Geotechnical Assessment of Steel Slag for River Embankments

Dubey, AA and Rathore, S and Devrani, R and Srivastava, A and Ravi, K (2022) Geotechnical Assessment of Steel Slag for River Embankments. In: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 34 (12).

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Abstract

In the process of making steel, around 10-15 of slag is produced. In the last decade, several studies have proposed the application of steel slag as geomaterial. However, its potential application as a subgrade material in river embankments (artificial banks to protect the adjacent land against flooding) has been unexplored hitherto. This study assessed the geotechnical properties of steel slag, riverbank sand, and their various blends. First, the index properties, microstructure, and mineralogy of the slag and sand were evaluated. Then, the strength properties of slag and sand were assessed via the direct shear test at different relative densities and blends. The hydraulic conductivities of the proposed blends were also assessed, and the pH of their effluent discharge was evaluated. The optimal slag-sand mix for strength was found to be 1:7 (slag content 12.5), which improved the friction angle of sand from 27° to 37°. The hydraulic conductivities of all the proposed blends were observed to be in the range of 10-5 m/s, equivalent to that of riverbank sand. Hyperalkalinity of the leachate was observed during the hydraulic conductivity tests. The findings from the present study reveal that substituting a small proportion of riverbank sand with slag improves its strength considerably. However, there are geo-environmental concerns over its application in river embankments due to the hyperalkalinity of the effluent.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Publisher:	American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Keywords:	Effluents; Embankments; Hydraulic conductivity; Minerals; Rivers; Sand; Waste management, Brahmaputra; Brahmaputra sand; Direct shear test; Geomaterials; Geotechnical; Industrial solid waste management; Industrial solid wastes; River embankments; Solid waste management; Steel slag, Slags
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	27 Oct 2022 09:15
Last Modified:	27 Oct 2022 09:15
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/77620

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