Performance of fine-grained soil treated with industrial wastewater sludge

This paper is likely one of the very recent researches based on an experimental study, which aims to investigate some geotechnical performances of fine-grained soil treated with industrial wastewater sludge. The experimental program conducts the standard compaction, direct shear, California bearing ratio (CBR), and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests. The sludge proportions in samples of the soil + sludge mixtures are 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 % by dry weight of the mixture. The results indicate that the internal friction angle of untreated soil is significantly enhanced at most of the sludge dosages (p < 0.05). The CBR values offer that the soil quality can be improved to “good” rating quality to use “base” layers in stabilizations up to the 50 % sludge dosage. The contribution is also obtained by the UCS values that increase with the sludge addition. Moreover, the stress–strain responses promise to develop the ductility behavior due to the sludge inclusion. Consequently, the soil mixtures treated with the sludge have exhibited satisfactory geotechnical characteristics. Thus, this study suggests that the industrial wastewater sludge can be potentially employed for improvement of fine-grained soil in the stabilizations. The proposed soil stabilization with locally available industrial wastewater sludge can also provide recycling and sustainability to the environment.