Soil Stabilization Using Industrial and Agricultural Precursor-Based Alkali-Activated Materials

Abstract

Soil stabilization aims to enhance or preserve the soil's stability and upgrade its engineering properties. Stabilization is accomplished either mechanically or chemically. Several works have been done considering the use of conventional and modern methods of stabilizing soil subgrade. Since roads cover the maximum surface area in interaction with soil, it is an important topic for researchers to find innovative solutions for road subgrade soil stabilization. The geopolymers have been used recently as a kind of alkaline activated material, an alternative method of soil stabilization expecting that it would reduce resource usage and environmental pollution and enhance the engineering performance of expansive soil. The present paper reviews the effect on road subgrade soil’s geotechnical properties by using geopolymers produced using various byproducts as their precursors. In this paper, various past works have been reviewed where the comparison has been done between the properties of natural soil and the corresponding geopolymer admixed soil. Finally, it has been concluded in the majority of investigations that the geopolymer as soil stabilizer shows satisfactory performance for enhancing the geotechnical properties of problematic soil and also could act as an innovative, sustainable and cost-effective material rendering saving in road construction cost.