Reducing the Cement Content during Deep Soil Mixing and Improving Compressive Strength by Means of Special Additives

DSM (deep soil mixing) is a flexible approach of soil improvement. Soft clays, silts, and fine-grained sands are among the soils that this method can help stabilize. The binder factor (BF) is the ratio of the weight of dry binder to the volume of soil to be treated, and it varies between 150 and 700 kg/m3 for conventional ordinary Portland cement (OPC), with clayey soils requiring a higher BF. Because cement manufacturing accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, reducing the carbon footprint of cement usage is becoming more significant. As a result, a major increase in the use of low-carbon binders is expected on the road to long-term ground improvement. The current study shows early laboratory testing using a new addition to minimize cement content in the mix design while maintaining the mechanical properties. CEM I and CEM III cements were used in this study, and unconfined compressive strengths (UCS) tests were carried out at 28 days. The use of a calcium silica hydrate nanoparticle reduced the binder factor (BF) from 220 to 140 kg/m3 while maintaining strength properties over the baseline condition. The carbon footprint was also calculated and showed a potential reduction in CO2 savings greater than 50%.