Engineering properties and optimal design of foam lightweight soil composite fly ash: An eco-friendly subgrade material

Foam lightweight soil is used frequently in engineering construction for soft soil areas due to its superior lightness and economy, but its greater cement usage will result in cost increase, resource waste, and environmental pollution. This study modified foam lightweight soil with industrial solid waste (fly ash) in place of some cement to propose an eco-friendly and useful lightweight subgrade filling material. A series of macro-micro tests were conducted to investigate the engineering properties and micro-mechanisms of foam lightweight soil composite fly ash (FLS). The results showed that the axial stress-strain and shear stress-displacement curves of FLS showed softening types. The fluidity, compressive strength, toughness and shear strength of FLS first increased and then decreased with the increasing fly ash content. The mechanical strength of 20% FLS was the optimal value for meeting the application requirements of subgrade engineering. Due to the volcanic ash and micro-aggregation effects, fly ash consumed the calcium hydroxide to produce more calcium silicate hydrate for filling the pores of sample and improving its internal structure. According to the results of numerical simulation, the settlement deformation and lateral deformation of subgrade could be better controlled by using 20%FLS as filling material compared with ordinary soil. Consequently, it is feasible to apply FLS in subgrade engineering.