Chapter 23 - Beneficial use of coal fly ash in geotechnical infrastructure

Abstract

This chapter covers and provides information about the utilization of coal fly ash (FA) in geotechnical infrastructure applications. The majority of the mentioned applications include the use of these FAs in pavement foundation systems (e.g., base, subbase, and subgrade layers), backfill, and embankments. The main focus of the chapter is on evaluating the impact of coal FA addition on the geomechanical performance of both coarse and fine-grained soils and the effects of such application on the surrounding environment. The chapter starts with the necessity and advantage of using FAs in such applications over conventional stabilizers such as lime and cement and continues with the overall physicochemical characteristics of these materials. The following sections have summarized the laboratory and field results of tested FA stabilized soils. These results include both the geomechanical and environmental performance of such applications. Then, it ends with an overall conclusions section summarizing the chapter.