Towards Sustainable Stabilization: Utilizing Waste Material as Binder

Abstract

The expansion and contraction of black cotton soil makes it difficult to build structures on it. The expansion and contraction behavior of black cotton soil must be adapted to make it suitable for construction purposes. This research is an attempt to evaluate the geotechnical characteristics of black cotton soil by performing laboratory testing incorporating ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) (10, 20, 30 and 40%) and polypropylene fiber (0.5, 1 and 1.5%) so as to use the combination as subgrade material. Various laboratory testing's such as consistency limits, compaction and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests were conducted on varying amount of both the materials. The laboratory tests revealed that adding the right amount of GGBFS and polypropylene fiber alone or in combination improved the geotechnical features of black cotton soil (BCS). The mix obtained does not only solve the problems associated with BCS but also provides a cost effective solution for soil stabilization.