Compressibility of Recycled Materials for Use As Highway Embankment Fill
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 5
Abstract
Compressibility of recycled materials including bottom ash (BA), foundry slag (FSG), foundry sand (FSD), recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled pavement material (RPM), recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), and recycled asphalt shingle (RAS) mixed with glacial outwash sand (GOS) was evaluated using one-dimensional (1D) compression tests. Results showed that except RCA, compressibility of all the compacted recycled materials is higher than that of the compacted GOS. Different compression mechanisms were attributed to each recycled material depending on the type, composition, and morphological characteristics of the particles. Bituminous recycled materials including RAP, RPM, and RAS-GOS mixtures exhibited relatively higher compressibility compared with nonbituminous recycled materials. At a constant vertical effective stress (), compression of the recycled materials increased over time with strain rates that are higher for bituminous recycled materials compared to nonbituminous recycled materials. The vertical strain rates () of all the recycled materials log-linearly increased with increasing . The slope of the curves, termed stress coefficient of compression, is independent of the elapsed time after loading. The stress coefficient of compression indicates degree of stress dependency for compression and is different for each recycled material. Secondary compression ratio is a power function of indicating that an embankment constructed with recycled materials settles at different rates along the embankment height. Temperature rises increased compressibility of the compacted RAP and RAS-GOS mixtures. On the other hand, thermal preloading significantly reduced the compressibility of the compacted RAP and RAS-GOS mixtures. Construction of embankments containing bituminous materials such as RAP, RPM, or RAS is recommended during summer to induce thermal preloading and reduce long-term settlement. Long-term settlements of typical highway embankments constructed with the recycled materials used in this study were below the allowable limit.
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Acknowledgments
Support for this study was provided by the Recycled Materials Resource Center, which is supported by the Federal Highway Administration. The opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsors.
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Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 5 • May 2015
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 5, 2014
Accepted: Dec 11, 2014
Published online: Jan 23, 2015
Published in print: May 1, 2015
Discussion open until: Jun 23, 2015
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