Load-Settlement Behavior of Concrete Debris Pile in Fly Ash Fill

Abstract

This study addresses the problem of disposal and effective reuse of waste material, fly ash, and construction concrete debris in order to find an optimized solution for their bulk disposal. Providing granular pile (stone column) in weak soils is a common practice which helps in improving the strength parameters and reducing the vertical deformation. Strengthening the fly ash fill with granular piles of construction-concrete debris of two different sizes under a footing of the same size was studied. Two nondimensional factors, bearing capacity ratio (BCR) and settlement ratio (SR), were compared for floating and end-bearing granular pile. Numerical analysis established the validity of experimental findings. Empirical expressions for scale effect (of model footing and tank dimensions) were derived with numerical modeling using PLAXIS 3D. Providing a geosynthetic-encased granular pile below a footing of the same size has shown remarkable improvement in BCR and SR values of weak fly ash bed.