Evaluation of Compressive Strength and Thermal Conductivity of Sand Stabilized with Epoxy Emulsion and Polymer Solution

Abstract

This paper presents findings obtained by evaluating the compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and durability of sand cylinder specimens stabilized with either epoxy emulsion (EM), acrylic polymer aqueous solution (APAS), EM-APAS mixture, or EM-APAS-lime mixture. Given the data obtained from the laboratory test, simulation analysis that uses a heat transfer fluid model of a ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP) system confirms the EM-APAS-lime binder performs best in the compressive strength and thermal conductivity; EM-APAS mixture performs best in the durability. However, the slake durability index of specimens containing EM-APAS-lime is equal to or greater than 80%. In addition, the compressive strength of sand stabilized with the EM-APAS-lime mixture is more than three times that of sand stabilized with cement. The thermal conductivity of sand stabilized with cement and that of sand treated with EM-APAS-lime mixture are 0.1 W/m·K and 0.9–1 W/m·K, respectively. It is confirmed that the heat collection of sand stabilized with EM-APAS-lime outperforms five times over that of sand stabilized with cement. These findings provide admissible evidence that the EM-APAS-lime mixture, which outperforms cement in compressive strength and thermal conductivity, is most suitable for ground improvement binder for GCHP systems.

Identification of Heat Transfer Parameters for Gravity Sand Casting Simulations

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Microbial Chaff Reinforcement: Preparation and Performance Study of a Soil Stabilizer

“…Mechanicians have proposed a new solution, applying constraints between desert sand grains. As a result, the discrete sand body obtains the ecological and mechanical properties of soil, becoming optimal for plant growth, known as desert soilification [3] . However, traditional sand-fixing materials, including physical barriers such as gravel, straw, heavy oil, asphalt emulsions, and biological soil crusts, have their limitations in terms of cost, effectiveness, and implementation convenience.…”