Mechanical and Freezing Behavior of Quarry Waste Sands Stabilized with Two Nontraditional Additives

The road sector is actively exploring strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investigating the potential use of local and recycled materials, including quarry waste sand. This study presents the results of frost heave and repeated load triaxial tests conducted on fully characterized Norwegian quarry waste sands. The tests examined the effects of two nontraditional additives, lignosulfonate and organosilane, on the engineering properties of the quarry waste sands. Thermal conductivity tests were also performed on untreated samples. The quarry waste sands, including gneiss, gabbro, quartz-diorite, limestone, and granite, exhibited varying fine contents ranging from 7% to 28%. A thermal conductivity model was validated with R2 values ranging from 0.87 to 0.99. The frost susceptibility was found to be reduced by 65% in samples treated with 1% additive content, and further improvements of 85% at a 2% concentration. Moreover, the addition of 1.5% lignosulfonate or 0.5% organosilane significantly improved the resilient modulus, elastic stiffness, and resistance to permanent deformation in all samples. These findings highlight the improved frost protection and mechanical properties of the stabilized quarry waste sands, contributing to enhanced pavement stability and longevity. Furthermore, incorporating lignosulfonate additives in quarry waste sands offers a promising solution for environmentally sustainable road construction. Further research, including comprehensive field-testing and life-cycle cost analyses, is recommended to assess the economic, technical, and environmental aspects of these additives.