Influence of Lime on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Cnoal Gangue

Abstract

Coal gangue is one of the largest industrial residues generated during the coal mining process. The surge in demand for coal has led to further increase in coal gangue production, and its safe disposal is an arduous effort in terms of costs involved and the associated environmental impacts. To address these issues, innovative methods are explored for coal gangue utilization in different fields. The bulk and effective utilization of coal gangue can be attained by using it for various geotechnical applications. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of any material plays a major role in its utilization for various geotechnical applications like reclamation fill, fill behind retaining wall, base and sub-base layer. In the present study, the UCS of coal gangue and its variation on addition of lime at different curing periods has been studied. The effect of lime content and curing period clearly manifested with a significant increase in UCS of stabilized coal gangue. The improvement in strength is attributed to the formation of pozzolanic compounds with the curing period.