HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY CHARACTERISTICS OF ROAD BASE MATERIALS BLENDED WITH FLY ASH AND BOTTOM ASH

Abstract

Hydraulic conductivity, is the ability of water to flow through a soil, should be considered
when designing roads. Hydraulic conductivity should be employed when designing roads that will provide
good drainage as well. Fly ash and bottom ash were utilized as partial substitutes to conventional road base
materials in road base construction. The study aimed to prove that employing fly ash and bottom ash would
increase the hydraulic conductivity characteristics of road base while also decreasing the disposal costs of the
said coal by-products. Series of experiments were conducted to test the horizontal and vertical hydraulic
conductivity of pure fly ash, pure bottom ash, pure conventional road base materials, and blends comprising
of the said soil components. It was also established that horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivity had a
significant difference wherein the flow of water at the horizontal-direction is greater compared to the
vertical-direction.