ArticleScientific reports2026
Stabilization of highly expansive clay using synergistic EAF slag and water treatment sludge: a mechanical performance study.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study addresses the challenges of highly expansive clay soils by stabilizing them with two industrial by-products: electric arc furnace (EAF) slag and water treatment sludge (WTS), thereby addressing the limited research on their combined (synergistic) use in soil stabilization. The potential of these additives to enhance soil strength and stiffness while mitigating swelling was evaluated using clay samples treated with 0, 10, 20, and 30% EAF slag and 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30% WTS replacement, after curing for 7, 28, and 56 days. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) tests were employed as primary indicators of mechanical performance, while free swelling tests were carried out to assess volume stability. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were performed to provide micromechanical insights into the mechanisms underlying the observed improvements. Results indicate that the combined use of 30% EAF slag and 20% WTS replacement produced the most favorable outcomes in terms of strength, stiffness, and swelling reduction. UCS increased by more than fourfold compared with untreated soil, reaching approximately 2800 kPa, while UPV rose to nearly 1700 m/s. The swelling potential of the optimized mix decreased dramatically from 270% in the natural clay to only 8% after 56 days of curing. Microstructural analyses confirmed the development of cementitious gels, primarily calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium-aluminate-hydrate (C-A-H), which filled voids, bonded particles, and created a denser, more stable matrix resistant to moisture-induced expansion. These findings demonstrate that the combined use of EAF slag and WTS provides an effective approach to improving the mechanical and volumetric performance of expansive soils.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.