Research Projects

Overburden mining waste is a global problem. Studies have been conducted to come up with a waste management plan to minimize the ever-increasing landfill pressure. One of the most potential solutions is to utilize the waste as construction and building material. In the proposed study, an attempt is being made to find a sustainable use of accumulated overburden mining waste generated In the Meghalaya region as a flexible pavement material. To do this, the collected waste will be recycled into aggregates of different sizes and will be tested for strength and toughness properties. After this, the recycled aggregates will be used as a replacement for virgin aggregates as partial to full replacement in a different layer of flexible pavement. For this, non-bituminous and bituminous mixes will be prepared with recycled aggregates at different proportions and each mix will be tested for strength and durability parameters. Non-bituminous mixes like granular subbase course, wet mix macadam, and water-bound macadam will be tested for geotechnical properties, soaked CBR, dry and wet UCS, and freeze-thaw studies. Whereas bituminous mixes like bituminous concrete, dense bituminous mixes, and open grade friction course will test for Marshall stability parameters, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, indirect fatigue test, etc. All samples will undergo microscopic studies via scanning electron microscopy to investigate the changes in the mixes upon the inclusion of recycled aggregates in the mixes. Based upon the performance of the mixes, suitable proportion and form in which the now discarded waste can be used will be suggested.