Sustainable geopolymerization approach to stabilize fat clay under various temperature conditions

Fat clays are a problematic type of soil with relatively wide distribution and representing a significant potential threat in geotechnical engineering. Under conditions of climate change, this problem is particularly acute. Considering the environmental risks of traditional soil stabilizers, as well as the scarcity of literature on the influence of temperature factor on fat clay stabilization with low-carbon binder materials, this work investigates the mechanical and structural characteristics of fat clay stabilized with metakaolin-based geopolymer under various curing conditions. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the geopolymer stabilized soil was determined at ages of 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. Structural analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques was conducted to unveil the stabilized mechanism. The obtained results provide better understanding of curing processes, strength development, and structure formation during stabilization of problematic clays with geopolymers under various climatic conditions, contributing to improving environmental performance and reliability indicators of geotechnical structures.