Geotechnical Characterization of Construction and Demolition Waste Material Blended with Sandy Soil

In recent times, the interest in utilizing construction and demolition (C&D) waste aggregates in geotechnical applications has increased worldwide. The use of available natural soil as fill material for embankments or earth structures is widespread in India. Substituting natural soil with C&D waste aggregates as fill material, partially or entirely, is a potential measure to achieve sustainable development. This study presents an extensive experimental investigation carried out on recycled concrete aggregates (RCA), recycled brick aggregates (RBA), local soil (LS), and their blends. It has been observed that the incorporation of RCA and RBA materials improves the geotechnical properties of sandy soils, including shear strength, CBR and compaction characteristics. The shear strength parameters (cohesion, c, and angle of shearing resistance, Ф), maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC), California bearing ratio (CBR), etc., are found within the permissible limits as specified in Indian standards for a material to be used as embankment/reinforced earth fill. In addition, this study introduces a set of empirical equations for predicting the influence of RCA and RBA contents on the shear strength parameters of LS. The experimental findings suggest that the material combinations investigated in this study could potentially serve as a suitable embankment or reinforced fill material, owing to their promising shearing and bearing strength.