Improving the engineering properties of a soft marine clay with forsteritic olivine

Abstract

The possibility of improving the engineering properties of a marine clay by adding forsteritic olivine is explored. Strength improvement was recorded with ascending values of olivine contents and curing time. An olivine content of 30% was identified as the optimum value to achieve the targeted improvement for all curing durations. Formation of magnesium-aluminate-hydrate and magnesium-silicate-hydrate were found to be the key components responsible for this strength improvement based on morphological and mineralogical analyses. Comparative studies with identical lime-treated marine clay samples revealed that olivine treatment achieved higher mechanical strength and lower hydraulic conductivity relative to lime treatment for a limited curing duration.

Keywords:

• Marine clay
• olivine
• lime
• geotechnical
• microstructure
• soil stabilisation

Acknowledgments

The first author gratefully acknowledges Monash University Malaysia for supporting his graduate studies. The authors also express thanks to the Abunde Sustainable Engineering Group for its valued suggestions. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions, which led to the improvement of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.