Geotechnical Performance of Dredged Material—Steel Slag Fines Blends: Laboratory and Field Evaluation
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 8
Abstract
This paper contains the results of a combined laboratory and field demonstration project exploring the use of dredged material (DM) blended with steel slag fines [SSF; 9.5 mm () minus] as synthetic fill materials. The granular nature [a well graded sand (SW) soil], mineralogy, reactivity, and residual lime content of the SSF media make it well suited for blending with DM high-plasticity organic (OH) soil, so that geotechnical and environmental soil improvement occur simultaneously with one amendment. The source materials (100% DM, 100% SSF) were evaluated along with , , , , and DM-SSF blends (dry weight basis), where the DM content is reported first. Key findings include that the 100% DM had a of 27.3°, which increased to a peak value of 45° for the DM-SSF blend. The hydraulic conductivity () of the 100% DM () remained relatively constant until SSF content reached 80%, where an abrupt increase to was observed. The field demonstration project confirmed that the DM-SSF blends could be easily blended to within of their target DM content. Trial highway embankments were constructed with 100% DM, 100% SSF, and the , , and DM-SSF blends to modified Proctor compaction goals ranging from 85 to 95% relative compaction on the maximum dry unit weight, depending on the blend. The average cone penetration test (CPT) tip resistance for 100% DM and 100% SSF media were approximately 1.3 and 57.3 MPa, respectively. The compacted , , and DM-SSF blend embankments were generally characterized by average CPT tip resistances on the order of 2.9, 6.2, and 11.6 MPa, respectively.
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Acknowledgments
The Maryland Port Administration (Baltimore, Maryland) provided the resources and the dredged material to support this research under Contract No. 270025-S-1, “Innovative Reuse of Dredged Material” to Schnabel Engineering (West Chester, Pennsylvania), the prior affiliation for Drs. Malasavage and Grubb. Frank Hamons and Bill Lear (MPA) are thanked for their support and involvement. The SSF media were provided by Phoenix Services, LLC, Kennett Square, PA (Terry Wagaman). Maryland Environmental Services (MES) facilitated collection of the DM from the Cox Creek DMCF. The geotechnical experiments that produced the results in Tables 1 and 2 were conducted in the W. M. Keck Geoenvironmental Laboratory at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. The Maryland State Highway Administration (Hanover, Maryland) provided the testing space and scales for the laboratory ND calibration. All the TS data (Table 6) were generated in Schnabel Engineering’s Baltimore Soils Laboratory. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the project sponsors.
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Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 8 • August 2012
Pages: 981 - 991
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Nov 10, 2010
Accepted: Nov 1, 2011
Published online: Jul 16, 2012
Published in print: Aug 1, 2012
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