Mechanical characteristics of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash treated with cement and fiber

The present study deals with the effect of addition of cement and fiber on the compaction and strength behavior of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash. Heavy compaction tests were conducted to evaluate the compaction behavior, while unconfined compression tests (UCS) and split tensile strength (STS) tests were conducted to evaluate the strength properties of MSWI ash. For UCS testing, the specimens were cured for 7, 14, 28, and 90 days, whereas for STS testing, after 7, 14, and 28 days, respectively. The test results showed maximum dry unit weight of the bottom ash reduces and optimum moisture content rises due to the inclusion of cement and fiber. The study results also demonstrated that the addition of fiber used to stabilize MSWI bottom ash reduces the stiffness as well as changes the behavior from brittle to ductile. The fiber with cement can be successfully used as reinforcement material for the modification of MSWI ash. A multiple linear regression analysis of test results was carried out in order to develop a mathematical relationship to understand the intensity of different factors, i.e., MSWI bottom ash, cement content, fiber content, fiber length, and curing period. The simulated model agreed reasonably with the experimental results.