LIGHTWEIGHT SLAG, PFA COLUMN A NEW SOFT GROUND IMPROVEMENT METHOD

Abstract

This study investigates how to reduce the demand on in non-renewable granite source, by replacing granite aggregate with boiler slag in the stone column. It is a fact that boiler slag is a power station waste material which causes too many environmental problems. By introducing it as a ground improvement technique, we can reduce the bulging and shear failure problems encountered on stone columns application by adding more improvement to the stone column mixture. For more enhancements to the mixture, pulverized fly ash (PFA) of Class F is added. By increasing the amount of PFA, the resistance of the stone column in term of shear and bearing capacity are increased as the PFA pozzolanic reaction begins to produce more strength during the increasing time of the curing period. Both samples of the boiler slag and PFA are taken from Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Power Station, Klang, Selangor. The materials mixed are sand, cement and water to make boiler slag aggregates -PFA (slag) mixture. This study aims to define the slag concrete performance according to the optimum configuration of the materials used in the mixture. Unconfined Compression Test (UCT) is applied to define the ideal ratio of boiler slag between 60% to 30% ratios from the total weight which applied with 2% ratio of cement from the total weight. The results of the study show that the number of boiler slags, the period of curing, and the method of curing are the most important factors in defining the slag stone column performance. Testing the samples in ordinary circumstances to entire areas can be accomplished by determining the soil properties and meeting them. The best result gained was the 40% ratio of boiler slag in a curing method that preserved the mixture moisture and temperature, which led to the optimum strength of the slag stone column.