Assessing Workability of Ready-Mixed Soils Derived from Excess Spoil
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 10
Abstract
Civil excavation projects frequently produce significant amounts of excess spoil. Repurposing this spoil into usable backfill material instead of disposing of it offers economic and environmental benefits. This study explores the prospect of converting red-bed mudstone construction waste, a type of soil frequently found at shallow depths, into a ready-mixed soil material (RMSM). It assesses the fresh mixture’s workability characteristics (initial flowability, bleeding rate, and density) and the hardened material’s mechanical properties (compressive strength and stress-strain relationship) by adjusting the water-to-solid ratio () and cement-to-soil ratio (). The study investigates the impact of , and time on RMSM’s flowability loss and proposes an empirical formula to provide a scientific reference for RMSM’s flowability design in engineering applications. Findings highlight the significant influence of on flowability, bleeding rate, and compressive strength, while showing has a limited effect on flowability and bleeding. A negative exponential relationship is observed between flowability and time for all mixes, with the flowability loss ratio increasing over time, ranging from 22.9% to 35.6% after 1 h and stabilizing after 3 h. These insights are crucial to optimize RMSM’s performance and suggest the need to further improve the flowability retention of RMSM. Furthermore, in comparison to soil cement and concrete, RMSM reduces backfill costs by 30.8% and 80.0%, respectively, while also achieving a reduction in emissions by 25.9% and 69.2%. Therefore, RMSM presents as an economically and environmentally friendly alternative for backfill applications.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52078435), the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (Grant No. 2023NSFSC0391), the 111 Project (Grant No. B21011), and the Royal Society (Grant No. International Exchange IEC\NSFC\211306).
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 10 • October 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 26, 2023
Accepted: Mar 18, 2024
Published online: Jul 29, 2024
Published in print: Oct 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 29, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Backfills
- Business management
- Compressive strength
- Construction engineering
- Construction materials
- Construction methods
- Economic factors
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Engineering mechanics
- Excavation
- Material mechanics
- Material properties
- Materials engineering
- Practice and Profession
- Stones
- Strength of materials
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