A comparative laboratory scale study on the effect of waste boulder crusher dust and cement in stabilising marginal sediments

ABSTRACT

Boulder crusher dust (BCD) is a waste by-product of crusher units left in huge quantities posing huge environmental, health as well as disposal problems. This waste material was chosen as an additive for stabilisation of marginal sediments alongside ordinary Portland cement. The mechanical properties of the treated soil was evaluated with addition of BCD in increments of 4% by dry weight of the soil along with cement at two different percentages (2.5% and 5%), a relationship between a traditional and a non-traditional additive was established. Consistency limits, compaction characteristics, California bearing ratio (CBR) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) were studied. Curing period of 7 and 21 days was given to the UCS samples. The maximum dry unit weight (MDUW) increased with increasing BCD and cement content whereas the optimum moisture content (OMC) decreased. There was an increase in CBR values for both BCD and cement treated samples. The UCS values at 16% BCD and 21 days curing increased from 45 to 198 kPa whereas the cement treated soil showed an increase from 45 to 410 kPa over a period of 21 days curing at 5% cement content. The experimental results were further supported by microstructural analysis.

KEYWORDS:

• Boulder crusher dust
• marginal sediments
• stabilisation
• cement
• unconfined compressive strength
• micro-structural analysis

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the Geotechnical Staff and Department of Civil Engineering, NIT Srinagar. The authors would like to present their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for carefully reviewing the manuscript and providing valuable comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).