Determination of Ash Mixture Properties and Construction of Test Embankment - Part A
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Final Report FHWA/IN/JTRP-2006/24 Determination of Ash Mixture Properties and Construction of Test Embankment - Part A by Bumjoo Kim, Sungmin Yoon and Umashankar Balunaini Graduate Research Assistants Monica Prezzi Assistant Professor and Rodrigo Salgado Professor School of Civil Engineering Purdue University Joint Transportation Research Program Project No. C-36-36KK File No. 6-14-37 SPR-2591 Conducted in Cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Federal Highway Administration or the Indiana Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana November 2006 TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/IN/JTRP-2006/24 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Determination of Ash Mixture Properties and Construction of Test Embankment - Part A November 2006 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Bumjoo Kim, Sungmin Yoon, Umashankar Balunaini, Monica Prezzi, and Rodrigo FHWA/IN/JTRP-2006/24-1 Salgado 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Joint Transportation Research Program 550 Stadium Mall Drive Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051 11. Contract or Grant No. SPR-2591 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Indiana Department of Transportation State Office Building Final Report 100 North Senate Avenue Indianapolis, IN 46204 14. Sponsoring Agency Code 15. Supplementary Notes Prepared in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. 16. Abstract Class F fly ash and bottom ash are solid residue byproducts produced by coal-burning plants. They are usually disposed off with a typical disposal rate of 80 % fly ash and 20 % bottom ash. To maximize the use of the coal ash, and thus significantly reduce the disposal problem that electric utility companies and our society in general face, the direct use of ponded or landfilled ash that is composed of high proportions of fly ash would be desirable. However, a general understanding of the behavior of high volume fly ash mixtures is needed. Although there have been investigations into the properties of separated single types of ash, the studies of the fly/bottom ash mixtures, especially with high fly ash contents, are very limited. Representative samples of class F fly ash and bottom ash were collected from two utility plants in Indiana and a series of extensive laboratory tests were conducted to obtain the mechanical properties of the mixture. Since the mechanical properties of ash mixtures are dependent on the mixture proportions, the investigations evaluate fly/bottom ash mixtures with different mixture ratios (with Fly ash contents of 50%, 75%, and 100%). The results obtained are merged with other considerations relevant to embankment design and construction and used to develop guidelines on coal ash utilization in highway embankments. In order to examine suitable fly/bottom ash mixture compositions and embankment geometries, slope stability analyses were performed on ash embankments with different geometries using the different properties of the ash mixtures with different mixture ratios. The limit equilibrium method was used for the stability analyses. Additionally, the corrosion potential to metal structures, which are commonly included in highway construction, is examined by performing corrosivity tests on the ash mixtures. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Fly ash, bottom ash, disposal, mixtures, embankments, highway construction. No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 240 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-69) i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ IV LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................XII IMPLEMENTATION REPORT ................................................................................... XIII CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................1 1.2 Objective and Scope....................................................................................................3 1.3 Research Approach .....................................................................................................4 1.4 Report Outline.............................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 7 2.1 Overview .....................................................................................................................7 2.2 Coal Consumption in the United States and Indiana...................................................8 2.3 Coal and Coal Ash.......................................................................................................8 2.4 Coal Combustion Products (CCPs)...........................................................................13 2.4.1 Fly ash ............................................................................................................ 15 2.4.2 Bottom ash and boiler slag............................................................................. 16 2.4.3 Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber sludge............................................ 17 2.5 Production, Use, and Disposal of Coal Ash in the United States and Indiana..........18 2.5.1 Production and use of coal ash....................................................................... 18 2.5.2 Disposal of coal ash........................................................................................ 28 2.6 Properties of Coal Ash ..............................................................................................29 2.6.1 Chemical properties........................................................................................ 29 2.6.2 Physical characteristics .................................................................................. 32 2.6.3 Mechanical properties .................................................................................... 36 2.7 Utilization of Coal Ash in Highway Embankment ...................................................55 2.7.1 Current practices of coal ash utilization in highway construction ................. 56 2.7.2 Environmental aspects.................................................................................... 56 ii 2.7.3 Design and construction considerations for highway embankment constructed using coal ash .......................................................................................................... 64 CHAPTER 3 EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM................................................................. 70 3.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................70 3.2 Testing Materials.......................................................................................................71 3.2.1 Ash sources .................................................................................................... 71 3.2.2 Ash generation and disposal procedures in ash sources................................. 71 3.2.3 Ash sampling.................................................................................................. 72 3.3 Ash Characterization Tests........................................................................................74 3.3.1 Grain size analysis.......................................................................................... 74 3.3.2 Microscopic examination ............................................................................... 74 3.3.3 Specific gravity .............................................................................................. 75 3.4 Engineering Property Tests of Coal Ash Mixtures ...................................................76 3.4.1 Compaction .................................................................................................... 76 3.4.2 Maximum and minimum density ................................................................... 77 3.4.3 Hydraulic conductivity................................................................................... 78 3.4.4 One-dimensional compression test................................................................. 78 3.4.5 Direct shear test.............................................................................................. 82 3.4.6 Consolidated drained triaxial tests ................................................................. 83 3.5 Corrosivity Tests .......................................................................................................89