California Bearing Ratio and Brazilian Tensile Strength of Mine Overburden–Fly Ash–Lime Mixtures for Mine Haul Road Construction

The production and utilization of coal is based on well-proven and widely used technologies. Fly ash, a coal combustion byproduct, has potential to produce a composite material with controlled and superior properties. The major challenges with the production of fly ash are in its huge land coverage, adverse impact on environment etc. It puts pressure on the available land particularly in a densely populated country like India. In India the ash utilization percentage has not been very encouraging in spite of many attempts. Stabilization of fly ash is one of the methods to transfer the waste material into a safe construction material. This investigation is a step in that direction. This paper presents the results of an investigation on compressive strength and bearing ratio characteristics of surface coal mine overburden material and fly ash mixes stabilized with lime for coal mine haul road construction. Tests were performed with different percentages of lime (2, 3, 6 and 9%). The effects of lime content and curing period on the bearing ratio and tensile strength characteristics of the stabilized overburden and fly ash mixes are highlighted. Unconfined compressive strength test results cured for 7, 28 and 56 days are presented to develop correlation between different tensile strengths and unconfined compressive strength. Empirical models are developed to estimate bearing ratio and tensile strength of mine overburden–fly ash–quick lime mixtures from unconfined compressive strength test results.