Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste
Population expansion and the development of technology have led to an increase in construction activities. In many cases, foundation grounds do not have a high enough bearing capacity and are not capable of ensuring the safe exploitation of the construction. A soil with poor mechanical characteristi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/21/12081 |
| _version_ | 1797632148033765376 |
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| author | Ana-Maria Urian Nicoleta-Maria Ilies Ovidiu Nemes Andor-Csongor Nagy |
| author_facet | Ana-Maria Urian Nicoleta-Maria Ilies Ovidiu Nemes Andor-Csongor Nagy |
| author_sort | Ana-Maria Urian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Population expansion and the development of technology have led to an increase in construction activities. In many cases, foundation grounds do not have a high enough bearing capacity and are not capable of ensuring the safe exploitation of the construction. A soil with poor mechanical characteristics must be improved using various methods, such as adding hydraulic binders (lime and cement), natural fibres, or more recently, plastic waste materials. This work aims to study the behaviour of plastic waste materials made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in soil improvement. Thus, the mechanical characteristics of a clay improved with shredded PET were studied. PET was added in relation to the dry mass of the clay, in percentages of 2%, 4% and 6%. The studied clay was collected from a construction site around Cluj-Napoca, Romania, from a depth of 1 ÷ 10 m. PET was provided by a local plastic waste repository. It comes from recycled water, beer and soda bottles and was cleaned using specific methods for cleaning and recycling plastic waste. PET was shredded into irregular shapes with sizes ranging from 3 mm to 12 mm and was randomly distributed in the test specimens. Compression and direct shear tests were carried out to study the compressibility and shear parameters of the improved soil (internal friction angle and cohesion). The experimental results showed an improvement in the mechanical characteristics of the clay even at a low PET addition of 2% and 4%. This method can contribute to solving two current problems of the modern world: reducing pollution by recycling plastic waste materials and using them to improve the mechanical characteristics of soil. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:32:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d9885f50b344b838e1a0b06b4c09917 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:32:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d9885f50b344b838e1a0b06b4c099172023-11-10T14:59:51ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-11-0113211208110.3390/app132112081Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) WasteAna-Maria Urian0Nicoleta-Maria Ilies1Ovidiu Nemes2Andor-Csongor Nagy3Department of Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development Entrepreneurship, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 28 Memorandumului Street, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Structures, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 28 Memorandumului Street, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development Entrepreneurship, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 28 Memorandumului Street, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Structures, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 28 Memorandumului Street, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaPopulation expansion and the development of technology have led to an increase in construction activities. In many cases, foundation grounds do not have a high enough bearing capacity and are not capable of ensuring the safe exploitation of the construction. A soil with poor mechanical characteristics must be improved using various methods, such as adding hydraulic binders (lime and cement), natural fibres, or more recently, plastic waste materials. This work aims to study the behaviour of plastic waste materials made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in soil improvement. Thus, the mechanical characteristics of a clay improved with shredded PET were studied. PET was added in relation to the dry mass of the clay, in percentages of 2%, 4% and 6%. The studied clay was collected from a construction site around Cluj-Napoca, Romania, from a depth of 1 ÷ 10 m. PET was provided by a local plastic waste repository. It comes from recycled water, beer and soda bottles and was cleaned using specific methods for cleaning and recycling plastic waste. PET was shredded into irregular shapes with sizes ranging from 3 mm to 12 mm and was randomly distributed in the test specimens. Compression and direct shear tests were carried out to study the compressibility and shear parameters of the improved soil (internal friction angle and cohesion). The experimental results showed an improvement in the mechanical characteristics of the clay even at a low PET addition of 2% and 4%. This method can contribute to solving two current problems of the modern world: reducing pollution by recycling plastic waste materials and using them to improve the mechanical characteristics of soil.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/21/12081claywaste recyclingpolyethylene terephthalate (PET)soil improvementgeotechnical parameterscohesion |
| spellingShingle | Ana-Maria Urian Nicoleta-Maria Ilies Ovidiu Nemes Andor-Csongor Nagy Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste Applied Sciences clay waste recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soil improvement geotechnical parameters cohesion |
| title | Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste |
| title_full | Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste |
| title_fullStr | Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste |
| title_short | Clayey Soil Improvement with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Waste |
| title_sort | clayey soil improvement with polyethylene terephthalate pet waste |
| topic | clay waste recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soil improvement geotechnical parameters cohesion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/21/12081 |
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