SOIL STABLIZATION BY USING PLASTIC WASTE

A
PROJECT REPOR SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
MINI
T
FULFILLMENT OF THE REqUIREMENT FOR DEGREE OF
THE

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
CIVIL ENGINEERING
P. SIVAIAH (20095A0177)
V.V. MOHAN REDDY (20095A01a3)
M.EJAJ AHAMMED (20095A0118)
R. PRAVEEN (20095A0159)
A.RAKESH (19091A0131)

Under the Esteemed Guidance of

Dr.B.NAGA KIRAN Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

R. G. M College of Engineering and Technology
((Autonomous),
(Nandyal 518 501, A. P., INDIA
((Affiliated to J. N. T. University,Anantapur A. P., INDIA)
((Approved by AICTE, Accredited by N.B.A, NewDelhi, NAAC-A+ Grade)

2019 - 2023
 R. G. M College of Engineering and Technology
(Autonomous),
Nandyal 518 501, A. P., INDIA
(Affiliated to J. N. T. University,Anantapur, A. P., INDIA)
(Approved by AICTE, Accredited by N.B.A, NewDelhi, NAAC-A+ Grade)

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Project Report entitled ”SOIL STABLIZATION BY USING
PLASTIC WASTE” that is being submitted by

P. SIVAIAH (20095A0177)
V.V. MOHAN REDDY (20095A01a3)
M.EJAJ AHAMMED (20095A0118)
R. PRAVEEN (20095A0159)
A.RAKESH (19091A0131)

in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of B.Tech in Civil Engineering in the
RAJEEV GANDHI MEMORIAL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECH-
NOLOGYNandyal (Affiliated to J.N.T University, Anantapur) is a bonafide record of confide
work carried out by them under our guidance and supervision. The results embodied in this
technical report have not been submitted to any other university or institute for the award of
any Degree.

Signature of the Designation Guide

Signature of Head of the
Dr.B.NAGA KIRANP.hD
Department Dr. G. Sreenivasulu Ph.D
Assistant Professor
(IISC), Professor and HOD
Examiner:
Date:

i
Dedicated to my beloved parents, and teachers who have worked hard throughout my education.

ii
 Acknowledgements

We deem it a great pleasure and privilege to express our profound deep sense of gratitude to our
project guide Mr. Dr.B.NAGA KIRAN,P.hD, Assistant professor for giving valuable suggestions
and moral support towards completion of project work

We express our deep gratitude toDr. G. SREENIVASULU, professor and HOD of Civil Engi-
neering , R.G.M College of Engineering and Technology , for his continuous help and support towards
the project work.

We are highly grateful to Dr. T. JAYACHANDRAPRASAD,Principal, R.G.M College of

Engineering and Technology, for his encouragement and inspiration at various points of time in the
successful accomplishment of the mini project work.

We shall remain grateful to Dr. M. SHANTIRAMUDU ,chairman, R.G.M College of Engi-

neering and Technology who has been a constant source of inspiration throughout the mini project
work and we also seek his blessings for a bright future.

We shall remain grateful to Sri M. SHIVARAM, M.D,R.G.M College of Engineering and Tech-
nology who has been a constant source of inspiration throughout the mini project work and we also
seek his blessings for a bright future.

At the end, we proudly acknowledge our father and mother for their constant motivation which
have valuable assets of our life

P. SIVAIAH (20095A0177)
V.V. MOHAN REDDY (20095A01a3)
M.EJAJ AHAMMED (20095A0118)
R. PRAVEEN (20095A0159)
A.RAKESH (19091A0131)

iii
 Abstract
The process of improving the physical and engineering properties of soil such as shear strength
and bearing capacity is known as Soil Stabilization. Indian terrain is mostly occupied by black
cotton soil. It is highly expansive soil which shows more swelling, shrinkage and settlement problems.
Thus, Construction of buildings and other Civil Engineering structures on this soil is risky.
Use of compaction technique or suitable admixtures like cement, lime and waste material like fly ash,
etc can bring out the soil stabilization. But these are expensive additives. That we studied here
suggest and proved that the use of plastic waste for stabilization of soils would reduce the problem
of disposing plastic waste and also reduce environmental problems. It is seen that CBR test, Proctor
test, Sieve analysis are performed to check the suitability of plastic waste as soil stabilizer.
Sieve Analysis gives the physical properties of the soil sample. Modified Proctor Test gives the OMC
and Dry Density of soil sample. CBR Test results the Optimum Plastic content. Optimum Plastic
content is the percentage of plastic added in the soil sample above which the CBR value falls. Modified
Proctor Test is recommended than Standard Proctor Test because the soil which is tested will be used
for road construction which requires high compaction. soil stabilization is possible by plastic waste
which is a cheap method of soil stabilization

KEY WORDS: Optimum Plastic Content, Plastic Waste, Dry Density, Plastic strips, Shear
strength, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test, Compaction test.

iv
Contents

Abstract iv

1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 GENERAL.............................................................................................................1
1.2 SOIL STABILIZATION:.....................................................................................1
1.2.1 NEED AND ADVANTAGES:.......................................................................2
1.3 MATERIALS USED FOR SOIL STABILIZATION:................................................3

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5
2.0.1 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY........................................................................7

3 METHODS OF SOIL STABILIZATION 8

3.1 Methods of soil Stabilization................................................................................................8
3.2 Methods of Soil Stabilization.........................................................................................9
3.2.1 Chemical Stabilization.......................................................................................9

4 METHODOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION 10

4.0.1 Sieve Analysis....................................................................................................10
4.1 Specific Gravity............................................................................................................13
4.2 Free swell test....................................................................................................................14
4.2.1 COMPACTION TEST...........................................................................15
4.3 CBR Test.................................................................................................................16

5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 18

6 CONCLUSION 19

v
List of Figures

1.1 clay soil..................................................................................................................................3

1.2 plastic.....................................................................................................................................4

4.1 Seive analysis................................................................................................................11

4.2 calculatins............................................................................................................................12
4.3 graph between %finner and sieve size..............................................................................12
4.4 calculatins............................................................................................................................13
4.5 instrument of free swell index...........................................................................................14
4.6 calculatins............................................................................................................................14
4.7 compaction tabular............................................................................................................15
4.8 compaction tabular............................................................................................................15
4.9 CBR TEST.................................................................................................17
4.10 Percentage of CBR Values.......................................................................................17

vi
Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL
Due to omnipotent scope of plastic other different materials such as paper and other are being
replaced with it which was used for different purposes like household packing purposes, used by
restaurant and all. It has omnipotent use in today’s context but the use of plastic and its effect
in the environment has made the use of this material in an ambiguity. It has become one of
the major problems for the environment. The use of plastic has to be limited by now otherwise
there would be harshly circumstance that human and environment has to face in near future.
It is the fact that we can reuse the plastic and make it usable for number of times so that its
wastage will be reduced remarkably. This steps are still in progress but this only hasn’t been
able to paced up as per expectation because the use of this materials has increased in such a
way that it is very difficult to limit them instead the alternative for those must be identified
and process must be taken accordingly. India itself has witnessed a substantial growth in the
consumption of plastics and increased production of plastic waste. It has become very tedious
job to limit it. It is fact that the plastic waste is now considered as environmental hazard due to
the ”Use and throw” mechanism. So it can be used for the alternative method where its impor-
tant will be counted and stabilization of soil is the best place where this material can be used up.

1.2 SOIL STABILIZATION:

stabilization is the process of altering some soil properties by different methods, Soil mechanical
or chemical in order to produce an improved soil material which has all the desired engineering

1
properties and it is made more stable. It is used to decrease the soil’s unqualified characteristics
such as permeability and consolidation potential and increase the shear capacity. The method
is mainly adopted for highway and airfield construction projects. Commonly, activities such as
compaction and pre-consolidation are used to improve types of soils which are already in good
form. But soil stabilization goes way up to encouraging usage of weak soil and reducing the
uneconomical process of weak soil replacement. Other than working on the soil mass interac-
tion, chemically altering the soil material itself is also the focus of this process. Sometimes, soil
stabilization is used for city and suburban streets to make them more noise-absorbing.
Easy to implement ways of recycling plastic water bottles as reinforcing material for the stabi-
lization of expansive soil to improve and achieve the required properties for construction works.
The experimental tests that were performed with the achieved results are presented.
Different methods have been developed previously to stabilize weak and unsuitable soils. Some
of these methods include mechanical (granular) stabilization, cement stabilization, lime stabi-
lization, bituminous stabilization, chemical stabilization, thermal stabilization, electrical stabi-
lization, as well as grouting stabilization by geotextile and fabrics.
Recently, researchers have been introduced another way of soil stabilization by using waste
materials. Plastics are one of the leading waste materials that are found to be suitable for this
purpose. They reduce the cost of stabilization at a large rate. Recycling and using these plastic
bottles to stabilize expansive clay soil are moves in the right direction making the construction
industry an appropriate candidate with its high consumption ability. This will be a decent
alternative for clearing and protecting the environment from waste plastic bottles.

1.2.1 NEED AND ADVANTAGES:

Soil properties vary a great deal and construction of structures depends a lot on the bearing
capacity of the soil, hence, we need to stabilize the soil which makes it easier to predict the
load bearing capacity of the soil and even improve the load bearing capacity. The gradation
of the soil is also a very important property to keep in mind while working with soils. The
soils may be well-graded which is desirable as it has less number of voids or uniformly graded
which though sounds stable but has more voids. Thus, it is better to mix different types of soils
together to improve the soil strength properties. It is very expensive to replace the inferior soil
entirely soil and hence, soil stabilization is the thing to look for in these cases. It improves the
strength of the soil, thus, increasing the soil bearing capacity.

2
 It is more economical both in terms of cost and energy to increase the bearing capacity
of the soil rather than going for deep foundation or raft foundation.

It is also used to provide more stability to the soil in slopes or other such places.

Sometimes soil stabilization is also used to prevent soil erosion or formation of dust, which
is very useful especially in dry and arid weather.

Stabilization is also done for soil water-proofing; this prevents water from entering into
the soil and hence helps the soil from losing its strength.

It helps in reducing the soil volume change due to change in temperature or moisture
content.

Stabilization improves the workability and the durability of the soil.

1.3 MATERIALS USED FOR SOIL STABILIZATION:

SOIL

Soil samples collected from nearby our college campus is and tested their geotechnical
proper- ties and strength characteristics. The soil type in study is black cotton soil and also
known as Expansive soils. It is one of the major soil deposits of India which covers an area of
approx- imately 3,00,500 Sq. Km. BC soil is clayey soil seen grayish and black in color. It
Contains montmorillonite clay mineral which contains very high expensive characteristics.
They exhibit high rate of swelling and shrinkage when exposed to changes in moisture
content. Because of high rate of montmorillonite in this soil which leads to form cracks in soil
without any warning which is too dangerous for any construction structures, as this soil is
directly connected to engineering structures.

Figure 1.1: clay soil

3
 PLASTIC

A word plastic is a material which is used to describe the wide range of synthetic or semi-
synthetic materials that are used in a huge amount and in growing range of applications. We
can separate plastics according to the structure of the monomers that their polymer is made
from. The waste produced from the plastic cannot be easily recycled because of their difficult
chemical composition. Plastic is also not biodegradable which mean that it cannot be broken
down into smaller molecules by mother nature rather it can survive for hundreds of years.
Using of plastic waste bottle in geotechnical construction may reduce the problems faced for
its disposal as their properties are mostly related to natural material.

Figure 1.2: plastic

4
Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

BACKGROUND STUDIES:

Hatein Nsaif et al (2013) ”Behaviour of soil by mixing of

plastic strips.”
At different mixing ratios (0.2,4.6,8) by weight respectively that, there is significant
improvement in the strength of soils because of increase in internal friction. The
percentage of increase in the angle of internal friction for sandy soil is slightly more
than that in clayey soil, but there is no significant increase in cohesion for the two
types of soils. Also, it was concluded that due to low specific gravity of plastic
pieces there is decreases in MDD and OMC of the soil.

Rajkumar Nagle et al (2014)” comparative study of CBR

of soil, reinforced with natural waste plastic material”
They mixed Polyethylene, Bottles, Food packaging and shopping bags etc as
rein- forcement with black cotton soil, yellow soil and sandy soil. Their study
showed that MDD and CBR value increases with increase in plastic waste. Load
bearing capacity and settlement characteristics of selected soil material are also
improved.

5
K Gopinath, K Anuratha (August 2015):
“Utilization of saw dust in cement motor and cement concrete” in these study as
the percentage saw dust increases the density is found to decrease. Wastage of saw
dust is minimized and recycled for construction work.

Chebet et al (2014)” laboratory investigation on re-using

polyethen (Plastic) bag, waste material for soil reinforce-
ment in geotechnical engineering”
Tests and analysis indicates that the increased strength for the reinforced soil is due
to tensile stresses mobilised in the reinforcement. The factors identified to have
an influence on the efficiency of reinforcement material were the plastic properties
(concentration, length, width of the strips) and the soil properties (gradation,
particle size, shape).

Dr. A.I Dhatrak et al (2015)” performance of randomly

oriented plastic waste in flexible pavement ”
In his paper a series of experiments are done on soil mixed with different
percentage of plastic (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 2.5) to calculate CBR. on the basis of
experiments that he concluded using plastic waste strips will improve the soil
strength and can be used as sub grade. It is economical and eco-friendly method
to dispose waste plastic because there is scarcity of good quality soil for
embankments and fills

Achmad Fauzi et al(2016) ”Soil engineering properties im-

provement by utilization of cut waste plastic and crushed
waste glass as additive
The engineering properties PI, C, OMC values were decreased and, MDD, CBR
values were increased when content of waste HDPE and Glass were increased.
6
2.0.1 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The objectives of present experimental study are as follows:

To study the impact of proposed admixture i.e; plastic waste on the properties
of clay soil through laboratory experimentations.

To evaluate the performance of clay soil when stabilized with proposed ad-
mixture i.e; plastic waste and their suitability for pavement construction.

To improve the characteristics at the site and make soil capable of carrying
load and to increase the shear strength of soil.

To improve the soil stability.

provide the economical solution for soil stabilization by using plastic waste.

7
Chapter 3

METHODS OF SOIL
STABILIZATION

3.1 Methods of soil Stabilization

Hadrian’s Pantheon in Rome is an example of Roman concrete construction. Con-
crete, as the Romans knew it, was a new and revolutionary material. Laid in the
shape of arches, vaults and domes, it quickly hardened into a rigid mass, free from
many of the internal thrusts and strains that troubled the builders of similar struc-
tures in stone or brick. The widespread use of concrete in many Roman structures
has ensured that many survive to the present day. The Baths of Caracalla in Rome
are just one example. Many Roman aqueducts and bridges have masonry cladding
on a concrete core, as does the dome of the Pantheon Some have stated that the
secret of concrete was lost for 13 centuries until 1756, when the British engineer
John Smpaton pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles and
powdered brick an aggregate.

However, the Canal du Midi was built using concrete in 1670.Likewise there
are concrete structures in Finland that date back to the 16th century. Portland
cement was first used in concrete in the early 1840s Modern structural concrete
differs from Roman concrete in two important details. First, its mix consistency is
fluid and homogeneous, allowing it to be poured into forms rather than requiring
hand-layering together with the placement of Aggregate, which, in Roman practice,
often consisted of rubble. Some have stated that the secret of concrete was lost

8
for 13 centuries until 1756, when the British engineer John smeaton pioneered the
use of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles and powdered brick as aggregate.
However, the Canal du Midi was built using concrete in 1670.Likewise there are
concrete structures in Finland that date back to the 16th century

3.2 Methods of Soil Stabilization

There are different materials in utilization for the stabilization of black cotton soils.
Depending on the internal factor which describes the bonding between the soil and
the stabilizer utilized, the methods are broadly classified into two types. They are

Mechanical Stabilization

It is based on the principle of friction Le.. when the admixtures are added to soil
and compacted the strength is enhanced due to the friction between the soil and
the material added. Examples for the materials which increase the strength by
this principle are sand, plastic, geo textiles etc

3.2.1 Chemical Stabilization

It is based on the chemical reaction between the material added and the minerals
in soil. Examples for this type of stabilizers are lime, fly ash. bituminous materials,
cement etc. In this project we use a mechanical stabilization.

9
Chapter 4

METHODOLOGY AND
EXPERIMENTAL
INVESTIGATION

There was some procedure which was taken into consideration during the
undertak- ing of the project. The process and the use of the materials for the
investigation is listed below. 1.Sieve Analysis. 2.Specific Gravity. 3.Free swell test.
4.OMC-MDD. 5.CBR.

4.0.1 Sieve Analysis

PROCEDURE FOR THE SIEVE ANALYSIS

Take a suitable quantity of oven-dried soil. The mass of soil sample required
for each test depends on the maximum size of material.

Clean the sieves to be used, and record the weight of each sieve and the
bottom pan.

Arrange the sieves to have the largest mesh size at the top of the stack. Pour
carefully the soil sample into the top sieve and place the lid over it.

Place the sieve stack on the mechanical shaker, screw down the lid, and
vibrate the soil sample for 10 minutes.

Remove the stack and re-weigh each sieve and the bottom pan with the soil
sample fraction retained on it.

1
Obtain the mass of soil retained on each sieve. The sum of the retained
masses should be approximately equal to the initial mass of the soil sample.

1
Calculate the percent retained on each sieve by dividing the mass retained on
the sieve with 1 the total initial mass of the soil.

Calculate the cumulative percent retained by adding percent retained on each

sieve as a cumulative procedure. 9. Calculate the percent finer by subtracting
the cumulative percent retained from 100 percent.

Make a grain size distribution curve by plotting sieve size on log scale and
percent finer on brdinary scale

Figure 4.1: Seive analysis

1
 Figure 4.2: calculatins

Figure 4.3: graph between %finner and sieve size

Results:
% Gravel=0
% Sand=100-74.4=25.6 %
%Slit and clay=74.4 %

1
4.1 Specific Gravity
PROCEDURE FOR SPECIFIC GRAVITY

Wash, dry and weigh the pycnometer/density bottle.

Place about 200g/10 g of dry soil sample in the pycnometer/density bottle.

Weigh the bottle with the soil.

Add sufficient de-aired water to cover the soil, and connect the bottle to a
vacuum pump to remove all entrapped air.

Disconnect the pump and fill the pycnometer/ density bottle with water up
to the calibration mark.

Clean the exterior surface of the pycnometer/density bottle with dry cloth,
and weigh the bottle with contents.

Empty the pycnometer/density bottle and clean it. Fill it with distilled
water up to the mark and record its weight.

Conduct the test for 3 times.

Figure 4.4: calculatins

W2 − W1
SpecificGravityoffineaggregate =
W2 − W1 − (W3 − W4) (4.1)

=(611-434)/(1362-434)-(1475-611)
Specific Gravity of given Sand is=2.76

1
4.2 Free swell test
PROCEDURE FOR FREE SWELL TEST

Two oven dry soil samples 20 g (or 10 gi sach passing 425 micron sieve are
taken.

The two sol samples taken are placed separately in 100 m jars.

Distled water is filed in one jar and kerosene (a non-polar liquid) in the other
jar upto The 100 in mark.

The final volume of sol is read after 24 hours (or more) and are noted.

The free swet index is calculated from the expression

Figure 4.5: instrument of free swell index

Figure 4.6: calculatins

Free swell index value 44.4% expensiveness range is high

1
4.2.1 COMPACTION TEST

The maximum dry density and optimum moisture content were determined by
conducting standard proctor compaction test. In this test, the soil was compacted
using a test mould and a rammer at different water contents until the wet density
started decreasing. Moisture content of the soil at different water additions was
obtained, and the dry density for each compaction level was graphed with its
respective water content. The peak of the curve provided the maximum dry density
that the soil can be compacted to, with the optimum moisture content that can
yield the maximum compaction. how dry density can be calculated, where is dry
density, wet density and water content.

Figure 4.7: compaction tabular

Figure 4.8: compaction tabular

RESULT
MDD =1.72 g/cc
OMC= 16.35%

1
4.3 CBR Test
PROCEDURE FOR THE CBR TEST.

Prepare the test specimen as IS 2720 (Part 10).

Perform the swelling test if desired . Perform the Penetration test.

The mould containing the specimen with the base plate in position but the
top exposed shall be placed on the lower plate of the testing machine.

Surcharge weights, sufficient to produce an interity of loading equal to the

weight of the base material and pavement shall be placed on the specimen If
the specimen has been soaked previously, the surcharge shall be equal to that
used during the soaking period.

To prevent the upheaval of soil into the hole of the surcharge weights, 25 kan-
nalar weight shall be placed on the soil surface prior to scating the penetration
plunger after which the remainder of surcharge weights shall be placed.

The plunger shall be seated under a load of 4 kg so that full contact is estab-
lished between the surface of the specimen and plunger.

The stress and strain gauges shall then be set to zero.

Load shall be applied to the penetration plunger so that the penetration is

approximately 125 mm/min.

Reading of the load shall be taken at penetrations of 00, 05, 10, 15,
20,25,40,50,75, 100, 12.5 4mm. hy About 20 to 50 g of soil shall be collected
from the top 30 mm layer of the specimen and water content is determined
The load pen- etration curve is plotted A correction curve is plotted if
necessary

The CBR value is calculated and reported correct to the first decimal place..

1
 Figure 4.9: CBR TEST

Figure 4.10: Percentage of CBR Values

1
Chapter 5

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

For the soil sample the Free swell value is 73.6 %

For the soil sample the Specific Gravity value is 2.76
For the soil sample the Optimum moisture content( OMC)value is 16.35%
For the soil sample the CBR value is 4.3%

1
Chapter 6

CONCLUSION

The results of the study concluded that insertion of plastic waste material in
clayey soils would be productive for ground improvement and soil stabilization
in geotechnical engineering.

In the present study, different content of plastic waste in % by weight varying

from 0% to 2% were added into the soil.

The optimum moisture content(16.35%) and in the maximum dry density(1.72g/cc)

results respectively.

The swelling of the soil was reduced significantly at high percentages of plastic
content because of replacement in an equal mass of expansive soil by non-
expansive plastic.

Reduction in swelling.

Properties of soil can be improved by using waste plastic as stabilizer: - CBR

value(4.3%) and Increase the strength of soil.

Reduction in consolidation settlement.

2
References

1. Asst. Lech. Maha Hatem Nsaif (2013): ”behaviour off soils strengthened by
plastic waste materials” JED October 2013/vol. 17/no. 4.

2. Rajkumar Nagle (2014): ”comparative study of CBR of soil, reinforced with

natural waste plastic material” IJESR June 2014/ vol-4 /issue-6/304-308.

3. F.C. Chebet and D. Kalumba (2014):”laboratory investigation on re-using

polyethen (Plastic) bag waste material for soil reinforcement in geotechnical
engineering” CIVEJ June 2014/vol. 1/no. 1.

4. Dr. A.I. Dhatrak, S.D. Konmare (2015): ”performance of randomly oriented

plastic waste in flexible pavement” IJPRET march 2015/vol. 3/no. 9/193-
202.

5. Achmad Fauzi, Zuraidah Djauhari, and Usama Juniansyah Fauzi (2016):”Soil

engineering properties improvement by utilization of cut waste plastic and
crushed waste glass as additive” IJET February 2016/vol. 8/no. 1.