No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The growth of the global economy in recent years has resulted in an increase in infrastructure projects worldwide and consequently, this has led to an increase in the quantity of waste generated. Two recycled materials, namely garnet residues (GR) and tire-derived aggregates (TDA), were used to improve mechanical properties of soft clay (SC) subgrade in this study. GR was evaluated as a replacement material in SC prior to Type I Portland cement stabilization. TDA was also studied as an elastic material in cement-stabilized SC–GR. The laboratory tests on the cement–TDA-stabilized SC–GR included unconfined compressive strength (UCS), indirect tensile stress (ITS) and indirect tensile fatigue (ITF). Microstructural analysis on the cement–TDA-stabilized SC–GR was also performed to illustrate the role of GR and TDA contents on the degree of hydration. The UCS of cement-stabilized SC–GR increased when cement content increased from 0% to 2%. Beyond 2% cement content, the UCS development was slightly slower, possibly due to the presence of insufficient water for hydration. The GR reduces the specific surface and particle contacts of the SC–GR blends to be bonded with cementitious products. The optimum SC:GR providing the highest UCS was found to be 90:10 for all cement contents. Increased amounts of GR led to a reduction in UCS values due to its high water absorption, resulting in the insufficient water for the cement hydration. Moreover, the excessive GR replacement ratio weakened the interparticle bond strength due to its smooth and round particles. The TDA addition can enhance the fatigue resistance of the cement-stabilized SC–GR. The maximum fatigue life was found at 2% TDA content. The excessive TDA caused large amounts of micro-cracks in cement–TDA-stabilized SC–GR due to the low adhesion property of TDA. The SC:GR = 90:10, cement content = 2% and TDA content = 2% were suggested as the optimum ingredients. The outcome of this research will promote the usage of GR and TDA to develop a green high-fatigue-resistant subgrade material.

This research investigated the effects of types of cohesive-frictional soil and geotextile reinforcement configurations on the bearing capacity of reinforced soil foundation (RSF) structures, via laboratory test and numerical simulation. The four reinforcement configurations studied for the RSF included: (i) horizontal planar form of geotextile, (ii) full-wraparound ends of geotextile, (iii) full-wraparound ends of geotextile with filled-in sand, and (iv) full-wraparound ends of geotextile with filled-in sand and sand backfill. The foundation soils studied were mixtures of fine sand and sodium bentonite at replacement ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% by dry weight of sand to have various values of plasticity index (PI). The numerical analysis of RSF structures was performed using PLAXIS 2D software. Several factors were studied, which included: embedment depth of the top reinforcement layer (U), width of horizontal planar form of the reinforcement (W), and spacing between geotextile reinforcement layers (H). Number of reinforcement layers (N) was varied to determine the optimum parameters of U/B, W/B, H/B, and N, where B is the footing width. The most effective improvement technique was found for the full wraparound ends of geotextile with filled-in sand and sand backfill. The outcome of this research will provide a preliminary guideline in a design of RSF structure with different ground soils and other RSF structures with different geosynthetic types.