Sub-grade characteristics of clayey soil incorporating municipal solid waste incineration ash and marble dust

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to use the waste materials in soil stabilization and low traffic volume roads so as to minimize the cost of subgrades for road construction along with solving disposal problems of waste materials thus protecting the environment. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive laboratory study has been carried out on various samples of soil alone and along with waste materials such as municipal solid waste incineration ash and marble dust by adding cement to evaluate their effect on geotechnical characteristics of clayey soils. Findings: The experimental study revealed that mixture of soil:Municipal solid waste incineration ash (MSWIA):Cement and soil:Marble dust (MD):Cement can be successfully used for the construction of low traffic volume roads. The differential free swell of the clayey soil is nil on adding MSWIA: cement and MD: cement to clayey soil in optimum amounts. Research limitations/implications: The research needs further experimentation on combining both MSWIA and MD together to stabilize clayey soil. Practical implications: The research can be successfully used by government agencies in subgrades of low traffic roads. Social implications: The utilization of waste materials in the study solved the disposal problem of both waste materials, thus protecting the environment and giving quality living standards to people. Originality/value: The use of MSWIA along with cement and use of MD along with cement for evaluating geotechnical properties has not been studied in the past. The present study is focussed on the use of both these materials along with cement in soil stabilization.