Mortar is widely used in the construction industry for different purposes. Its compressive strength is the main parameter which is brought under focus. Compressive strength of mortars depends upon many factors such as water-cement ratio, fine aggregates size, and different curing conditions. This experimental study was undertaken to investigate the effect of GGBFS on compressive strength of mortars under different curing regimes using GGBFS as a partial replacement of cement. A total of 60 cubes of standard size of 2 x 2 x 2 inches were casted in laboratory, out of which 12 cubes each were prepared with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% GGBFS replacement for cement. Cubes were cured for 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. Bases on obtained results it is observed that the maximum compressive strength was achieved by sample with 5% GGBFS, although 10% GGBFS samples achieved higher compressive strength than the control sample with 0% GGBFS. Further replacement beyond this value causes reduction in strength.

Slope instability may be a result of change in stress conditions, rise in groundwater table and rainfall. Similarly, many slopes that have been stable for several years can abruptly fail due to changes in geometry, weak soil shear strength or as the effect of an external force. Debris flows (i.e. slope failures) take place without any warning and can have devastating results. So, it is vital to understand the slope failure mechanism and adopt safety prevention measures. Soil nailing is one of the widely used stabilization techniques for soil slopes. In this study, soil nail technique is proposed to upgrade the existing slope in clay. A parametric study was conducted to understand the effects of different nail diameter (i.e. 25mm and 40mm) and nail inclination (i.e. 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400) on slope stability. Morgenstern-Price (i.e. limit equilibrium) method was used to determine the factor of safety of the slope. It was found that the factor of safety of the existing slope improved significantly with three rows of 40mm diameter nail at an inclination of 400.

No abstract