Geotechnical Behaviour of Copper Slag Mixed with Different Proportions of Soil, Lime, Fly Ash and Cement—A Review

Many countries perceive a rapid growth in the construction industry, which involves the use of natural resources for the development of infrastructure. This development postures a threat to natural resources that are offered. Copper Slag is an industrial waste material and it can be used as the replacement of fine aggregates and cement in the production of concrete. The possibility of substituting natural fine aggregates with industrial by-products such as copper slag offers technical, economic and environmental advantages which are of great importance in the present context of sustainability in the construction sector. The Copper industries units in India leave thousands of tonnes of copper slag as waste every day. These Large quantities of the accumulated copper slag are directly dumped and left on costly land, causing wastage of good cultivable land. Copper slag can be classified as a non-hazardous material by U.S. environmental protection agency regulations based on the solid waste characteristics. Many researchers have studied the physical and chemical properties of copper slag. Researchers have studied the geotechnical behaviour of copper slag mixed with different proportions of soil, lime, fly ash and cement. Studies have been carried out through unconfined compressive strength tests, direct shear tests and CBR tests in addition to basic tests like sieve analysis and consistency limits, etc. In this paper the outcome of previous research studies has been compared, results summarized and gaps in the study have been highlighted with respect to geotechnical applications.