Dispersion, viscosity, unconfined compression and bender element testing of bentonite-waste glass mixtures

Abstract

This study presents unconfined compression (UC) tests, Bender Element (BE), viscosity and dispersion tests on bentonite-waste glass (WG) mixtures. Two distinct sizes of the WG (fine-FWG, medium-CWG) were separately mixed with bentonite samples at the ratios of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40%. The testing results indicated that the unconfined compressive strength (qu) value of clean bentonite increased with WG content, and reached a maximum value at 30% CWG with a 56% increment. The maximum energy absorption capacity of specimens was found to be 11.50 kJ/m3, which is 76% higher than clean bentonite. The shear wave velocity (vs) and compressional wave velocity (vp) values of clean bentonite obtained using BE tests were found to be increased by 54 and 40%, respectively, with the addition of 20% CWG. The ratio of vp to vs (vp/vs) varied between 2.0 and 2.5, thereby producing Poisson’s ratios of 0.33–0.40. The viscosity and dispersion potential of bentonite decreased with the WG additions. Regarding the grain size effect of the WG, specimens with the CWG yielded greater qu, vs, vp, than those with the FWG. Evidently, the study proved substantial influence of the content and size of the WG on the bentonite samples.