Effects of the inclusion of industrial and agricultural wastes on the compaction and compression properties of untreated and lime-treated clayey sand

Abstract

The reuse of industrial and agricultural wastes is an alternative method to provide low-cost building materials for the construction industry and reduce the environmental pollutions. This study evaluates the feasibility of using a couple of waste materials including palm fiber, palm fiber ash and fiber bundles both individually and in combination with lime to improve strength characteristics of clayey sand. A series of laboratory tests were performed on samples cured for 7, 14, 28 and 56 days to investigate the compaction properties, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and failure characteristics of the untreated and lime-treated clayey sand. The results demonstrate that the application of all the additives resulted in a noticeable increase in strength, and both treated and untreated specimens exhibited more ductile behavior. It was also revealed that the mixture of lime and fiber performed more impressively compared to that of lime and fiber individually and the UCS of the improved specimens depends on fiber length and curing period. Inclusion of the various proportions of palm fiber, palm fiber ash and lime increased the optimum moisture content (OMC) and decreased the maximum dry density (MDD), while the addition of fiber bundles decreased the value of MDD and OMC. Palm fiber ash was more effective in increasing the UCS of specimens, and fiber bundles had the most significant impact on the variations of compaction properties.

Use of Sawdust Fibers For Soil Reinforcement: A Review

“…In recent decades, researchers and engineers have proposed numerous methods for the improvement of the mechanical properties of soils through mechanisms that are more environmentally friendly [40][41][42][43], i.e., the use of polypropylene [44], tire strips [45], crushed tires [46]; as well as the addition of artificial and natural fibers, such as fiberglass [7], coconut shell [47,48]; water hyacinth [49], palm fibers [50], jute [51], Kernel palm shells [5]; rice husk ash [52]. Similarly, some research has been observed on the use of electronic waste (e-waste) in activities to improve the engineering properties of soils [53,54].…”

Management of agricultural waste biomass as raw material for the construction sector: an analysis of sustainable and circular alternatives

“…In this same category, 24% of the studies in the period 2004 to 2021 used AWBs as a total and/or partial substitute material for conventional fine and/or coarse aggregates in concrete [21,28,29,36,66,67,83,[89][90][91][92]. A smaller percentage (3%), between 2019 and 2021, analysed the potential of AWBs as additives and/or aggregates for soil stabilisation and/or improvement of geotechnical properties [69,70,93]. Other studies used a similar classification for the categories of use of agricultural residues in concrete [15,66].…”

“…In addition, in other applications used to improve the thermal performance of buildings (21-63%) [23,58]. On the other hand, lower AWB percentages (2-4%) were considered for soil stabilisation [70,93]. 4, several of the studies analysed point out some limitations and/or disadvantages derived from the use of AWBs as biomaterials for the production of bio-based products.…”

Use of Sawdust Fibers for Soil Reinforcement: A Review

“…In recent decades, researchers and engineers have proposed numerous methods for the improvement of the mechanical properties of soils through mechanisms that are more environmentally friendly [40][41][42][43], i.e., the use of polypropylene [44], tire strips [45], and crushed tires [46], as well as the addition of artificial and natural fibers, such as fiberglass [7], coconut shell [47,48], water hyacinth [49], palm fibers [50], jute [51], kernel palm shells [5], and rice husk ash [52]. Similarly, some research has been observed on the use of electronic waste (e-waste) in activities to improve the engineering properties of soils [53,54].…”