Compaction performance analysis of alum sludge waste modified soil

Abstract

Sustainable construction is one of the ultimate requirements of the engineering field. Addition of waste materials not only contribute to the improvement of the density of soils but also help in the enhancement of its strength properties. In the field, compaction is achieved by compactors and rollers, which consumes a lot of energy for this purpose. In this study, two methods related to compaction energy have been applied to study the relation of compaction energy with the strength of soil before and after addition of alum sludge as a soil stabilizer. An advanced Artificial Neural Networks (ANN5) technique has been applied with reference to the addition of alum sludge percentage, plasticity index, specific gravity, optimum moisture content, maximum dry density, AASHTO classification, USCS classification, and group index. It was found that soil strength can be improved even at a low compaction energy level of 600KN-m/m(3) by the addition of optimum percentage of 8% alum sludge as a soil stabilizer. So, roller compaction effort can also be reduced by addition of this soil stabilizer to save compaction cost i.e. saving of roller fuel consumption and rental cost as well. This study will not only help in environment-friendly construction but will also manage finance by utilization of optimum compaction energy in the mega projects.