Bottom ash test section evaluation Erwinville, LA.

694183980PDFTech ReportBottom ashEmbankmentsWaste productsEvaluationLouisianaLouisiana Transportation Research CenterGautreau, Gavin P.Abu-Farsakh, Murad Y.Zhang, ZhongjieLouisiana Transportation Research CenterNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-MaterialsNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Construction and MaintenanceNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Bridges and StructuresUS Transportation CollectionBottom ash is a by-product of the energy industry and the residual of burning coal in a kilnfiring process. Bottom ash is black and the consistency of coarse sand with gravel clinkertraces. The product is used in other states as embankment material, and this project willevaluate the product for use in Louisiana.Many laboratory tests were conducted to evaluate the properties of the bottom ash material.Those tests included moisture content, standard and modified Proctor, grain size distribution,California Bearing Ratio (CBR), nuclear moisture density, direct shear, pH, and resistivitytests.A test section was constructed with the bottom ash material. The purpose of the test sectionwas to evaluate the in-situ properties of the material in the field, the construction techniques,and the potential field quality control methods and devices to monitor field construction.The results of the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) and the nuclear moisture densitygauge appeared to be the most effective tools in evaluating the material. The DCP resultswere repeatable and closely matched typical values for sand strength/stiffness. The nucleargauge proved to be an appropriate tool for construction control.Implementation of the bottom ash material should provide the Louisiana Department ofTransportation and Development (LADOTD) an effective embankment alternative at a lowcost. The material also has relatively low density, which could provide another lightweightembankment alternative for soft subsurface soils.Recommendations include future test sections with field monitoring due to the limited scopeof the project. A draft specification has been included for review and approval by the chiefengineer