Stabilised jarofix waste material for road construction

Jarofix is a waste material generated during the extraction of zinc from its ore. Laboratory characterisation of stabilised jarofix was carried out to investigate the feasibility of its utilisation in embankment and granular layers of road construction. It was stabilised by the addition of soil in the range of 25-75% and cement in the range of 3-9%. Stress-displacement behaviour of jarofix-soil mixes was studied by conducting a series of direct shear tests at different dry densities and normal stresses. Different geotechnical parameters of jarofix-soil mixes, namely, shear stress ratio, peak and critical friction angles, and dilation were studied. For 50% soil content in the jarofix-soil mix, the values of peak friction angle increase in the range of 5-15% and maximum dry density in the range of 10-20%. In addition to this, tensile modulus and shear strength parameters of cement-stabilised jarofix were determined. The addition of cement improves the modulus and shear strength parameters, which makes it suitable for the application in steep slope embankments and subbase/base layers of road construction. Cement-stabilised jarofix material can effectively reduce the thickness of subbase and base layers of a flexible pavement approximately by 20%, and lead to economical and sustainable road construction.