The Use of Mt. Mazama Volcanic Ash As Natural Pozzolans for Sustainable Soil and Unpaved Road Improvement

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The Use of Mt. Mazama Volcanic Ash As Natural Pozzolans for Sustainable Soil and Unpaved Road Improvement Portland State University PDXScholar Transportation Research and Education Center TREC Final Reports (TREC) 6-2018 The Use of Mt. Mazama Volcanic Ash as Natural Pozzolans for Sustainable Soil and Unpaved Road Improvement Matthew D. Sleep Oregon Institute of Technology Morgan B. Masley Oregon Institute of Technology Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_reports Part of the Transportation Commons, and the Urban Studies Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Sleep, Matthew and Masley, Morgan. The use of Mt. Mazama volcanic ash as natural pozzolans for sustainable soil and unpaved road improvement. NITC-RR-1075. Portland, OR: Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), 2018. https://www.doi.org/10.15760/trec.202 This Report is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in TREC Final Reports by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. FINAL REPORT The Use of Mt. Mazama Volcanic Ash as Natural Pozzolans for Sustainable Soil and Unpaved Road Improvement NITC-RR-1075 June 2018 NITC is a U.S. Department of Transportation national university transportation center. THE USE OF MT. MAZAMA VOLCANIC ASH AS NATURAL POZZOLANS FOR SUSTAINABLE SOIL AND UNPAVED ROAD IMPROVEMENT Final Report NITC-RR-1075 by Dr. Matthew D. Sleep Morgan B. Masley Oregon Institute of Technology for National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) P.O. Box 751 Portland, OR 97207 June 2018 ii Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. NITC-RR-1075 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date The Use of Mt. Mazama Volcanic Ash as Natural Pozzolans for Sustainable Soil and Unpaved June 2018 Road Improvement 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Dr. Matthew Sleep Morgan Masley 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Oregon Institute of Technology 3201 Campus Drive 11. Contract or Grant No. Klamath Falls, OR 97601 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) 14. Sponsoring Agency Code P.O. Box 751 Portland, OR 97207 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract This report investigates the viability of using volcanic ash deposited from the eruption of Mt. Mazama as a natural pozzolan and substitute for the more conventional methods of soil stabilization and unpaved roadway improvement, including dust abatement. Chemical analyses show that Mt. Mazama volcanic ash has similar chemistry to that found in many pozzolanic materials. Standard and modified ASTM strength activity index (SAI) testing was performed on a variety of mixtures containing volcanic ash, hydrated lime, crushed volcanic ash and portland cement at different percentages. A gravel wash sieve test and a slurry mix test were devised in order to determine how the ash could be used to both penetrate into compacted gravel layers and bind material together for the prevention of dust mitigation as defined by the EPA. These new procedures indicate that Mt. Mazama ash can be effective as a supplement to portland cement for binding compacted gravel layers and reducing the dust particulate percentage. Mt. Mazama ash, mixed with highly compressible and organic soil, does not increase unconfined compressive strength. Sustainability studies show that any replacement of portland cement with volcanic ash reduces carbon dioxide emissions and embodied energy. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. Copies available from NITC: www.nitc-utc.net 19. Security Classification (of this report) 20. Security Classification (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 76 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Matthew Sleep would like to acknowledge support from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) under grant number (1075). DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are solely responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the material and information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers Program in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. RECOMMENDED CITATION Sleep, Matthew and Masley, Morgan. The use of Mt. Mazama volcanic ash as natural pozzolans for sustainable soil and unpaved road improvement. NITC-RR-1075. Portland, OR: Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), 2018. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 9 1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 10 2.0 THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................................. 10 3.0 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 11 4.0 VOLCANIC MATERIAL STUDY AND COLLECTION ......................................... 12 5.0 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 15 5.1 POZZOLANS ................................................................................................................... 15 5.1.1 Pozzolan Classification ............................................................................................. 16 5.1.2 Chemical Composition.............................................................................................. 16 5.1.3 Use in Concrete ......................................................................................................... 17 5.1.3.1 Water demand ....................................................................................................... 17 5.1.3.2 Setting time............................................................................................................ 17 5.1.3.3 Heat of hydration .................................................................................................. 18 5.1.3.4 Strength ................................................................................................................. 18 5.1.3.5 Durability .............................................................................................................. 19 5.2 UNPAVED ROAD DUST MITIGATION ....................................................................... 20 5.3 TRAIL IMPROVEMENT METHODS ............................................................................ 21 5.4 SOIL IMPROVEMENT ................................................................................................... 21 5.5 VOLCANIC ASH TESTING ........................................................................................... 22 6.0 METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS............................................................................. 23 6.1 CLASSIFICATION OF MT. MAZAMA VOLCANIC ASH AS A NATURAL POZZOLAN ..................................................................................................................... 23 6.1.1 Moisture Percentage.................................................................................................. 23 6.1.2 Loss on Ignition ........................................................................................................ 24 6.1.3 Fineness..................................................................................................................... 25 6.1.4 Chemical Analysis .................................................................................................... 25 6.1.5 Dynamic Chemical Analysis..................................................................................... 26 6.2 MODIFIED SAI TESTING .............................................................................................. 30 6.3 UNPAVED ROAD IMPROVEMENT ............................................................................. 37 6.3.1 Cylinder Slurry Mix Testing ..................................................................................... 37 6.3.2 Dust/Gravel Wash Sieve Test ................................................................................... 42 6.4 ORGANIC SOIL IMPROVEMENT ................................................................................ 45 6.5 SUSTAINABILITY ANALYSIS OF MT. MAZAMA VOLCANIC ASH ..................... 53 7.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................ 58 8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK ....................................................... 59 9.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 60 10.0 APPENDIX ...................................................................................................................... 63 10.1 SAI TESTING TRIAL 1 ................................................................................................... 63 10.2 SAI TESTING TRIAL 2 ................................................................................................... 65 10.3 SAI
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