Rakesh Kumar Dutta

Bio: Rakesh Kumar Dutta is an academic researcher from National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur. The author has contributed to research in topics: Compressive strength & Bearing capacity. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 66 publications receiving 552 citations.

Compressibility and Strength Behaviour of Sand–tyre Chip Mixtures

Abstract: Scrap tyres can be shredded into chips and can easily be mixed with granular soils. To assess the behaviour of the admixtures, compressibility and triaxial compression tests were carried out by varying chip size and chip content. The results demonstrated that sand–tyre chip mixtures up to 20% could be a potential material for highway construction and embankment construction up to around 10 m height.

Performance of square footing with structural skirt resting on sand

Abstract: The paper presents the performance of a square footing with a structural skirt resting on sand and subjected to a vertical load through an experimental study. A series of tests were conducted in a model test tank to evaluate the performance in terms of improvement in bearing capacity and reduction in settlement of a square footing with and without a structural skirt. The results of the study reveal that this type of reinforcement increases the bearing capacity, reduces the settlement and modifies the load settlement behaviour of the footing. The various factors influencing the bearing capacity improvements and settlement reduction using a structural skirt are identified. Skirt factors are proposed which can be introduced into the general ultimate bearing capacity equation for a square footing resting on sand. The predictions made through the modified equation are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The bearing capacity of square footing is increased in the range of 11.2 to 70%. The impr...

Engineering Properties of Bentonite Stabilized with Lime and Phosphogypsum

Abstract: Abstract Engineering properties such as compaction, unconfined compressive strength, consistency limits, percentage swell, free swell index, the California bearing ratio and the consolidation of bentonite stabilized with lime and phosphogypsum are presented in this paper. The content of the lime and phosphogypsum varied from 0 to 10 %. The results reveal that the dry unit weight and optimum moisture content of bentonite + 8 % lime increased with the addition of 8 % phosphogypsum. The percentage of swell increased and the free swell index decreased with the addition of 8 % phosphogypsum to the bentonite + 8 % lime mix. The unconfined compressive strength of the bentonite + 8 % lime increased with the addition of 8 % phosphogypsum as well as an increase in the curing period up to 14 days. The liquid limit and plastic limit of the bentonite + 8 % lime increased, whereas the plasticity index remained constant with the addition of 8 % phosphogypsum. The California bearing ratio, modulus of subgrade reaction, and secant modulus increased for the bentonite stabilized with lime and phosphogypsum. The coefficient of the consolidation of the bentonite increased with the addition of 8 % lime and no change with the addition of 8 % phosphogypsum.

CBR Behaviour of Waste Plastic Strip-Reinforced Stone Dust/Fly Ash Overlying Saturated Clay

Abstract: An experimental study was carried out to investigate the CBR behaviour of waste plastic strip reinforced-stone dust/fly ash overlying saturated clay Three different sizes of waste plastic strips were used in this study The effect of waste plastic strip content (025% to 4%) and length on the CBR and secant modulus of strip reinforced-stone dust/fly ash overlying saturated clay was investigated The study reveals that addition of waste plastic strip in stone dust/fly ash overlying saturated clay resulted in an appreciable increase in the CBR and the secant modulus The reinforcement benefit increased with an increase in waste plastic strip content and strip length The benefit of adding waste plastic strips beyond 2% does not improve the CBR or secant modulus appreciably Reinforced stone dust is more effective than reinforced fly ash overlying saturated clay in improving the behaviour of the system The material can be used in base courses in constructing rural roads over saturated clay, thereby leading to safe disposal of these waste materials in an environmentally friendly manner Further research is recommended to study the cost economics of the use of waste materials in base courses in rural roads

Effect of Addition of Treated Coir Fibres on the Compression Behaviour of Clay

Abstract: This paper presents the effect of treated coir fibres (15 mm in length) on the unconfined compressive strength of clay. Dry, sodium hydroxide and carbon tetrachloride–treated coir fibres were used in the study. The coir fibre content was varied from 0.4% to 1.6%. The results indicated that the unconfined compressive strength of clay and clay with dry coir fibres can be increased by treatment with carbon tetrachloride and sodium hydroxide. The increase in unconfined compressive strength was highest with carbon tetrachloride treatment. The clay reinforced with treated fibres was able to bear higher strains at failure as compared to clay and clay with dry fibres. With the increase in coir fibre content (0.4%-1.6%) in clay, there was an increase in the unconfined compressive strength. The clay with treated coir fibres can be used for making bricks for mud houses in rural India.

Multiple regression, ANN (RBF, MLP) and ANFIS models for prediction of swell potential of clayey soils

Abstract: Research highlights? The use of multiple regression (MR), artificial neural network (ANN) and artificial neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) models, for the prediction of swell percent of soils, was described and compared. ? However the accuracies of ANN and ANFIS models may be evaluated relatively similar, it is shown that the constructed ANN models of RBF and MLP exhibit a high performance than ANFIS and multiple regression for predicting swell percent of clays. ? The performance comparison showed that the soft computing system is a good tool for minimizing the uncertainties in the soil engineering projects. ? The use of soft computing will also may provide new approaches and methodologies, and minimize the potential inconsistency of correlations. In the recent years, new techniques such as; artificial neural networks and fuzzy inference systems were employed for developing of the predictive models to estimate the needed parameters. Soft computing techniques are now being used as alternate statistical tool. Determination of swell potential of soil is difficult, expensive, time consuming and involves destructive tests. In this paper, use of MLP and RBF functions of ANN (artificial neural networks), ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system) for prediction of S% (swell percent) of soil was described, and compared with the traditional statistical model of MR (multiple regression). However the accuracies of ANN and ANFIS models may be evaluated relatively similar. It was found that the constructed RBF exhibited a high performance than MLP, ANFIS and MR for predicting S%. The performance comparison showed that the soft computing system is a good tool for minimizing the uncertainties in the soil engineering projects. The use of soft computing will also may provide new approaches and methodologies, and minimize the potential inconsistency of correlations.

Recycling waste rubber tyres in construction materials and associated environmental considerations: A review

Abstract: Waste tyres and their accumulation is a global environmental concern; they are not biodegradable, and, globally, an estimated 1.5 billion are generated annually. Waste tyres in landfill and stockpiles are renowned for leaching toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment, acting as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and fuelling inextinguishable fires. The properties of waste tyre rubber and engineering applications have been previously reported in a range of publications with respect to the environmental, economic, and technical factors. This study compiles and reviews this research with a focus on geotechnical engineering applications, such as earthworks and infrastructure construction. The applications of waste rubber in construction materials includes cementitious concrete, asphalt concrete, and granular materials for earth structures. Crumb rubber, when used as a sand replacement in flowable concrete fill, improved ductility and strength-to-weight ratio. A 40 MPa concrete mix with 0.6% rubber crumb content exhibited optimal strength and air entrainment capabilities, displaying minimal damage after 56 freeze/thaw cycles. Rubber, as a partial replacement for aggregate in road base and sub-base layers, adversely affected the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of the graded aggregate base course. Rubber-soil mixtures as the interface of foundation and structure yielded a 60–70 % reduction in vertical and horizontal ground accelerations when subjected to earthquake simulation modelling. There is concern regarding the toxicity of waste rubber incorporated products due to leachates of heavy metals and other chemicals common in tyres. Further comprehensive studies in this area are needed. Leachate studies should be conducted under different pH and liquid to solid ratios.

Shear and Compressibility Behavior of Sand-Tire Crumb Mixtures

Abstract: Scrap tire disposal has been a critical environmental problem in many urban cities due to the huge increase in the number of vehicles. Significant research efforts have been devoted in recent years to explore the use of scrap tires in civil engineering application, as reuse or recycling of scrap tires is the preferred option from a waste management perspective. This paper investigates shear and compressibility behavior of sand–tire crumb (S-TC) mixtures for their application in civil engineering projects. Unlike other studies where tire chips or tire shreds were used, shear strength of the S-TC mixtures has been found to decrease with the increase in the amount of tire crumbs in the mixtures. Significant increase in axial strain corresponding to peak deviator stress has been observed. This can be related to the ductility capacity of the mixtures, as confirmed by brittleness tests. It has also been observed that a larger proportion of plastic strain develops after the first cycle of unloading, and ...