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Research Journal of Environmental Sciences

Year: 2008 | Volume: 2 | Issue: 2 | Page No.: 132-138
DOI: 10.3923/rjes.2008.132.138
Effects of Palm Kernel Shells in Lateritic Soil for Asphalt Stabilization
O.O. Amu, J.B. Adeyeri, A.O. Haastrup and A.A. Eboru

Abstract: The possibility of complementing poor lateritic soils with Palm Kernel Shells (PKS) and subsequent stabilization of the resulting composite mix with asphalt was investigated. This is with a view to reducing construction cost by using local and readily available materials for road works. The scope was limited to the strength characteristics of the mix and did not consider other characteristics such as the resilient properties, fracture or fatigue. In the methodology, each of the composite mixes and the natural lateritic soil were subjected to percentages by weight of asphalt stabilization (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%), while PKS percentages of 25, 50, 75 and 100% by weight were used for the tests. Preliminary and strength tests were performed on the natural and composite mixes to determine their engineering properties under laboratory conditions. The results showed that the addition of 25% PKS to the natural soil caused PI to increase to 19.1% and then subsequently reduced to 17.7 at 4% asphalt stabilization. The addition of 4% asphalt to 75% laterite and 25% PKS increased Maximum Dry Density (MDD) and Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) to 1560 kg m-3 and 23.0% respectively, with a reduction in average CBR to 1.15% (unsoaked) and 0.55% (soaked). With the same composite mix, the uncured compressive strength was 36.87 kN m-2 while cured was 927.54 kN m-2 and a shear resistance of 28.48 kN m-2 was observed. The major finding revealed that the resulted stabilized soils mixes obtained were inadequate for subgrade, sub base and base courses in road construction.

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How to cite this article
O.O. Amu, J.B. Adeyeri, A.O. Haastrup and A.A. Eboru, 2008. Effects of Palm Kernel Shells in Lateritic Soil for Asphalt Stabilization. Research Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2: 132-138.

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