A Study on Utilization of Granite Sludge in Stabilization of Expansive Subgrade Clays

Granite is used for construction activities, with the main application as flooring and walling material in house construction. In the process of cutting and polishing granite, lot of slurry is produced. The disposal of this by product has become a serious concern
Granite sludge is very fine, size of 50-150 micron,
A huge quantity of granite sludge is formed during the process of cutting and polishing granite.
There are more than 150 units in Jigani Industrial area (Bangalore) alone, and each unit produces around one tonne of waste each day.

1. A Study on Utilization of Granite Sludge in Stabilization of Expansive Subgrade Clays

2. Introduction… Granite is used for construction activities, with the main application as flooring and walling material in house construction. In the process of cutting and polishing granite, lot of slurry is produced. The disposal of this by product has become a serious concern Granite sludge is very fine, size of 50-150 micron , A huge quantity of granite sludge is formed during the process of cutting and polishing granite. There are more than 150 units in Jigani Industrial area (Bangalore) alone, and each unit produces around one tonne of waste each day.

3. Earlier this waste was dumped in vacant sites, lake beds etc. After a ruling by KSPCB now it dumped in an abandoned quarry. This dust causes health hazard such as respiratory diseases, and results in ground water contamination and also would prove to be an environmental hazard in general . In this direction there is need for a research effort to find means of utilizing granite sludge in stabilizing expansive subgrade clays in Karnataka.

4. Granite Cutting Machine Production of granite slurry

5. Dried granite sludge being transported to dumping ground Granite Sludge dumped in abandoned quarry

6. Literature Survey Attempts in the past have been made to utilize the stone cutting waste in terrazzo tiles production, which would reduce both the environmental impact and the production cost ( Kamel Al Zboon and Montasser Tahat et al.,) Dr.G.Prince Arulraj and Mr.A.Adin and Mr.T.Suresh Kannan et al., has investigated the utilization of granite powder in the preparation of concrete as partial replacement of sand . The percentages of granite powder added by weight to replace sand by weight were 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25. Mantas Makulavičius, Regina Jacinevičienė, Martynas Senkus et al., has carried out research work on utilization of Granite Sludge in Asphalt Mixtures Production

7. ( Akbulut and Gu¨rer 2006; U¨ stu¨nkol and Turabi 2009; Misra and Grupta 2009) has carried out studies on the use of granite sludge in the preparation of sub-bases in highway construction and the reuse of materials as aggregates in asphalt pavement. (Almeida, et al.,  Weng et al., and Dhanpandian and Gnanavel ) have investigated the possibility of producing burnt bricks from dried sludge and waste generated from mgranite cutting and polishing units and its utilization in various industrial applications have been reported. (S. V. Ribeiroa, et al., J. N. F. Holandaa,et al.,) investigated the reuse of granite-cutting sludge as an alternative raw material into a soil-cement bricks body, replacing soil by up to 30 wt.%

8. Objectives of the Proposed Work Though many attempts have been made to utilize granite sludge in many practical applications, there is lot of scope for its utilization in stabilizing expansive clays. In this study it is planned to utilize granite sludge in improving the volumetric stability of expansive soils when used along with conventional and organic stabilizers. This would serve as a probable solution to burning problems of expansive soils on one hand. On the other hand provide solution to utilize granite sludge which has become an environmental threat

9. Methodology (a)Raw Materials Collection Preparation Tests (b) Evaluation of plasticity properties and physical properties on natural soils and on stabilized soils. (c) Preparation of various admixture mixes with different percentage of expansive soil. (d) Determination of Proportions of combination of granite sludge, expansive clays and stabilizers for obtaining best volumetric stability. (e) Standard Proctor Test as per IS 2720- Part 7 (1980), on both unstabilized and stabilized soil mixes to determine their OMC and MDD.

10. Methodology Cont’d…. (f) Laboratory CBR tests to find out CBR value for each of the mix after compacting the soil at moisture content of 5% more than the respective OMC for both uncured and 7 days cured specimens. (g) Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) Tests on samples obtained by compacting each of the mix at moisture content of OMC+ 5% in Standard Proctor Mould after curing the same for 0 day, 7 days and 28 days. (h) Compressibility and swell potential ( i ) Water absorption and water retentivity.

11. Expected Output Overcoming the undesirable properties namely volumetric instability and high compressibility of highly expansive clay type soils namely black cotton soils. Solution to burning problem of disposal of huge quantities to granite sludge being produced from the granite cutting and polishing units

12. Facilities available at the Research Centre BMSCE The various apparatus available at B M S C E Triaxial testing machine C.B.R test apparatus Core cutter apparatus Compaction test apparatus (Proctor’s) Direct shear apparatus Consolidation testing machine. Hydrometer Liquid limit device ( Casagrande’s apparatus / Cone Penetration apparatus) Measuring cylinders Proving rings Pyconometer Permeability apparatus Relative density apparatus Vane shear test apparatus Dial gauges Oven

13. REFERENCES: [1] Ashish Mehta, Kanak Parate and B. S. Ruprai “Stabilization of black cotton soil by Fly Ash”, International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM) 2013. [2] K. J. Osinubi , M. A. Oyelakin and A. O. Eberemu “Improvement of Black Cotton Soil with Ordinary Portland Cement - Locust Bean Waste Ash Blend”, Vol. 16 [2011] EGJE,. [3] A. Kezdi , “Stabilized Earth Roads”. Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, 1979. [4] “Chemical and Mechanical Stabilization of Subgrades and Flexible Pavement Sections”, July 1998. TTN Tensar Technical Note BR 10, 1998. [5] Akbulut H, Gu¨rer C (2006) Use of waste marble as aggregate in asphalt pavement. IMO Teknik Dergi 17(4):3943–3960. [6] Mantas Makulavičius, Regina Jacinevičienė and Martynas Senkus (2008) “New Product Development Out of Granite Sludge” .The XXVIII International Baltic Road Conference,Kaunas , Lithuania. [7] S. V. Ribeiroa, J. N. F. Holandaa,( March 2014 ) “Soil-Cement Bricks Incorporated with Granite Cutting Sludge”. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology (IJESIT) Volume 3, Issue 2.