Stress–Strain Behaviour of Flowable Fill

Abstract

Flowable fill is a self-levelling and self-compacting, cementitious material which is primarily used as a backfill. It is a mixture of fine aggregates, small amount of cement, water and a by-product material. In this present experimental study, three industrial by-products namely fly ash, rice husk ash and quarry dust were used as constituent materials in flowable fill. Mix proportions were developed for different combination of these industrial by-products, in addition to small amount of cement content. The main objective of the present investigation is to study the stress–strain behaviour of these mixes, namely unconfined compressive strength (UCS), strain corresponding to peak stress, strain corresponding to fracture and modulus of elasticity. In addition, several mixes were tested for few other properties such as flowability, density, water-absorption and volume changes. The range of strengths, strains and moduli of elasticity obtained for these flowable fill mixtures represents different types of clay soils ranging from soft clays to very stiff clays. Thus, industrial by-products such as fly ash, rice husk ash and quarry dust can be beneficially added in flowable fill that offers comparable strengths to soils used for conventional fills and many other low-strength applications.