Objective Backfilling of subgrade soil is an important approach for the resource utilization of shield tunnel muck, but the muck produced by shield construction, which exhibits high water content and high compressibility, is challenging to meet subgrade filling requirements. At present, commonly used soil stabilizers such as cement and lime present issues that include high energy consumption, high carbon emissions, insufficient strength, and poor stability. Therefore, it is urgent to develop low-carbon, economical, and efficient curing modified materials to achieve the resource utilization of shield tunnel muck. In this study, the whole solid waste curing agent (CRGD) prepared from industrial wastes such as carbide slag, red mud, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and desulfurized gypsum is utilized to solidify shield tunnel muck, and the performance and improvement mechanism of the improved shield tunnel muck as roadbed filler are examined. Methods The test soil was the shield tunnel muck produced during the excavation of the silty clay stratum in a section of Jinan Rail Transit Line 4. A solid waste-based cementitious material (CRGD) was developed to solidify the shield tunnel muck by using the common solid waste red mud, desulfurized gypsum, granulated blast furnace slag, and carbide slag in Shandong Province as raw materials. It consisted of 38% carbide slag (CS), 25% red mud (RM), 25% granulated blast furnace slag powder (GGBS), and 12% desulfurized gypsum (DG) in mass ratio. Lime, a material widely used in solidified soil, was used as a comparative experimental group. First, the compaction curve was drawn through the compaction test to determine the maximum dry density and the optimum moisture content. Then, the specimens were prepared based on the optimum moisture content for the determination of the CBR value, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and water stability. The UCS of the specimens was measured based on the specification after curing the specimens for 7 d, 14 d, and 28 d, and the water stability coefficient was calculated. Finally, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to analyze the hydration products and microstructure of the solidified muck and to reveal its curing mechanism. Results and Discussions The results of the compaction test showed that with the increase in dosage, the compaction curve shifted toward higher water content and lower dry density. After adding 4% CRGD, the wopt of the shield tunnel muck increased from 15.9% to 17.9%, and the ρdmax decreased from 1.81 to 1.60 g/cm3. Under the same dosage conditions, the wopt of lime-solidified muck was higher than that of CRGD-solidified muck, but its ρdmax was lower than that of CRGD-solidified muck. The unconfined compressive strength of the uncured shield tunnel muck was only 0.718 MPa, which did not meet the requirement of 1.5 MPa in the specification. After curing, the UCS increased significantly and increased with higher dosage and longer curing age. The strength increase of CRGD-solidified muck was more significant than that of lime-solidified muck. At 28 days of curing, the UCS of the solidified muck with 4% to 8% CRGD content increased by 230.5%, 334.8%, 389.8%, 477.6%, 525.1%, respectively. At 7% dosage, the UCS of CRGD-solidified muck cured for 28 days reached 4.15 MPa. At the same time, the water stability of the unsolidified shield muck was extremely poor, and the specimen did not maintain its integrity after soaking in water, disintegrating quickly in a short time. The water stability was significantly enhanced after CRGD curing, and the specimen maintained good integrity after immersion for 1 day. The water stability coefficient of the shield tunnel muck after curing treatment was consistent with the change pattern of the UCS and increased with higher dosage and longer curing age. At 7% dosage, the water stability coefficient of CRGD-solidified muck after 28 days of curing reached 83%, which was 20% higher than that of lime-solidified muck. In addition, the bearing capacity of CRGD-solidified muck was also higher than that of lime-solidified muck. At 4% dosage, the CBR value increased from 3.16% to 58.14%, which was 17.40 times higher than that of unsolidified muck and far higher than the design specification requirements. Under the same dosage, the CBR value of CRGD-solidified muck was higher than that of lime-solidified muck, and the difference between the two increased with dosage. When the content reached 8%, the CBR value of CRGD-solidified muck was 217.98%, while that of lime-solidified muck was 111.55%. The porosity of the solidified muck after immersion decreased with increasing content, and the porosity of the CRGD-solidified muck was significantly lower than that of the lime- solidifiedmuck. With higher CRGD content, the pores in the range of 0.001~0.1 μm were relatively reduced, while the pores in the range of 0.1~1.0 μm were relatively increased. After curing, the diffraction peak intensity of minerals such as quartz and mica in the sample weakened, and some mineral peaks almost disappeared, which indicated that the curing agent had a pozzolanic reaction with the silicon-aluminum active minerals in the muck. Compared to lime-solidified muck, AFt also appeared in CRGD-solidified muck, which indicated that the calcium-aluminum active substances in the system reacted with DG, and this reaction was an important reason why the strength of CRGD-solidified muck was higher than that of lime-solidified muck. SEM images showed that shield tunnel muck contained many holes and cracks. After CRGD curing, more amorphous hydration gels and needle-like products were observed. Combined with EDS analysis, these products were identified as C‒(A)‒S‒H gel and AFt. The needle-like ettringite interacted with the muck matrix to form a skeleton structure, which effectively filled the muck pores and improved the compactness and strength of the solidified muck. Based on the current market price, the cost of lime required to treat 1 ton of shield tunnel muck with 4% dosage was 18.000 yuan, while the cost of CRGD required was only 5.160 yuan, saving 12.840 yuan per ton of shield tunnel muck. Conclusions The results show that the UCS, water stability coefficient, and CBR values of the modified shield tunnel muck used as roadbed filler are significantly higher than those of lime-solidified muck. This improvement is achieved by using carbide slag, red mud, granulated blast furnace slag, and desulfurization gypsum to prepare the solid waste-based cementitious material (CRGD) for shield tunnel muck solidification. The components of CRGD interact with each other and react with the active silicon-aluminum component in the muck through a pozzolanic reaction, mainly generating C‒(A)‒S‒H gel and needle-like ettringite. These products effectively fill the muck pores, reduce porosity, and improve the compactness and strength of the solidified muck. In addition, treating 1 ton of shield tunnel muck requires only 5.160 yuan, indicating favorable economic and environmental benefits.
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