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: