| 51. |
- Ager, Bengt
(author)
-
Skogsarbetets humanisering och rationalisering från 1900 och framåt
- 2014
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Rapporten belyser skogsarbetets förändring i storskogsbruket under perioden 1900 – 2013 under inflytande av rationalisering och humanisering som förändringsprocesser. Utgångsläget var ett ytterst slitsamt, riskabelt och lågbetalt säsongsarbete i kyla och snö, med bortaliggning i undermåliga kojor.I periodens början fullbordades en spontan rationalisering som inletts i slutet av 1800-talet och som bestod av att effektivare handredskap – olika typer av sågar, barkspadar och hanteringsdon - ersatte yxan som universalredskap. Organiserad rationalisering av skogsarbetet kom igång först i slutet på 30-talet. Den hämtade då sin inspiration från industrin som vid det laget hade anpassat amerikanen F W Taylors rationaliseringskoncept till den svenska arbetsmarknaden och kulturen. Arbetsstudier blev grund för effektivisering av det manuella skogsarbetet och för en rättvisare lön. Men skogsbruket kom sedan att finna egna vägar, som ledde till en världsunik teknisk och organisatorisk utveckling med början på 1950-talet och kulmen kring 1990. Under de senaste två årtiondena har rationaliseringen i skogsbruket anslutit sig till ”mainstream” i näringslivets utveckling, som styrs allt mera av dels den globaliserade marknadens mekanismer samt dels ”Lean”, ett hopkok av amerikanska och japanska organisationskoncept, och med ”outsourcing” som främsta verktyg. Under perioden 1940-2005 utvecklades produktiviteten kraftigt, med särskilt stora språng 1960-75 och 1990-2005. Efter 2005 skedde en stagnation.Humaniseringen av skogsarbetet inleddes med provinsialläkaren Hasslers larm 1907. Starten blev trög men skogsarbetarnas boende och mathållning kom att förbättras på många håll fram till 1930-talets slut. Då blev humanisering en integrerad del av den systematiska rationaliseringen, vilket innebar radikala förbättringar av det manuella skogsarbetet. När mekaniseringen tog fart under 50- och 60-talet kom människan i produktionssystemet bort ett tag, vilket ledde till omtag på humaniseringsprocessen. Ergonomin utvecklades som redskap och som vetenskap. Från slutet av 70-talet till slutet av 90-talet blev humaniseringen, stödd av flera aktörer, åter en integrerad del av rationaliseringen, nu underbyggd av det ”sociotekniska” organisationskoncept som utvecklats av engelska och norska arbetsforskare. Arbetets organisation kom i fokus. Den totala humankvaliteten kulminerade åren kring 1990. Skogsarbetet nådde då en höjdpunkt vad gäller mångsidighet, kontaktrikedom, variation, självbestämmande, ansvar och uppmärksamhet. Sedan inleddes en viss avhumanisering. Humaniseringsaktörerna försvagades eller försvann. Marknadens ”osynliga hand” tog alltmera över utvecklingen. Humankvaliteten försämrades på en rad punkter som i huvudsak kan hänföras till organisationsmiljön – färre personliga kontakter, längre arbetsresor, sämre skiftformer, kortare framförhållning och sämre kvalitet i planeringen samt sänkt relativ lönenivå. Försämringarna kompenseras delvis av att maskinernas förarmiljö och driftssäkerhet förbättrats avsevärt, men generellt har skogsarbetet förlorat i attraktivitet. Historiken summeras utförligt i kapitel 11.I kapitlet 12 om framtidens arbetsliv nationellt och i skogsbruket hävdar författaren att det behövs ett tidsanpassat humaniseringskoncept av samma dignitet som det på 60-talet lanserade sociotekniska konceptet. En skiss på ett sådant ”socioekonomiskt” koncept presenteras, inklusive en begreppsapparat som gör anspråk på att vara innovativ, samt en rad åtgärdsförslag. Därvid beaktas lärdomar från det förgångna.
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| 52. |
- Aguilar-Mamani, Wilson, 1981-
(author)
-
Crystallization of NBA-ZSM-5 from kaolin
- 2017
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- ZSM-5 is an aluminosilicate zeolite with high Si/Al ratio with suitable properties for catalysis, ion exchange, adsorption and membrane applications. The main goal of this thesis was to study the growth of ZSM-5 zeolite crystals from inexpensive natural sources of silica and alumina, as well as n-butylamine (NBA) as a low-cost structure directing agent.The first objective of this work was to develop pathways to synthesize ZSM-5 crystals from kaolin clay or diatomaceous earth, two inexpensive natural sources of silica and alumina (Paper I). In the case of kaolin, a heat treatment was used in order to form amorphous metakaolinite. Subsequently, dealumination of the raw materials by acid leaching made it possible to reach appropriate Si/Al ratios and to reduce the amount of impurities. Finally, leached metakaolinite or diatomaceous earth was reacted with sodium hydroxide and NBA. After synthesis optimization, both sources of aluminosilicates were found to behave differently during the course of synthesis and to lead to slightly different reaction products. The final products exhibited Si/Al ratios in the range 10-20. The use of leached diatomaceous earth allowed to reach higher yield of ZSM-5 crystals within comparable synthesis times. However, low amounts of mordenite were inevitably formed as a by-product, which was related to the high calcium content of diatomaceous earth. Therefore, the rest of the thesis focused on the kaolin system.In order to study the growth mechanism of ZSM-5 from leached metakaolinite, a proper methodology to gain local compositional data by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) on aluminosilicates was developed (Paper II). Zeolite A was used as a model system that could be ion-exchanged with various elements. In order to evaluate the reliability of the measurements, inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) and EDS were compared. The EDS method developed in this work resulted in molar ratios very close to theoretical values and was therefore found more reliable than ICP-SFMS. Therefore, the method developed for zeolite A was applied in the rest of the thesis work to study the formation and growth of ZSM-5 crystals.The second part of this work focused on the kaolin system in order to understand the nucleation and growth processes of the ZSM-5 crystals. This system was heterogeneous, due to the formation of a gel upon heating of the synthesis mixture. First, the internal structure of the gel was investigated (Paper III). Second, a kinetic study was performed and compared with microstructural observations (Paper IV). Finally, the mechanisms leading to Al-zoning and dendritical growth of the zeolite crystals were investigated (Paper V). The characterization of the intermediate phases during the different stages of the hydrothermal synthesis were analyzed by different analytical techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), extreme high resolution-scanning electron microscopy (XHR-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen gas adsorption.These investigations led to several important conclusions: 1) The walls of the gel were shown for the first time to be inhomogeneous and to possess a biphasic internal structure consisting of a mesoporous skeleton of aluminosilicate nanoparticles embedded in a silicate-rich soluble matrix of soft matter. 2) The kinetic study and microstructural evidences indicated that the early crystals were fully embedded inside the gel phase and that crystal growth was retarded, as the formation of the gel occurred simultaneously with the early growth of the crystals. Hence, nucleation and growth appeared to be solution mediated. 3) Finally, the Al zoning of the crystals was related to the biphasic internal structure of the gel, since the silicate-rich matrix was preferentially consumed first. 4) The dendrites present at the surface of the crystals during most of the growth process were shown to be caused by the presence of a web of nanoparticles, most likely originating from the mesoporous skeleton inside the gel.In the future, these findings are expected to lead to optimized synthesis pathways of catalysts with homogeneous properties and to contribute to the development of poor regions in Bolivia.
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| 53. |
- Ahmadi, Alireza
(author)
-
Aircraft scheduled maintenance programme development : decision support methodologies and tools
- 2010
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The air transport business is large in its operations, integrated, automated and complex. Air carriers are constantly striving to achieve high standards of safety and simultaneously to attain an increased level of availability performance at minimal cost. This needs to be supported through an effective maintenance programme which has a major impact on the availability performance and which ultimately can enhance the aircraft’s capability to meet market demands at the lowest possible cost. The development of a maintenance programme is challenging, but can be enhanced by supporting methodologies and tools. The purpose of this study is to develop decision support methodologies and tools for aircraft scheduled maintenance programme development within the framework of Maintenance Review Board (MRB) process. To achieve the purpose of the research, literature studies, case studies, and simulations have been conducted. Empirical data have been collected through document studies, interviews, questionnaires, and observations from the aviation industry. For data analysis, theories and methodologies within risk, dependability and decision making have been combined with the best practices from the aviation industry. One result of the research is the identification of potential areas for improving the use of MSG-3 methodology in aircraft scheduled maintenance development. Another result is the development of a systematic methodology guided by the application of an Event Tree Analysis (ETA) for the identification and quantification of different operational risks caused by aircraft system failures, to support decision making for maintenance task development. A third result is a proposed methodology, based on a combination of different Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodologies, for selecting the most effective maintenance strategy for aircraft scheduled maintenance development. Finally, the fourth result is a proposed Cost Rate Function (CRF) model supported by a graphical approach. The approach can be used to identify the optimum maintenance interval and frequencies of Failure Finding Inspection (FFI) and to develop a combination of FFI and restoration tasks for the aircraft’s repairable items which are experiencing aging. These results are related to some of the specific industrial challenges, and are expected to enhance the capability of making effective and efficient decisions during the development of maintenance tasks. The results have been verified through interaction with experienced practitioners within major aviation manufacturers and air operators.
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| 54. |
- Ahmed, Mukhtiar
(author)
-
Fluorine-Free Ionic Liquids and Electrolytes : From Synthesis to Energy Storage Applications
- 2023
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Since their introduction by Sony in 1990, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have acquired a sizable market share. They have the best energy densities, a high open circuit voltage, a low self-discharge rate, no memory effect, and a slow loss of charge when not in use. These properties make them the most popular rechargeable batteries for portable gadgets, electric vehicles and aerospace applications. They do, however, pose major safety issues since the conventional electrolytes are made of fluorinated salts dissolved in volatile organic solvents, the former being meta-stable at ambient temperature and the latter being flammable with a high vapour pressure. Thus, there is an urge to develop thermally and electrochemically stable non-fluorinated electrolytes to improve the safety and performance of batteries. Electrolytes based on ionic liquids (ILs) offer a range of advantages over traditional electrolytes including low volatility and high thermal and electrochemical stabilities, and can additionally be made fluorine-free and task-specific. In addition, the transport properties of ILs can be controlled by structural design of chemical functionalities to reduce the ionic interactions and enhance the ion mobilities.This thesis is focussed on the development of new fluorine-free ILs and electrolytes for safer energy storage applications. An overview of synthesis, physicochemical and electrochemical characterizations of six different families of ILs and their structurally analogous electrolytes based on the aromatic heterocyclic rings, oligoether based aromatic and aliphatic carboxylates, oligoether phosphates and aromatic sulfonyl anions coupled with n- tetrabutylphosphonium-, imidazolium-, pyrrolidinium-based and alkali metal cations is presented. The structures and purity of the new anions, their intermediate products and the ILs are characterized by using multinuclear NMR, FTIR and mass spectrometry. These studies are further complemented by using NMR diffusometry to investigate the relative anion and anion mobilities and understand the possible interaction mechanisms between the oppositely charged ions within the ILs and the electrolytes, and especially, the influence of Li+ addition in the IL-based electrolytes. Among the synthesized ILs, the sulfonyl-based ILs revealed highest thermal stabilities, aromatic oligoether-based ILs showed the best electrochemical stabilities and aromatic sulfonyl -based ILs exhibited highest ionic conductivities. Some of the synthesized salts displayed promising performance as electrolytes in energy storage devices.
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| 55. |
- Ahmer, Muhammad
(author)
-
Intelligent fault diagnosis and predictive maintenance for a bearing ring grinder
- 2023
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Predicting the failure of any structure is a difficult task in a mechanical system. However complicated and difficult the prediction might be, the first step is to know the actual condition of the system. Given the complexity of any machine tool, where a number of subsystems of electro-mechanical structures interact to perform the machining operation, failure diagnostics become more challenging due to the high demand for performance and reliability. In a production environment, this results in maintenance costs that the management always strives to reduce. Condition-based machine maintenance (CBM) is considered to be the maintenance strategy that can lead to failure prediction and reducing the maintenance cost by knowing the actual condition of the asset and planning the maintenance activities in advance.Grinding machines and grinding processes have come a long way since the inception of the centuries old grinding technique. However, we still have a number of challenges to overcome before a completely monitored and controlled machine and process can be claimed. One such challenge is to achieve a machine level CBM and predictive maintenance (PdM) setup which is addressed in this thesis. A CBM implementation framework has been proposed which combines the information sampled from sensors installed for the purpose of the process as well as condition monitoring. Accessing the machine's controller information allows the data to be processed with respect to different machine states and process stages. The successful implementation is achieved through a real-time and synchronized data acquisition setup that allows data from multiple sources to be acquired, stored, and consolidated. The dataset thus generated is used in a significant part of this project and is also published in Swedish National Data Service (SND).The thesis also presents the failure diagnostic model based on two step classification approach using benchmarked random forest models. The binary classifier predicts if there is a fault present in the machine based on crucial sensors data from the Idle segment of the grinding cycle. Multi-class random forest classifier diagnosis the fault condition. PdM, knowing when to trigger maintenance action, is achieved through predicting the overall quality of the produced parts from the feature set extracted from sensor data of the Spark-out segment of the grinding cycle. Combining fault diagnosis with the predicted quality information resulted in reliable and actionable maintenance decisions for the bearing ring grinder. The demonstrated setup, based on a production bearing ring grinder, is adaptable to similar machines in production.
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| 56. |
- Aitomäki, Yvonne
(author)
-
Online fibre property measurements : foundations for a method based on ultrasound attenuation
- 2009
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis presents the foundations of a method for estimating fibre properties of pulp suitable for online application in the pulp and paper industry. In the pulp and paper industry, increased efficiency and greater paper quality control are two of the industry's main objectives. It is proposed that online fibre property measurements are a means of achieving progress in both of these objectives. Optical based systems that provide valuable geometric data on the fibres and other pulp characteristics are commercially available. However, measurements of the elastic properties of the fibres are not currently implemented using these systems. To fill this gap an ultrasound based system for measuring the elastic properties of the wood fibres in pulp is proposed. Ultrasound propagation depends on the elastic properties of a solid. Hence attenuation measurements from suspensions of fibres depend on their elastic properties. The method is based on solving the inverse problem where the output is known and the objective is to establish the inputs. In this case, attenuation is measured and a model of attenuation based on ultrasound scattering is developed. A search algorithm is used for finding elastic properties that minimize the error between the model and measured attenuation. The results of the search are estimates of the elastic properties of the fibres in suspension. The results show resonance peaks in the attenuation, in the frequency region tested, for fibres with radii of the order of 10 microns. These peaks are found in both the measured and modelled attenuation spectra. Further investigation of these resonances suggests that they are due to modes of vibration in the fibre where the fibre modelled as an infinitely long cylinder. These resonances are shown to aid in the identification of the elastic properties. The attenuation is found to depend heavily on the geometry of the fibres. Hence fibre geometry, which can be obtained from online optical fibre measurement system, provides the key to extracting the elastic properties from the attenuation signal. Studies are also carried out on the effect of viscosity on attenuation as well as the differences in attenuation between hollow and solid synthetic fibres in suspensions. The measurement method is also applied to hardwood and softwood Kraft pulps. The results of these studies show that using the model derived in the thesis and attenuation measurements, estimates of the elastic properties can be obtained. The elastic property estimates for synthetic fibres agree well with values from other methods. The elastic property estimates for pulps require further validation due to the difficulty in comparing between different testing methods and different types of pulp. The conclusions, based on the work so far and under three realisable conditions, are that the shear modulus and the transverse Young's modulus of pulp fibres can be measured. Once these conditions are met a system based on this method can be implemented. By doing this the industry would benefit from the increase in paper quality control and energy saving such system could provide.
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| 57. |
- Akhmetkaliyeva, Raya
(author)
-
Maximal regularity of the solutions for some degenerate differential equations and their applications
- 2018
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This PhD thesis deals with the study of existence and uniqueness together with coercive estimates for solutions of certain differential equations.The thesis consists of six papers (papers A, B, C, D, E and F), two appendices and an introduction, which put these papers and appendices into a more general frame and which also serves as an overview of this interesting field of mathematics.In the text below the functionsr = r(x), q = q(x), m = m(x) etc. are functions on (−∞,+∞), which are different but well defined in each paper. Paper A deals with the study of separation and approximation properties for the differential operator in the Hilbert space (here is the complex conjugate of ). A coercive estimate for the solution of the second order differential equation is obtained and its applications to spectral problems for the corresponding differential operator is demonstrated. Some sufficient conditions for the existence of the solutions of a class of nonlinear second order differential equations on the real axis are obtained.In paper B necessary and sufficient conditions for the compactness of the resolvent of the second order degenerate differential operator in is obtained. We also discuss the two-sided estimates for the radius of fredholmness of this operator.In paper C we consider the minimal closed differential operator in , where are continuously differentiable functions, and is a continuous function. In this paper we show that the operator is continuously invertible when these coefficients satisfy some suitable conditions and obtain the following estimate for : ,where is the domain of .In papers D, E, and F various differential equations of the third order of the form are studied in the space .In paper D we investigate the case when and .Moreover, in paper E the equation (0.1) is studied when . Finally, in paper F the equation (0.1) is investigated under certain additional conditions on .For these equations we establish sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the solution, and also prove an estimate of the form for the solution of equation (0.1).
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| 58. |
- Al-Douri, Yamur K.
(author)
-
Two-Level Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm for Risk-Based Life Cycle Cost Analysis
- 2019
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the fields in science and engineering and encompasses a wide variety of subfields, ranging from general areas (learning and perception) to specific topics, such as mathematical theorems. AI and, specifically, multi-objective genetic algorithms (MOGAs) for risk-based life cycle cost (LCC) analysis should be performed to estimate the optimal replacement time of tunnel fan systems, with a view towards reducing the ownership cost and the risk cost and increasing company profitability from an economic point of view. MOGA can create systems that are capable of solving problems that AI and LCC analyses cannot accomplish alone.The purpose of this thesis is to develop a two-level MOGA method for optimizing the replacement time of reparable system. MOGA should be useful for machinery in general and specifically for reparable system. This objective will be achieved by developing a system that includes a smart combination of techniques by integrating MOGA to yield the optimized replacement time. Another measure to achieve this purpose is implementing MOGA in clustering and imputing missing data to obtain cost data, which could help to provide proper data to forecast cost data for optimization and to identify the optimal replacement time.In the first stage, a two-level MOGA is proposed to optimize clustering to reduce and impute missing cost data. Level one uses a MOGA based on fuzzy c-means to cluster cost data objects based on three main indices. The first is cluster centre outliers; the second is the compactness and separation ( ) of the data points and cluster centres; the third is the intensity of data points belonging to the derived clusters. Level two uses MOGA to impute the missing cost data by using a valid data period from that are reduced data in size. In the second stage, a two-level MOGA is proposed to optimize time series forecasting. Level one implements MOGA based on either an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model or a dynamic regression (DR) model. Level two utilizes a MOGA based on different forecasting error rates to identify proper forecasting. These models are applied to simulated data for evaluation since there is no control of the influenced parameters in all of the real cost data. In the final stage, a two-level MOGA is employed to optimize risk-based LCC analysis to find the optimal replacement time for reparable system. Level one uses a MOGA based on a risk model to provide a variation of risk percentages, while level two uses a MOGA based on an LCC model to estimate the optimal reparable system replacement time.The results of the first stage show the best cluster centre optimization for data clustering with low and high intensity. Three cluster centres were selected because these centres have a geometry that is suitable for the highest data reduction of 27%. The best optimized interval is used for imputing missing data. The results of the second stage show the drawbacks of time series forecasting using a MOGA based on the DR model. The MOGA based on the ARIMA model yields better forecasting results. The results of the final stage show the drawbacks of the MOGA based on a risk-based LCC model regarding its estimation. However, the risk-based LCC model offers the possibility of optimizing the replacement schedule.However, MOGA is highly promising for allowing optimization compared with other methods that were investigated in the present thesis.
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| 59. |
- Al-Gburi, Majid
(author)
-
Restraint Effects in Early Age Concrete Structures
- 2015
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- One of the widespread issues in concrete structures is cracks occurring at early age. Cracks that appear in the young concrete may cause early start of corrosion of rebars or early penetration of harmful liquids or gases into the concrete body. These situations could result in reduced service life and in significantly increased maintenance cost of structures. Therefore it is important for construction companies to avoid these cracks.Volumetric deformations in early age concrete are caused by changes in temperature and/or the moisture state. If such movements are restrained, stresses will occur. If the tensile stresses are high enough, there will be a damage failure in tension and visible cracks arise. These stresses are always resulting from a self-balancing of forces, either within the young concrete bodyalone, i.e. without structural joints to other structures, or from the young concrete in combination with adjacent structures through structural joints.The decisive situation within a young concrete body alone is typically high stresses at the surface when the temperature is near the peak temperature within the body. This situation occur rather early for ordinary structures, say within a few days after casting for structures up to about some meters thickness, but for very massive structures like large concrete dams, it might take months and even years to reach the maximum tensile stresses at the surface. Usually this type of cracks is denoted "surface cracks", and in some cases only a temperature calculation may give a good perception to make decisions of the risk of surface cracking.On the other hand, the decisive situation within a young concrete body connected to adjacent structures, might include both risk of surface cracking at some distance away from the structural joint and risk of through cracking starting in the neighborhood of the structural joint. If the young concrete body is small in accordance to the adjacent structure, or, in other words, if thereis an overall high restraint situation in the young concrete, the risk of early surface cracking might be out of question. So, restraint from adjacent structures represents one of the main sources of thermal and shrinkage stresses in a young concrete body.This study is mainly concentrated on establishing the restraint inside the young concrete body counteracted by adjacent structures, and how to estimate the risk of through cracking based on such restraint distributions. The restraint values in the young concrete are calculated with use of the finite element method, FEM. Any spatial structure may be analyzed with respect to the level of restraint. Calculations of risk of cracking are demonstrated with use of existing compensation plane methods, and a novel method denoted equivalent restraint method, ERM, is developed for the use of restraint curves. ERM enables the use of both heating ofthe adjacent structure and/or cooling of the young concrete, which are the most common measures used on site to reduce the risk of early cracking.In a design situation many parameters are to be considered, like type of cement, different concrete mixes, temperature in the fresh concrete, surrounding temperatures, temperature in the adjacent structure, measures on site (heating/cooling/insulation), sequence order of casting.Therefore, in general a lot of estimations concerning risks of cracking are to be performed. The main objective with the present study is to develop methods speeding up and shorten the design process.Furthermore, established restraint curves have been applied to the method of artificial neural networks (ANN) to model restraint in the slab, wall, and roof for the typical structure Tunnel. It has been shown that ANN is capable of modeling the restraint with good accuracy. The usage of the neural network has been demonstrated to give a clear picture of the relative importance of the input parameters. Further, results from the neural network can be represented by a series of basic weight and response functions, which enables that the restraint curves easily can be made available to any engineer without use of complicated software.A new casting technique is proposed to reduce restraint in the newly cast concrete with a new arrangement of the structural joint to the existing old concrete. The proposed technique is valid for the typical structure wall-on-slab using one structural joint. This casting method means that the lower part of the wall is cast together with the slab, and that part is called a kicker. It hasbeen proven by the beam theory and demonstrated by numerical calculations that there is a clear reduction in the restraint from the slab to the wall using kickers.Restraint is affected by casting sequence as well as boundary conditions and joint position between old and new concrete elements. This study discusses the influence of different possible casting sequences for the typical structure wall-on-slab and slab-on-ground. The aim is to identify the sequence with the lowest restraint to reduce the risk of cracking.
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| 60. |
- Al-Jabban, Wathiq Jasim
(author)
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Soil Modification by adding small amounts of binders : A laboratory study
- 2019
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Soil stabilization through addition of a hydraulic binder is a method frequently used to modify and improve engineering properties of soft soils. Additives like cement and lime are typically used as stabilizers. More recently, industrial by-products, such as fly ashes, cement kiln dust, blast furnace slags and other slags have been used. The chemical reaction between the soil and the stabilizer alters the physical and engineering properties of the soil and thus desired strength and durability are obtained. The choice of appropriate type and quantity of stabilizer (binder) depends largely on factors such as soil type, moisture content, organic content, sulfate content, curing conditions (time and temperature) and the desired improvement.The objective of this thesis is to increase knowledge and understanding of how small amounts of binders change various engineering properties of stabilized soils in short- and longtime perspective. Extensive laboratory and field programs have been carried out. They cover immediate and long-term effects on the engineering properties by adding various binders. Cement, Multicem, and by-products Petrit T and Mesa were used as binders. Binder was added to the soil at various quantities: 1%, 2%, 4%, 7% and 8% of soil dry weight. The field and laboratory investigation included tests of consistency limits, sieving and hydrometer, unconfined compressive strength, density, solidification, grain size distribution using laser particle size analyzer, leaching tests and pH value. The tests were carried out on the treated soil with different binder contents and after different curing times i.e. 7, 14, 28, 60, 90 days for laboratory tests and 7 and 35 days for field investigation.The unconfined compression tests were used to show the effects of different binders on the enhancement in strength and stiffness over time. Consistency limits were determined to investigate the effects of the binders on the consistency limits, directly after treatment and over time. Laser particle size analyzer tests were conducted to investigate the effects of different binders on the particle size distribution (PSD) before and after treatment. The pH tests were conducted to investigate the effects of different binders on the alkalinity of the soil immediately after treatment and over time. This was used to give an indication of soil-binder reactions. MRM leaching tests were conducted to investigate the acidification potential of soils before and after treatment. Freeze-thaw cycles were conducted to investigate the strength characteristics after freezing and thawing in short- and long-term perspectives. Visual observation and standard dry sieving tests were conducted to optimize the proper mixing times to disintegrate or homogenize the soils by decreasing the size of agglomerated soil particles.The results show, that the variation in soil strength and stiffness of the treated soils are linked to different chemical reactions. Cement is most effective in improving the physical and engineering properties compared to the other binders studied. The plasticity index of soil decreases after treatment and over time. Liquidity index and the ratio of water content to plastic limit are introduced as new indices to illustrate the improvement in workability of treated soil by measuring the reduction in the liquidity index. This is found directly after treatment and it increases with time when the liquidity index is within the plastic range or when the water/plastic vi limit ratio is more than one. Increase of binder content and using longer curing times result in increase of soil density and decrease of water content. Particle size distribution of soil is changed by reducing the clay size fraction and increasing the silt size particles after treatment. This shows that an aggregation of particles take place resulting in coarser material than the initial. The cement-treated soils exhibit a more brittle failure in the unconfined compression tests compared to soils treated with other binder types where a more ductile behavior is observed. Applying freezing-thawing-cycles reduces the strength and stiffness of the treated soil.The appropriate length of time to homogenize and disintegrate the natural soil prior to treatment depends on several factors, such as soil type, water content, and plasticity properties of soil. For high plasticity soil, the disintegration time should be kept as short as possible. The homogenizing and disintegration time is less important for low plasticity soils with low water content than for medium to high plasticity soils.The acidification potential of soils are related to the addition of cementitious binders. The effect is found directly after treatment and over time. The treated soil exhibits higher resistance to decrease in pH value. The strength and stiffness properties found in the field investigation agree in general with those obtained from the laboratory investigation for the same binder type.
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