Engineering properties of clay soil stabilised with glass powder and rubber particles - a comparative study

Soil improvement is a significant aspect of geotechnical engineering that requires periodic assessment and modification. This study aims to see how glass powder (GP) and rubber particles (RP) affect the shear strength and bearing capacity of clay soil collectively and separately. The soil samples were subjected to direct shear testing and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests at various glass powder and rubber particle contents. The CBR test was conducted under soaked and unsoaked conditions. Clay-rubber, clay-glass powder, and clay-rubber-glass powder mixtures were prepared for the tests. It was discovered that adding glass powder and rubber particles improved the soil's shear strength parameters and bearing capacity. A comparative analysis was conducted on the clay-rubber mixtures and clay-glass powder mixtures. The results indicated much improvement by the rubber particles than the waste glass powder in the direct shear test. In contrast, the glass powder had a better impact than the rubber particles in the CBR test. Furthermore, a correlation analysis was conducted to ascertain the relationship between the CBR values and the shear strength of the soil samples using a single Linear Regression Analysis (SRLA) model. The correlation yielded satisfactory coefficients (R2), indicating a strong link between the engineering properties.