Subbase Construction With Industrial Byproducts And Geosynthetic Reinforcement

Investigation into alternative methods for providing a stable platform over soft sub-grades were evaluated using a 1.4-km section along a Wisconsin state highway that incorporated twelve test sections to evaluate nine different stabilization alternatives.  A variety of industrial by-products and geosynthetics were evaluated for stabilization.  The industrial by-products included foundry slag, foundry sand, bottom ash, and fly ash as subbase layer materials.  The geosynthetics included geocells, a non-woven geotextile, a woven geotextile, a drainage geocomposite, and a geogrid.  The same pavement structure was used for all test sections except for the subbase layer, which varied depending on the properties of the alternative material being used.  All test sections were designed to have approximately the same structural number as the conventional pavement structure used for the highway, which included a subbase of granular excavated rock.

More information may be found in the following file:

Byproducts Final Report

Summary