Construction and performance of jarofix waste material embankment

Abstract

Jarofix is a waste material generated during extraction of zinc from its ore. It is investigated for its feasibility in embankment road construction. For this, three 100 m long test embankments of jarofix, jarofix−soil and soil alone were constructed. The performance of finished road pavements constructed over these embankments was monitored for a period of 2 years by measuring different functional and structural parameters. To investigate the possibility of groundwater pollution, a leachate collection system was designed and installed below the embankment. The stiffness and failure stress of the jarofix−soil embankment were found to be higher than those of the jarofix embankment alone. The structural number (SN) estimated from deflection decreases with time, indicating a time-dependent deterioration of the pavement. The value of SN of the jarofix section was marginally lower than that of the soil section. The stress−settlement relationships of prototype embankments predicted from the measured test results on model embankments compared well with the actual stress−settlement relationships of the prototype embankments. Concentration of harmful constituents in the water leaching out of the jarofix embankment, namely, inorganic compounds and heavy metals, was insignificant, indicating the non-hazardous nature of the leachate water. Apart from cost saving, jarofix provides an alternative to conventional soil.