CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

The most common contemporary remedies adopted for the stabilisation of soft and expansive sulphate-bearing soils (e.g. gypseous soil), involve the use of portland cement and lime.

Lime-treated gypseous soil however has low durability due to the formation of Ettringite, which is a highly baneful compound, that also forms in hydrated portland cement. Moisture ingress in building materials or environments containing these materials, causes Ettringite crystals to swell substantially, leading to considerable damage to construction structures and pavements.

Besides being chemically incompatible with sulphate-containing soils, from an environmental perspective, the manufacturing processes of portland cement and lime are energy intensive and contribute significantly to environmental pollution. For every tonne of portland cement manufactured almost 0.95 tonnes of CO2 is emitted and the process requires almost 5000 MJ of energy. For lime production, these values are approx. 0.79 tonnes of CO2 and approx. 3200 MJ of energy.

It is evident that alternative materials that are both environmentally sustainable and chemically compatible to repress the formation of Ettringite while effectively performing the necessary function of soil stabilisation are essential to mitigate the contemporary challenges.

The reason being that Improving the properties of soft subgrade soils is crucial in the construction of robust roads and and economical pavements. Buildings constructed on soft soils may fail due to the low strength, and an excessive settlement of the soil under a constant load. It is hence imperative, to improve sublayer soil quality and strength before construction, so as to make thinner and more mechanically robust foundation structures possible while simultaneously eliminating and or minimising the maintenance costs associated with the failure of buildings, roads and highways.

QUANTCRETET​M  EARTH

APPLICATIONS : In Adobe, Rammed-Earth and Road Construction, this system serves as an environmentally-friendly soil, cement & concrete nanoadditive to mitigate sulphate attack. It increases the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value of the treated sublayer soil in particular, acid sulphate soils. It minimises the swelling ratio of soil and initiates essential chemical reactions creating compounds that form strong bonding forces between soil particles, hence reducing soil porosity which consequently improves its engineering properties and durability. 

It serves as an expansive agent to reduce autogenous-shrinkage, Increases Compressive & Tensile Strength, Corrosion Inhibitor (Mitigate sulphate attack) & pH Elevator,  Mold and Mildew Resistance, Low Air Permeability, Abrasion Resistance, Antistatic Agent, Halogen-Free Flame Retardant. 

QUANTCRETET​M EARTH CORE 

APPLICATIONS : Nanoscopic binding system to help reduce the elastic limit of clayey soil, lower the liquid limit of soil and increase the plastic limit of soil. The compressive strength of soil increases up to about 540 % in 28 days, depending on the dosage used. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) increases by 1350% at about 14 days when higher doses are used.