Performance of controlled low strength material made using industrial by-products

Abstract

Controlled low strength materials (CLSM) are the materials which are flowable and self-compacting in nature. These materials are used in various civil engineering applications such as backfill in trenches abutments and retaining walls; void fills in abandoned structures and cavities, conduit bedding, and many more. The strength of these materials is less than 8.3 MPa. CLSM is generally made of Portland cement, fine aggregate, fly ash, and water. Many researchers have studied the performance of CLSM using different industrial by-products such as quarry dust, foundry dust, shredded rubber tire, and many others. In this study, various mix proportion made up of red mud, crusher dust, fly ash, and Portland cement is used to study the engineering properties of CLSM. Considering flow value as one of the important parameters of CLSM, firstly, the amount of water content required for the desired flow value (0.15-0.3 m) was determined. After finding the water contents, each mix proportion was tested for other engineering properties such as unconfined compressive strength, bleeding, density, and durability. The results primarily show that these geomaterials can be used as a CLSM material with further study of its environmental impact on the surrounding soil.