Strength and micro-structure evolution of compacted soils modified by admixtures of cement and metakaolin

Metakaolin, widely applied in concretes and cement-stabilized soft clays to improve their macro performance, was evaluated for use in compacted soils in highway and backfill engineering. The compactability and strength performance of cement-modified soils with metakaolin were evaluated in the terms of their applicability and effectiveness. The cement-based modified soil with metakaolin was more insensitive to water and more convenient in the field rolling compaction. The strengths, in addition to the unconfined compressive strength and splitting tension strength, were improved significantly. Up to a threshold ratio of metakaolin to cement ranging from 1/3 to 1/2 in this case, the strengths increased gradually, while they unexpectedly decreased thereafter. This phenomenon was different from the previously reported metakaolin applications in concrete and cement-stabilized soft clays, which was probably due to the water content and the ratio of metakaolin to hydrated calcium hydroxides of the cements. Microstructure analysis by X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry, demonstrated that the addition of metakaolin led to a higher quantity of hydration products and a denser micro-porosity distribution. •MK significantly improves the compactability for cement treated soils.•Cemented soils with MK more feasibly generate strength.•Threshold ratio of MK to cement ranges from 1/3 to 1/2, owing to the ratio of MK to hydrated CH.•The addition of MK mainly generates more bonding products and suppresses the large pore volume.