Felix F. Udoeyo

Geotechnical Properties of Problem Soils Stabilized with Fly Ash and Limestone Dust in Philadelphia

This paper presents the results of a laboratory experimental program to evaluate the potential of limestone dust (LSD) and coal fly ash (CFA) to stabilize some problem soils in southeastern Pennsylvania. Some of the geotechnical characteristics of the soils investigated include Atterberg limits, compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR), swell, and unconfined compressive strength (UCS). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test performed on the generated data confirmed that LSD and CFA contents significantly influenced the compaction and the strength characteristics of Philadelphia soils stabilized with these additives. Results of the study showed that the plasticity and swell of the soils were reduced by 40% and between 40 and 70%, respectively. The results further showed a marked increase in strength of the soils for CBR and UCS when stabilized with the additives.

Properties of Palm Nut Fiber-Reinforced Cement Composite Containing Pulverized Kernel Shell as Supplementary Material

The results of an experimental program to evaluate the properties of a novel building material—oil palm waste-cement composite (OPWCC) are presented in this paper. Cement paste samples containing 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80% pulverized palm kernel shell (PKS) as a replacement for cement, and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% volume fractions of palm nut fiber (PNF) were evaluated for flexural strength, impact strength, sound absorption coefficient, thermal diffusion coefficient, and percentage water absorption. The results show that the impact strength, acoustic absorption, and thermal diffusivity performances of the composite were improved with the addition of PKS and PNF. On the other hand, the flexural strength and the water absorption characteristics of the composite deteriorated with the addition of PKS and PNF. However, for some of the investigated composites, these later-mentioned characteristics were within values specified by ASTM for sheathing board.