possa ser utilizada no desenvolvimento de outros materiais. / The principal objective of this Project is housing for low income people, wich is in the most part poorly constructed without the minimum standards of habitability. To face this problem, the appropriate technology approach were applied bering in mind that traditional and modern ones have not been suited to best resolve this type of housing. But this does not mean that this housing problem is only a technological challenge. As an example two cases were studied, one in pressed earth and the other in rammed earth, both using soil-cement. Soil selection, the cement to soil mixture, compressive strength, durability, water absorption and impermeability tests were evaluated. Besides these examples it is considered that this methodology can be applied to other studies of other materials.

A maior preocupação deste trabalho é com as moradias das populações de baixa renda que na maioria dos casos são precárias não atendendo aos requisitos mínimos de habitabilidade. Para encarar este problema utilizamos como instrumento o conceito de tecnologia apropriada tendo em vista que as tecnologias tradicionais e modernas não tem apresentado bons resultados neste campo. Isto não quer dizer que estamos defendendo apenas uma saída tecnológica para os problemas da habitação popular. Para exemplificar a viabilidade deste enfoque, estudamos duas aplicações, em tijolos e em paredes monolíticas de solo-cimento, onde se colocaram as questões de escolha do solo, dosagem e ensaios de avaliação tais como: resistência à compressão, durabilidade, absorção d\'água, impermeabilidade. Procuramos também, através das aplicações, disseminar a metodologia empregada, que acreditamos possa ser utilizada no desenvolvimento de outros materiais. / The principal objective of this Project is housing for low income people, wich is in the most part poorly constructed without the minimum standards of habitability. To face this problem, the appropriate technology approach were applied bering in mind that traditional and modern ones have not been suited to best resolve this type of housing. But this does not mean that this housing problem is only a technological challenge. As an example two cases were studied, one in pressed earth and the other in rammed earth, both using soil-cement. Soil selection, the cement to soil mixture, compressive strength, durability, water absorption and impermeability tests were evaluated. Besides these examples it is considered that this methodology can be applied to other studies of other materials.

This study uses dynamic centrifuge tests and three-dimensional (3D), nonlinear finite-difference analyses to: (1) evaluate the effect of soil-cement grid reinforcement on the seismic response of a deep soft soil profile, and (2) to examine the dynamic response of structures supported by shallow foundations on soft clay reinforced by soil-cement grids. The soil profile consisted of a 23-m-thick layer of lightly over-consolidated clay, underlain and overlain by thin layers of dense sand. Centrifuge models had two separate zones for a total of four different configurations: a zone without reinforcement, a zone with a "embedded" soil-cement grid which penetrated the lower dense sand layer and had a unit cell area replacement ratio Ar = 24%, a zone with an embedded grid with Ar = 33%, and a zone with a "floating" grid in the upper half of the clay layer with Ar = 33%. Models were subjected to a series of shaking events with peak base accelerations ranging from 0.005 to 0.54g. The results of centrifuge tests indicated that the soil-cement grid significantly stiffened the site compared to the site with no reinforcement, resulting in stronger accelerations at the ground surface for the input motions used in this study. The response of soil-cement grid reinforced soft soil depends on the area replacement ratio, depth of improvement and ground motion characteristics. The recorded responses of the structures and reinforced soil profiles were used to define the dynamic moment-rotation-settlement responses of the shallow foundations across the range of imposed shaking intensities. The results from centrifuge tests indicated that the soil-cement grids were effective at controlling foundation settlements for most cases; onset of more significant foundation settlements did develop for the weakest soil-cement grid configuration under the stronger shaking intensities which produced a rocking response of the structure and caused extensive crushing of the soil-cement near the edges of the shallow foundations. Results from dynamic centrifuge tests and numerical simulations were used to develop alternative analysis methods for predicting the demands imposed on the soil-cement grids by the inertial loads from the overlying structures and the kinematic loading from the soil profile's dynamic response. / Ph. D.

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