Strength Characteristics Of Polyurethane (PU) With Modified Sand

Abstract

Soil stabilisation is defined as a technique to improve the engineering characteristics in order to improve the parameters such as shear strength, compressibility, density, hydraulic conductivity. There are many techniques that can be used for different purposes by enhancing some aspects of soil behaviour and improve the strength and properties of soil. One of the cheapest techniques is by using Polyurethane grout, which is workable for construction and enhances the performance of soil compressive strength. Polyurethane (PU) foam is non-toxic, having an indefinite life span and non-environment unfriendly. PU is a chemical substance that normally used in polymer industries for instance resilience foam seating, rigid foam insulation panels and microcellular foam seals. In this research, different percentages of PU content are mixed with sand to test the compressive strength of modified sand. The compressive strength of sand is determined by conducting the Unconfined Compression Test (UCT) with the mold samples of 50mm diameter and 100mm height. The test determines the compressive strength and generates the stress-strain relationship of the modified sand. It is shown that the compressive strength of modified sand will gradually increase with an increasing PU content percentage (varying from 10% (20 kPa) – 95% (500 kPa). Conclusively, this research could be used as the benchmark of ground improvement technique.