Effects of clay properties and decay on physical and mechanical properties of bamboo chips mixed solidified soil

Recently, a large amount of solidification material such as cement is used to improve high-water-content dredged clay. However, the use of such a large amount of solidification material involves the problem of high cost and raising the pH of the ground. On the other hand, bamboo has high fertility and erodes other vegetation, which causes damage to mountain forests. Therefore, it is necessary to harvest bamboo regularly. Moreover, effective use of harvested bamboo is also required from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Currently, with the miniaturization of crushers, there are increasing cases of making bamboo into chips. According to the previous studies, the effectiveness of the improved method of mixing bamboo chips and solidification material in high-water-content dredged clay is clarified. However, it is concerned that the improvement effect using bamboo chips will be different due to the difference in the water content and physical property value of the clay. Moreover, the possibility of strength reduction due to decay of bamboo chips which is organic substance is also considered. Therefore, this study examined the strength and deformation characteristics of bamboo chips mixed solidified soil using clay with different water content and liquid limit. In addition, physical and mechanical characteristics of bamboo chips mixed solidified soil which was decayed forcibly were investigated. As a result, it was revealed that the strength of the bamboo chips mixed solidified soil depends on the liquid limit and the initial water content of the clay. Moreover, it was clear that the forcedly decayed bamboo chips mixed solidified soil had long-term durability because no decrease in compressive strength was observed. © 2020 The Society of Materials Science, Japan.