Ground Improvement of Cohesive Soil with Demolished Construction Waste—An Experimental Study

A clayey soil consists of clay particles (size less than 2 microns) possessing plasticity and cohesion. Water is an influential parameter for the strength characteristics of clays. Clay endures as the heaviest and densest soil type when compacted. Most of the construction activities are encountered with clayey soil during the initial stages of construction. The clays due to their high activity, expand and contract beyond the permissible limits of construction To arrest such volumetric changes and ground improvement in the soil, in this work the clay soil was added with demolished construction waste (basically concrete) fines at varying percentages 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60% for examining the soil in compression and shear loads. The soil on addition with demolished particles of concrete was tested to observe dry densities, specific gravity, permeability, and shear strength. The dry density, specific gravity and permeability values saw a significant rise as the content of construction demolished waste was raised in the clays. While studying shear parameters the cohesion increased continuously however the value of internal friction angle rises upon addition of 30% demolished waste after which it declines continuously.