Investigation of Dolomite Aggregate Long-Term Cementation and Its Potential Advantage for Building Roads

Details

• Creators:
  Kong, Taeyun ; Kothari, Chirayu ; Qamhia, Issam I. A. ; Tutumluer, Erol ; Garg, Nishant
• Corporate Creators:
  Illinois Center for Transportation ; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  Illinois Department of Transportation. Bureau of Research ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Aggregates Bonding Compressive Strength Dolomite Fine Aggregates Freeze Thaw Durability Hydrotalcite Pavement Performance Quarries
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-ICT-25-013
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/25-013
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report 7/1/22–12/31/25
• Corporate Publisher:
  Illinois Center for Transportation
• Abstract:
  This study investigated the mechanical strength and freeze-thaw durability of carbonate-based aggregate quarry by-products (QBs) stabilized with cement alone and in combination with calcined clay (metakaolin, MK) for potential use in pavement foundation layers. The primary objective was to evaluate the chemical and physical characteristics of dolomitic and limestone QBs and determine how these factors influence strength development and durability under different stabilization conditions. Four QBs with varying carbonate compositions, ranging from highly dolomitic aggregates to nearly pure limestone, were examined. QBs were stabilized with 3% cement and tested under short- and long-term curing conditions. Short-term testing indicated the curing period was insufficient for the mineralogical properties of carbonate aggregates to fully manifest; instead, performance was governed primarily by physical characteristics, particularly particle packing. In contrast, long-term testing showed the effects of carbonate mineralogy became more pronounced, as the mineral components began contributing more noticeably to overall performance. Dolomitic QBs demonstrated superior strength and stiffness development along with higher retention of these properties after 10 freeze-thaw cycles due to the formation of hydrotalcite, a magnesium-aluminum layered double hydroxide phase. When cement was partially replaced with MK at the optimum MK-to-cement ratio of 1:4, both early-age and long-term performance improved relative to cement-only specimens. Chemical analyses showed that MK participated in pozzolanic and carboaluminate reactions, producing additional calcium-alumino-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) gels and carboaluminate phases. Since MK rapidly consumed available calcium hydroxide to form C-A-S-H gel and carboaluminate phases, hydrotalcite formation was suppressed. This mechanism resulted in comparable long-term performance for all QBs, irrespective of carbonate types. The findings demonstrate that carbonate-based QBs can be transformed into high-performing, durable, and sustainable pavement foundation materials when their physical and mineralogical properties are considered properly and supplementary cementitious materials such as MK are incorporated effectively.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  R27
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f84a2ed8ddffe58f709808fc25d308e912d88f6935a9fb7f2263d5e503000760518b0665a10f7086b3353dc7c3f2d8bf5ce7eccba9ef5ba6bd3c4602d3ff66f1
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/88278/dot_88278_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.19 MB ]