Laboratory investigation on re-using polyethylene (plastic) bag waste material for soil reinforcement in geotechnical (original) (raw)
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A STUDY ON RE-USING WASTE POLYETHYLENE (PLASTIC) BAG FOR SOIL REINFORCEMENT
There is an increased production of single use plastic bags in recent decades due to higher demand and lesser manufacturing cost. The increased production of single use plastic bags results in generation of larger quantity of solid waste and is very difficult to manage and also possess severe environmental issues. An attempt is made in this research to use waste plastic bags to improve the engineering properties of sandy soil. Random inclusion of strips of high density polyethylene material from plastic shopping bags results in increased shear strength of sandy soils. A series of direct shear tests was undertaken on soil-plastic composites of two selected sandy soils .Strips of shredded plastic material were used as reinforcement inclusions at concentrations of up to 0.3% by weight. The effect of varying dimensions of the strips was investigated by using strip lengths from 15mm to 45 mm and strip widths from 6 mm to 18 mm. Soil strength parameters were obtained for composite specimen from which analyses were carried out to identify the extent of soil improvement. Laboratory results obtained favourably suggest that inclusion of this material in sandy soils would be effective for soil reinforcement in geotechnical engineering.
Utilisation of polyethylene (plastic) shopping bags waste for soil improvement in sandy soils
This study investigated the possibility of utilising polytheylene shopping bags waste to reinforce soils to pave way for its use in civil engineering projects such as in road bases, embankments and slope stabilisation. A series of direct shear tests was undertaken on soil-plastic composites of two selected sandy soils: Klipheuwel and Cape Flats sands. Strips of shredded plastic material were used as reinforcement inclusions at concentrations of up to 0.3% by weight. The effect of varying dimensions of the strips was investigated by using strip lengths from 15 mm to 45 mm and strip widths from 6 mm to 18 mm. Shear strength parameters were obtained for composite specimen from which analyses were done to identify the extent of soil improvement. The testing programme involved addition of solid strips as well as perforated strips with varied diameter of perforations to examine the effect of the openings on the strips. Laboratory results obtained favourably suggest that inclusion of this material in sandy soils would be effective for ground improvement in geotechnical engineering.
A comparative study on the effect of polyethylene plastic waste on sandy soils
International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2018
Plastic pollution is one of the major global issues. Engineering measures are being undertaken to harness the non-biodegradability of plastic by converting it to a vital part of built environment. A comparative study is undertaken to evaluate the effects of the waste plastic (polyethylene) on the geotechnical properties of two locally available sands viz. Brahmaputra sand and Kulsi sand by conducting a series of direct shear tests on the two sand samples reinforced with polyethylene plastic strips. The effect of varying concentration of plastics (0.10%, 0.20%, 0.30%, 0.45%, 0.60%, 0.70% and 0.75% by weight of the sand) using different dimensions of the plastic strips is investigated. The polyethylene plastic strips' length varied from 15 mm to 45 mm and width varied from 5 mm to 15 mm. The shear strength parameters which are obtained ultimately for the composite specimens on which analysis have been done, positively reflect soil improvement due to the inclusion of polyethylene plastic waste.
Utilization of Plastic Waste in Reinforcing Sandy Soil for Sustainable Engineering Applications
2024
Large quantities of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic are discarded into the environment during production, application, and disposal. Although current clean-up strategies aim to mitigate the adverse impacts of PET pollution, efforts struggle to keep up with the escalating amount of PET waste. This accumulation of PET waste poses significant threats to ecosystems worldwide. One recycling method for PET plastic waste involves its utilization in soil reinforcement applications within civil engineering. By incorporating PET plastic waste to reinforce poor-quality sands, sustainable construction practices can be promoted in civil engineering infrastructures, addressing multiple aspects of sustainability, including engineering, economic, social, and environmental considerations. The experimental work conducted in this research involved sieve analysis, proctor compaction test, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test, and direct shear box test. The sand was reinforced with varying percentages of PET plastic waste flakes, namely 5, 10, and 15 %, with respect to the weight of the soil sample taken for the test, and laboratory tests were performed on the samples. Including PET plastic flakes enhanced various soil properties, such as shear strength and friction angle. It also improved the CBR value of the composite, making it suitable for pavement construction. The reduction in dry density further supports the application of the composite in lightweight structures. In conclusion, the geotechnical material obtained from the soil-PET plastic waste composite can be utilized in various geotechnical projects, including landfills and slope stabilization.
This paper presents a laboratory investigation into the resultant increase in shear strength of sand due to random inclusion of strips of polyethylene (plastic) shopping bag material. Previous tests carried out in a 100 x 100 mm direct shear box revealed relative increases in peak and ultimate friction angles on addition of the plastic strips in the sand specimens. In this study, large direct shear tests using a 305 x 305 mm shear box were undertaken on soil-plastic composite samples to ascertain the improvement in the strength parameters observed and to minimise the scale effects from the smaller specimens in the previous tests. Strips of shredded plastic material were added to sand specimens at various concentrations of up to 0.3% by weight and the effect of varying dimensions of the strips was investigated by using strip lengths from 15 mm to 45 mm and strip widths from 6 mm to 18 mm. Results indicate an improvement of over 20% in the friction angle of the sand on inclusion of the plastic material.
Reinforcement of sandy soil using plastic fibres made from waste plastic bottles
Iraqi Journal of Civil Engineering
Today waste plastic bottles are spread widely throughout our world especially in Kurdistan, an autonomous region in Iraq. These waste products cause many environmental problems and at the same time some soils are weak and need reinforcement using cheap materials such as Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste plastic bottle. Use of waste plastic bottles as a reinforcement of soil is highly recommended to reduce the amounts of plastic waste, which creates a disposal problem. In this study an attempt was made to use plastic fibres produced from waste bottles to reinforce sandy soil. This can solve both environmental and geotechnical problems. In the research, the effect of plastic fibres content as well as fibre length on shear strength parameters (cohesion and internal friction) were experimentally predicted using the direct shear test method so as to improve bearing capacity of weak soils. The results showed that under low normal stress the inclusion of plastic fibres increased both angle of internal friction and cohesion; however, under high normal stress (greater than 100 kPa) the cohesion increased and the internal friction was roughly unchanged. Also, it was concluded in this study that the suitable amount of fibers that can be added to weak soils is 1% of dry weight of sand.
2018
I wish to thank the Almighty God for his countless blessings. My most sincere gratitude for my supervisor, Associate Professor Denis Kalumba, whose support, guidance, constructive criticism and encouragement not only enabled the completion of this research, but also provided opportunity and an environment conducive to me exploring my long term goals. Undertaking postgraduate studies would not be possible without the financial support and mentorship received from Aurecon South Africa (Pty) Ltd. A special mention to Mr Albertus Geldenhuys, Mr Andries Claasens and Mr Trevor Pape for the guidance and appreciation of the many challenges faced through this research journey.
A series of direct shear tests were conducted to examine the effect of recycled plastic waste chips on the engineering properties of Klipheuwel and Cape Flats Sand both locally sourced and predominant in the Western Cape region of South Africa. Polyethylene Terepthalate (PET) plastic chips of 2 mm, 4.75 mm and 5.6 mm sizes were added to the soils at a varying contents from 2.5% -20 % of dry mass of the soil and mixed randomly to form sand-plastic composite specimen tested in the direct shear test at normal pressures of 2 5 kN/m 2 , 50 kN/m 2 and 100 kN/m 2 . The experimental results revealed significant improvement in the shear strength parameters, cohesion and friction angle of the sands on addition of PET chips. The highest increase in friction angle of Cape Flats sand and Klipheuwal sand was obtained at plastic contents of 10% and 12.5% respectively for the 5.6mm size plastic chips.
Engineering behavior of a sand reinforced with plastic waste
Journal of geotechnical …, 2002
Unconfined compression tests, splitting tensile tests, and saturated drained triaxial compression tests with local strain measurement were carried out to evaluate the benefit of utilizing randomly distributed polyethylene terephthalate fiber, obtained from recycling waste plastic bottles, alone or combined with rapid hardening Portland cement to improve the engineering behavior of a uniform fine sand. The separate and the joint effects of fiber content ͑up to 0.9 wt %͒, fiber length ͑up to 36 mm͒, cement content ͑from 0 to 7 wt %͒, and initial mean effective stress ͑20, 60, and 100 kN/m 2 ͒ on the deformation and strength characteristics of the soil were investigated using design of experiments and multiple regression analysis. The results show that the polyethylene terephthalate fiber reinforcement improved the peak and ultimate strength of both cemented and uncemented soil and somewhat reduced the brittleness of the cemented sand. In addition, the initial stiffness was not significantly changed by the inclusion of fibers.
ENGINEERING BEHAVIOR OF SOIL REINFORCED WITH PLASTIC STRIPS
Rapid improvements in the engineering world have influence a lifestyle of human beings in utmost extends but day to day activities of mankind are augmenting risk in the environment in the same proportion. Plastic wastes have become one of the major problems for the world. The harmful gas which is being produced by this agent leads to tremendous health related problems. So, effective engineering implementation of this has become one of the challenging jobs for engineers. Engineer are seeking for astute implementation of these wastes in ample amount and implementing these wastes in Soil stabilization helps to reduce the risk of natural destruction which is caused due to rainfall or other aspect and also it aid in reducing the waste in an ample amount. Plastic is considered as one of the major pollutant of environment as it would not decay or can't be destroyed so implementing this for some good purpose helps to reduce its effect also. This implies that stabilization using waste plastic strips is an economic method where use of waste materials as plastic and other cheaply available material of plastic can be used which is found accessibly. This paper reflects that plastic wastes can be used in stabilization of soil which is concluded from various tests conducted on fiber reinforced soil with varying fiber content and different aspect ratio and profound analysis of their results depicts that it can be used in the fields. Therefore, it is of utmost importance considering the design and construction methodology to maintain and improve the performance of such pavements. In this paper, different means of plastic waste as shopping bags and other plastic material which is locally available are used so as a reinforcement to perform the CBR studies while mixing with soil for improving engineering performance of sub grade soil. In this the Plastic strips which are collected for stabilization of soil were mixed randomly with the soil. With this a series of California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests were carried out randomly reinforced soil in which the percentage of plastic strips with varying percentage of plastic strips with different lengths and proportions were carried on. And the results and conclusion were summed up which shows that use of plastic in soil in an appropriate amount really aids in improving the strength of soil and also helps in modification of soil properties which might be in term of strength of sub grade soil