Comparative Analysis of Some Geotechnical Properties of Decomposed Solid Waste and Natural Soil Site for Foundation Engineering

Abstract

Optimization of landfills as a result of increasing population and demand for infrastructural development has necessitated intensified investigation among engineers. Examining the engineering properties of soils from these landfills is of great concern. This paper presented the bearing capacity of soils from dump sites of municipal solid wastes and natural soil using their shear strength parameters obtained from direct shear tests, after preliminary tests had been carried out to determine index properties of the soil samples. Samples were obtained at 1m, 1.5m, 2m, 2.5m and 3m depth from Jettu site in Edo State, Nigeria. The maximum and least cohesion values were observed to be 24kN/m2 and 17kN/m2, 15kN/m2 and 5kN/m2; and the maximum angles of internal-friction were 22oC and 24oC, while the least internal friction angles were 6oC and 9oC for NS and SWSS samples respectively, which denotes that the samples are fine soils with good shear strength and can serve as reliable structural foundation materials