Stabilized Cinder Waste Material for Construction of Pavement Layers

Cinder is a waste material generated as coal residues from the blast furnace of power plants. This material has potential in the construction of roads. Material was investigated for utilization in road construction viz. embankment and sub grade layers. To improve its strength, cinder was mechanically stabilized with local available soil and WRP (waste recycle plant) slag in the range from 25% to 75% considering the utilization in sub base and base layers of pavement construction. Geotechnical characterization was also carried out of chemically stabilized cinder in the range of 2% to 8% for the construction of stabilized layers (sub base and base). The paper discusses the physical and geotechnical characteristics of mechanically and chemically stabilized cinder. Specifications were developed for the construction of pavement layers as per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) guidelines. Design and stability analysis of embankment were carried out using cinder, cinder + soil under different saturation conditions with seismic factor. Factor of safety was observed to be in the range of 1.15 to 1.7. It was observed that cinder should be used for the construction of embankment, sub grade, sub base and base layers of road either individually or blend with waste rubber powder (WRP) slag/local soil. It was also concluded that cement stabilized cinder is not feasible for use in the construction of sub base and base layers of pavement.