Base Performances of Cement-Stabilized Magnesium Slag–Aeolian Sand Mixture

slags, remarkable ecological environmental damages by stacking and
landfill of magnesium slag, poor properties of soil–rock materials, and
high pavement cost in Yulin City, China. This study focused on the
combined use of feasibility of magnesium slag–Aeolian sand in
pavement base to address the problems above. The physical and chemical
properties of magnesium slag and Aeolian sand were obtained through
tests on the basic properties of raw materials. Different mixing ratios of
magnesium slag and Aeolian sand and cement content were designed.
Moreover, a comparative study on the compaction characteristics and
water stability, as well as unconfined compressive strength, splitting
strength, and compressive modulus of resilience of five groups of
cement-stabilized magnesium slag–Aeolian sand mixtures in different
periods, was conducted through a series of systematic laboratory tests.
The impact degrees of different factors on compressive strength were
calculated by the grey relational analysis method. Finally, the test section
was paved by combining laboratory test results. Research results
demonstrate that the active matter content is high, and the crushing value
of magnesium slag is also high. The optimal water content of the mixture
increases with the magnesium slag content, while the maximum dry
density decreases. The mixture's unconfined compressive strength,
splitting strength, and compressive modulus of resilience in different
curing periods all increased with the magnesium slag and cement
contents. Moreover, magnesium slag content has minimal influence on
splitting strength compared with unconfined compressive strength.
Among all factors, cement content provides the most influence on the
compressive strength, followed by water content, magnesium slag
content, and curing period successively. The 7 d compressive strength of
mixtures with different mixing ratios meets the strength requirements of
the base and subbase of different highway grades, and all mixtures show
good water stability. The test road also achieves good performance.
These findings prove that using cement-stabilized magnesium slag–
Aeolian sand mixture as the pavement base and subbase materials is
feasible. The magnesium slag content should be higher than 45% under
5% cement content to meet the strength requirements base. This study
can provide references to the applications of magnesium slag and
Aeolian sand in semi-rigid base materials.