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The potential use of crushed waste glass as a sustainable alternative to natural and manufactured sand in geotechnical applications

Kazmi, D; Serati, M; Williams, DJ; Qasim, S; Cheng, YP; (2021) The potential use of crushed waste glass as a sustainable alternative to natural and manufactured sand in geotechnical applications. Journal of Cleaner Production , 284 , Article 124762. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124762. Green open access

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Abstract

The increasing price and diminishing reserves of construction sand encourage a need to develop its sustainable and cost-effective replacement, helping the transition towards a circular economy. Waste glass is a derivative of natural sand and could potentially show similar geotechnical behaviour. Using crushed waste glass (CWG) as an alternative to traditional sand would potentially offer a double-duty benefit by helping to address the geo-environmental challenges of natural sand depletion and disposal of ever-increasing waste glass, together. This study investigated the geotechnical, mineralogical and morphological behaviour of CWG and compared it with that of natural sand (NS) and manufactured sand (MS). The geotechnical characterisation results showed that the behaviour of CWG is similar to the other two sands studied, with CWG showing the highest permeability and abrasion resistance. Surprisingly, the shear strength testing showed that the friction angle of CWG was higher under saturated conditions than under dry conditions, indicating the stability of CWG under saturated conditions. The mineralogical analysis was conducted using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and revealed that silica is the dominant mineral in all three materials, indicating a similarity in their chemical composition. The morphological analysis was performed to quantify the particle shape of each material in terms of roundness index using digital images obtained through an optical microscope. The results demonstrated that MS showed the highest particle angularity, followed by CWG and NS. Overall, it was concluded that CWG could potentially act as a next-generation alternative and smart geomaterial, replacing traditional sands in several geotechnical applications.

Type: Article
Title: The potential use of crushed waste glass as a sustainable alternative to natural and manufactured sand in geotechnical applications
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124762
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124762
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Construction sandCircular economy, Crushed waste glass, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, Optical microscope, Smart geomaterial
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10114923
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