UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS FACULTY OF ENGINEERING PROJECT PROPOSAL/SYNOPSIS Department of Civil Engineering Academic Year: 2018/19 Student's Name: GOBURDHUN Yogesh Student ID:1515419 Title of dissertation: The geotechnical properties of waste plastic and fresh concrete waste stabilized cohesive soils and their use in design. Aims and Objectives: The primary aim for the study is to investigate the innovative reuse of two candidate waste materials; waste plastics and fresh concrete waste in geotechnical applications. The objectives of the research are: (1) to process specific plastic materials and fresh concrete waste, into powdered or particle form to be used in stabilization, (2) to design soil-plastic mixes, soil- FCW mixes and soil- plastic - FCW mixes with varying contents for evaluation, (3) to evaluate the optimum plastic amount and FCW content through an array of laboratory tests, (4) to evaluate the index, compaction, consolidation and strength properties of the different mixes. (5) to determine the effectiveness of the mixes in slope stabilization and other geotechnical works via results obtained. (6) to carry out a life cycle assessment and a cost analysis of the composite in its future application. Brief Literature Review Slope and subgrade failures are common occurrences in soils and cause hazards in both public and private sectors. For the past decade, we have witnessed colossal amount of money that is spent on the repair or maintenance of natural slopes and built embankment. On the other way, some may come up with poor subgrade which requires improvement adding to the cost of a project. Improvement techniques include combining the soil with traditional mechanical and chemical stabilizer such as cement, lime, bitumen amongst others. There is no doubt that stabilisation with the traditional compounds has brought a lot of benefits to project and mankind. However, it must also be noted that alternatives stabilizers do exist which are less polluting and contribute to the health of the country. Soil stabilisation is achievable with waste products which have an output performance better or similar to the traditional ones. A few examples are coal bottom ash, fibre, plastic strips, ceramic tiles, coal bottom ash, crushed glass and GGBS amongst others. However, this project will study about waste plastic which are pulverized to powder and fresh concrete waste in their use as soil stabilizers. The originality of this dissertation will lie in their application in geotechnical contexts such as in landfilling and in embankment. Proposed Methodology: The waste plastic and FCW will first be grinded mechanically and suitable sizes of the particles will be collected for testing. The two waste contents will be varied by weight of the dry soil and an array of laboratory tests will be performed to obtain its optimum which gives, therefore, a mix of adequate geotechnical properties. The following mixes and tests are intended to be carried out: MIXES % FCW % Plastic 0 0 0 1 0 0.4 2 0 0.8 3 0 1.2 4 24 opt. plastic content 5 26 opt. plastic content 6 28 opt. plastic content 7 30 opt. plastic content LAB TESTS: Standards: Classification - Atterberg limits - Specific gravity - Particle Size Distribution - Heavy Proctor - CBR Consolidation - Oedometer BS 1377: Part 5: 1990 Shear strength - Triaxial test BS 1377: Part 8: 1990 - UCS Compaction BS 1377: Part 2: 1990 BS 1377: Part 4: 1990 Thereafter, a fictitious model will be assessed of an embankment made of the mix whose stability will be checked. Other models can be generated such as its use in compacted fill for foundation bases. Lastly, the benefits of using the wastes will be quantified economically and environmentally. Frequency to meet supervisor Start of Project: Once weekly End of Project: Twice weekly Comments, if any: None Project time frame 16-Sep 6-Oct 26-Oct 15-Nov 5-Dec 25-Dec 14-Jan 3-Feb 23-Feb 15-Mar 4-Apr Material acquisition Soil testing Mix testing Report writing Soil modelling Analysis & Discussion Remaining report writing Student's Signature: Supervisor's Name: Date: Supervisor’s Signature: Date: LIST OF MATERIALS Qty. Soil Fresh concrete waste 10kg plastic 0.6kg Student's Signature: Supervisor's Name: Date: Supervisor’s Signature: Date: LIST OF TOOLS Qty. Grinder to convert plastic to powder Student's Signature: Supervisor's Name: Date: Supervisor’s Signature: Date: