Use of waste ceramic tiles for road pavement subgrade

The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of waste ceramic tiles as a raw material in the design of road pavement subgrade. Instead of disposal in landfills, ceramic tiles can be used in highway engineering applications, thereby reducing their potential impact on environment and may result in a substantial decrease in design thickness of a pavement. California Bearing Ratio (CBR), Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), compaction, oedometer, and swelling tests were conducted on the mixtures prepared with waste ceramic tiles and a low-plasticity clay (CL)-type soil. Waste ceramic tile contents in the mixtures were 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30% by dry weight of the specimens. Test results revealed that addition of waste ceramic tile increases the CBR value of soil, while addition of it reduces the UCS value of soil. Besides, an increase in dry unit weight (γdry) and a decrease in corresponding water content (w) by an increase in the amount of waste ceramic tile were observed in the compaction tests. Further, the results of the tests show a decrease in the void ratio (e) with an increase in the amount of waste ceramic tiles. Consequently, this research suggests to use waste ceramic tiles as an alternative material to improve the performance of CL-type soil in an economically and environmentally beneficial way.