Peat land covers a large portion of the total land area in Malaysia and several other countries throughout the world. The Malaysian state of Sarawak has the most peat land area nationally. Peat is ...considered a problematic type of soil due to its high compressibility, high moisture content, high organic matter and low shear strength. As a form of stabilization, it is suggested to combine palm oil fuel ash (POFA) with peat. This study investigated the engineering properties of these composite matrices in terms of the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and Standard Proctor test values. Results showed that the dry density of the peat samples increased with the increase in POFA content. The POFA-peat composites showed an increase of 4 times the untreated peat value. Also, CBR values for these composites increased from 31 to 42 fold, in comparison with untreated peat. The peat-POFA CBR values are rated as good materials for the purpose of road base or subbase construction.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Construction of infrastructures on peat land is a very challenging task due to its properties of low shear strength, high compressibility and high water content. This paper summarizes various ...solutions which could be adopted for the construction of infrastructure on peat, as reviewed by the experts and panels during IConCEES International Workshop 2015. Engineers could (a) avoid peat, such as to transfer the load to the hard layers through end bearing piles or to replace the peat with the other soils, or (b) construct on peat with special precautions, such as by reducing the weight of the construction materials and dewatering the peat to improve the engineering properties. This paper serves to generate new ideas and give insights of the problems commonly encountered by the industry. Some of the proposed solutions might never be tested on peat. This would rely on the researchers to take up the challenge to further investigate and address the technical issues outlined in this paper.
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