Laboratory test on long-term deterioration of cement soil in seawater environment

Laboratory tests were conducted to study the effects of curing time, cement ratio and seawater pressure on cement soil deterioration formed at simulative marine soft clay sites. Deterioration depth was determined on the basis of characteristics of penetration resistance and penetration depth curves, and the deterioration depth of cement soil with the cement ratio of 7%, reached 31.8 mm after 720 d. Results of research indicated that deterioration extended quickly under seawater environment and the deterioration depth increased with the prolonging curing time. In addition, the water pressure could speed up deterioration. With the increase of cement content, the strength of cement soil increased obviously. At the same time, the deterioration depth decreased significantly. The concentration of calcium ion in the cement stabilized soil increased with the increase of depth, while that of magnesium ion gradually decreased. The variations were consistent with energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS)analysis results, and the calcium concentration with depth was in a good consistency with strength distribution at long term. The results showed that the deterioration became more serious with the curing time, and it was related to calcium leaching.