Effect of compaction energy on grain breakage of CDW, local soil and soil-CDW mixtures

The use of construction and demolition wastes (CDW) as alternative material in engineering has proved promising applications, especially in pavement layers. However, the high grain breakage of this material has led to uncertainties regarding its performance. The present study assessed the effect of compaction energy on grain breakage of CDW, comparatively to a local sandy-clay (SC) soil with gravels, and mixtures of soil-CDW. Other geotechnical properties were also evaluated for application in pavements. Results showed the feasibility of using CDW as pavement layer material when compacted using modified energy. The local sandy-clay soil was not appropriate for pavement layers, while soil-CDW mixture improved soil geotechnical characteristics, allowing its use as subbase course. Grain breakage analysis, based on a statistical approach, showed that CDW undergoes greater particle size distribution change, not altered by compaction energy increase. Results confirmed that soil-CDW mixture presented superior performance for pavement layers.