## 1 Introduction  
In recent years, the intensification of desertification due to global climate change coupled with the increasing level of urbanization has necessitated the construction of numerous buildings on aeolian sand foundations [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. In regions with extensive desert areas such as Northwest China, the Middle East and North Africa, the majority of new construction projects must address the geotechnical challenges posed by aeolian sand foundations [6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. However, aeolian sand is a special type of material characterized by excessive fluidity (angle of repose \(<\) 28\({}^{\circ}\)), negligible cohesion (\(<\)1 kPa in natural state), and a loose granular structure (void ratio \(>\) 0.65) [14, 15, 16, 17, 18]. These properties result in critically low bearing capacities and pronounced susceptibility to differential settlement under load, which significantly increase the difficulty of foundation construction and severely restrict engineering development in desert regions [19, 20, 21, 22]. The traditional method for aeolian sand foundation treatment involves complete excavation and replacement with imported clay or crushed stone [23; 24; 25]. Unfortunately, although it can significantly enhance the bearing capacity of the foundation, the scarcity of replacement materials and the limited transportation conditions in remote deserts render this method costly [26]. By contrast, the in situ improvement of aeolian sand using cementitious materials to enhance its bearing capacity represents a more economical treatment method. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), as the most widely used inorganic cementitious material globally, has been a common curing stabilizer in past research and applications of aeolian sand stabilization. Previous studies demonstrate that the unconfined compressive strength (_UCS_) and shear strength of cement-stabilized aeolian sand exhibit positive correlations with cement content and curing age [20; 27; 28; 29]. At an optimal water-cement ratio with 8-10% cement dosage, the 28-day _UCS_ of stabilized aeolian sand exceeds 1.5 MPa [30], accompanied by a cohesive strength surpassing 90 kPa [26]. However, the decarbonization of limestone during OPC clinker production, coupled with fossil fuel combustion in kilns, results in substantial carbon emissions, which renders the application of OPC in the stabilization of aeolian sand increasingly incompatible with the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Utilization of industrial solid wastes (ISWs) to develop cementitious materials as alternatives to OPC has been recognized as an environmentally sustainable soil stabilization strategy that effectively enhances soil bearing capacity while mitigating the challenges of ISW stockpiling, therefore garnering significant attention [31]. Similar to the OPC clinker, ISWs containing reactive calcium silicates (C\({}_{2}\)S/C\({}_{3}\)S) and calcium aluminates (C\({}_{3}\)A) generate calcium (aluminate) silicate hydrate [C-(A)-S-H] gels under alkaline conditions, strengthening interparticle bonding to achieve stabilization performance comparable to or superior to OPC [32; 33; 34; 35]. Current research has extensively investigated partial OPC replacement with fly ash (FA) [36; 37; 38; 39] and ground granulated blast-furnace slag [40; 41; 42; 43], accompanied by the progressive establishment of relevant standards. On the other hand, studies exploring the use of solid wastes such as steel slag [44; 45; 46], red mud (RM) [47; 48; 49], and desulfurized gypsum (DG) [50; 51; 52] to develop fully industrial solid waste-based cementitious materials (ISW-CMs) as complete replacements for OPC have also been reported. It is noteworthy that the oxide content and reactivity vary significantly among different ISWs, making it crucial to determine their proportions according to specific principles in order to optimize the strength and workability of ISW-CMs.