Effects of Metal Waste Strips on Strength Characteristics of Road Base Material

Metal manufacturing produces various types of byproducts and metal waste that have been growing exponentially. The increasing amounts of metal waste are usually disposed of in landfills, which causes soil and water pollution and increases the amount of gas emissions. On the other hand, in the field of pavement construction, the demand for natural materials is increasing rather rapidly. Many studies have suggested utilizing aggregate-like waste material in pavement construction, but there is little to no literature documenting the use of metal strips of different types. The aim of this study is to investigate utilizing the metal waste produced by the Intag Sohar company in layers of flexible pavement. Selected types of metal waste were utilized in the construction of the material used for base and subbase road layers. Three main parameters were studied: the number of layers, the distance between strips, and the direction of the strips. The effect of the metal waste on the pavement material is evaluated using the standard California Bearing Ratio test (CBR), which is the most important indication of the strength of the pavement material. Results show that the highest-quality mix consisted of four layers of metal waste with 1 cm spacing in one direction with CBR% values equal to 118.807%.