Sustainable deployment of crushed concrete debris and geotextile to improve the load carrying capacity of granular soil

Abstract

Crushed Concrete Debris (CCD) is one of the waste materials, produced during the demolition of any existing structure, which needs to be taken care of and utilized in one or another civil engineering projects. This study represents the experimental results of model plate load tests on footings resting on CCD mixed with sand (CCD-S) composite overlying sand both with and without the inclusion of non-woven geotextile at the interface of CCD-S composite and the underlying sand. Proctor tests were conducted by varying the percentage of sand from 10% to 50% (by weight) with 10% increments. The mix with maximum of maximum dry unit weight has been selected for model plate load tests. Moreover, large box direct shear tests were carried out in order to understand the stress-strain behavior of the selected CCD-S composite. CCD-S composite layer, when placed over sand not only increases the ultimate bearing capacity but also reduces the corresponding settlement of the footing. From the test results, it has been confirmed that CCD-S composite can be deployed under foundations as one of the sustainable materials.