Due to the high demand for rubble and aggregates for construction purposes, rubble quarries and aggregate crushers are very common. Out of the different quarry wastes, quarry dust is one, which is produced in abundance. About 20-25% of the total production in each crusher unit is left out as the waste material-quarry dust. Bulk utilization of this waste material is possible through geotechnical applications like embankments, back-fill material, sub-base material and the like. It becomes a useful additive to the natural soil to improve its strength characteristics. For the above applications one of the important engineering properties is the shear strength. The purpose of the present investigation is to understand the shear strength behavior of quarry dust and soil-quarry dust mixes.

Quarries and aggregate crushers are basic requisites for construction industry and quarry dust is a byproduct of rubble crusher units. Geotechnical and mineralogical characterization of quarry dust and its interaction behavior with soils can lead to viable solutions for its large-scale utilization and disposal. The effect of addition of quarry dust on properties of red earth and two different cohesive soils; viz. kaolinite, Cochin marine clay was studied in detail. The results indicate that compaction characteristics and CBR of soils are improved by addition of quarry dust. Problems associated with the construction of highways over clayey subgrade can be reduced significantly by mixing with quarry dust.