Investigation of Impact on Hydro-Mechanical Properties for Cement Stabilized Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil under Different Salinity

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the hydro-mechanical properties of heavy metal (Cu, Zn) contaminated soil stabilized using cement treatment situated under different salinity. Conventional oedometers with cylindrical samples dimensioned ∅61.8 × 20 mm were used to conduct the tests. Two cement contents (10%, 20% by mass of cement to the mass of dry soil) and three salinity levels (0.5M, 1M, 1.5M) were used as comparison variables. The compression results demonstrate that the coupled condition in terms of mechanical and chemical will have different behavior on the soil specimen, as Cc (compression index) changes with different metal fractions. The hydraulic conductivity (k) results show that a higher metal fraction will compromise the k. The possible development of water and metal ions is proposed that when a different type and fraction of metal ions are present, the hydration reaction can be suppressed depending on whether the metal ion prioritizes the reaction with either cement or saline solution. It was found that Cu ions prioritize their reaction to a saline solution while Zn ions target the Ca(OH)2 that is available from cement. However, more studies should be carried out to confirm this point.