Improvement of Strength and Consolidation Properties of Clayey Soil Using Ceramic Dust

Abstract

The ceramic industry, which comprises with wall tiles, bricks and roof tiles, floor tiles, sanitary accessories, refractory materials and ceramic materials for domestic and other uses, is generating a huge amount of ceramic wastes. Therefore, their problem of disposal is also a great concern. This research delineates the effects of waste ceramic dust on strength and consolidation characteristics of clayey soil. Soil samples were prepared with the inclusion of various proportion of ceramic dust with clayey soil. The test results indicate that Atterberg limits, optimum moisture content, compression index and swelling index decrease due to inclusion of different percentages of ceramic dust with the studied clayey soil. On the other hand, maximum dry density and soaked California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value increase with the increase of inclusion of ceramic dust upto 20%. Further addition of ceramic dust had negative effects on these strength properties. It is recommended that ceramic dust upto 20% may be used for improving the detrimental properties of clayey soil. Keywords: