Soil stabilization by using brick waste powder

Abstract. Structures built on black cotton soil face significant deformation risks due to the soil's high shrink-swell potential. Predominantly found in India, black cotton soil poses serious challenges to construction because of its inherent instability. With rapid urbanization, enhancing the load-bearing capacity of such soils is critical to ensuring the durability of infrastructure, particularly in pavements. The Indian construction industry produces approximately 150 million tons of waste annually, creating significant disposal issues. Among this waste is brick powder, a by-product of construction debris that holds promise for stabilizing black cotton soil. This study investigates the optimal proportion of brick powder to blend with black cotton soil to improve its suitability for pavement subgrades. Various tests were conducted on soil samples mixed with 6%, 8%, 10%, and 12% brick powder, including Sieve Analysis, Atterberg Limits, Specific Gravity, Free Swell Index, Modified Proctor, Unconfined Compressive Strength, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests. The findings reveal that a 10% brick powder mixture significantly enhances the strength of black cotton soil, leading to reduced construction costs compared to lower proportions. Based on the CBR test results, a 10% brick powder mix is recommended as an economical and effective solution for stabilizing black cotton soil, particularly in pavement construction.