Strength Behaviour of Dredged Soil Stabilized with Cement and Fly Ash

Any wastes that are produced by human activities that are solid in nature are categorized as solid wastes. In this research, solid waste was produced by dredging Kashmir’s renowned Dal Lake. Dal Lake in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, produces a significant amount of dredged dirt, presenting severe health and environmental issues. Concerns about the environmental impacts of dredging and disposal, as well as the growing scarcity of appropriate disposal locations, have increased the need for dredged material characterization. As such, the purpose of this research is to describe the waste material produced by Dal Lake by examining its different physical and mechanical characteristics. Dredged material was collected from the Shalimar site, which is located within the Dal Lake catchment, for the purpose of conducting various field and laboratory tests to determine field density, soil classification, compaction characteristics, and strength parameters such as unconfined compressive strength and direct shear test. The findings indicate that dredged material is mostly composed of silt, clay, and sand, and that strength characteristics indicate that dredged material cannot be utilized in its natural form as building and foundation material. As a result, appropriate and practical treatments should be applied to dredged material in order to enable its use in geotechnical applications.