Performance of dredged sediments based controlled low-strength material

Abstract

The process of depleting the natural sources of virgin sand and aggregate makes it challenging to satisfy the demand for construction work. Therefore, in a context of sustainable construction, this study examined the feasibility of utilizing dredged sediments (DS) as a substitute for sand in non-structural controlled low-strength materials (CLSM). A total of two types of dredged sediments, coarser and finer, were collected from two different sources. Then, nine CLSM mixtures were prepared by using different proportions of natural sand (virgin sand) and dredged sediments. Each mixture was tested for flowability, unconfined compressive strength, density and excavatability. Flow consistency decreased with the amount of dredged sediments and presence of finer material in CLSM. Strength results were found within required specification for all nine CLSM tested in this study. Overall, flow consistency, strength and excavatability were found dependent on the characteristics of dredged sediments. This study showed that dredged sediments can be successfully used as a sand substitute for CLSM production.