Application of ash and slag waste from coal combustion in the construction of the earth bed of roads

More than 1.5 billion tonnes of ash and slag waste from thermal power plants have been accumulated in the RF. The most promising direction of reuse is construction and repair of roads. The most material-intensive direction is the construction of earth bed. The aim of the study is to expand the practice of using ash and slag mixtures from thermal power plants for the construction of roadbeds in continental and polar climate. In order to achieve the goal set in the work the ash and slag mixture from different ash dumps of Irkutsk region was sampled. Ash and slag wastes can be considered as technogenic soils and classified according to GOST 25100 as gravelly sands and dusty sands. Ash and slag mixtures do not possess cohesion, have low values of internal friction angle, high porosity of particles and low specific weight, and small frost heave deformation. To evaluate the efficiency of ash and slag mixtures application in the structures of the roadbed of roads the design and construction of the roadway and the roadbed on the section of the road in the Irkutsk region was carried out. The technology of works on construction of earth bed layers from ash and slag mixtures is similar to the technology of erection of layers from soils. The constructed construction of road with earth bed from ash and slag mixtures has operational characteristics not lower than the construction of the adjacent road section with earth bed from local soils. Ash and slag mixtures can be used for construction of earth bed layers practically without restrictions.