Research Article Open Access

Effect of HDPE Plastic on the Unconfined Compressive Strength of Black Cotton Soil

Abstract

Black Cotton soil which is a type of expansive soil, has the property of swelling excessively when wet and shrinks highly when exposed to dry conditions showing terrible surface cracks and due to this an uneven surface is created. This condition arises due to a mineral known as montmorillonite and presence of fine clay particles. The soil changes its shape rapidly due to addition of water.The soil occupies more than 20 % of the surface area of India. The aim of this research is to study the effect of HDPE plastic waste on the unconfined compressive strength of soil. The HDPE plastic (40 micron) waste was added at a proportion of 1.5%, 3%, 4.5% and 6% of the weight of dry soil. At the end of the study it was concluded that the addition of plastic waste had increased the unconfined compressive strength of black cotton soil. For the waste added, the maximum strength obtained at 4.5% was 287.32KN/m2 and from natural soil it was 71.35KN/m2.

Akshat Mehrotra, Hadi Ghasemian, D.R. Kulkarni, N.R. Patil

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