Valorization of concrete waste in swelling clay’s treatment

Abstract

In Algeria, disorders due to swelling clays are increasingly frequent and have serious economic consequences. Another major issue concern the environmental side, where serious pollution problems are caused by the construction industry, which generates million tons of waste every year. The simplest way to reduce them would be to optimize the recycling and to valorize construction waste. In this regard, the present work aims to analyse the concrete waste’s effect on swelling clay response, in order to better understand its mechanism and to decide on the feasibility of using this type of waste. Mixtures of swelling clay, provided from the region of “Bouhanak” city of Tlemcen, and concrete waste at 5%, 10% and 20% have been used as the subject of Proctor tests, oedometric tests of free swelling under constant stress. The results showed a good reduction in swelling parameters. In perspective, it would be interesting to increase the percentage of additions to eliminate swelling.