Field-Scale Tests to Evaluate Foamed Glass Aggregate Compaction: Fid-Bau Portal

Field-Scale Tests to Evaluate Foamed Glass Aggregate Compaction

McGuire, Michael P. / Loux, Theresa Andrejack / VandenBerge, Daniel R.

Foamed glass aggregate (FGA) is a lightweight fill material made from recycled glass. In U.S. practice, a method specification is typically used to achieve suitable volumetric stability of the compacted fill without excessively crushing FGA particles. A suite of eight field-scale tests was performed to answer the following questions: (1) what reduction in FGA fill volume is expected using a typical method compaction specification; and (2) what additional volume reduction is expected for additional passes of the compaction equipment beyond what is required by the specification. During the tests, compaction was performed using a dozer (two tests), two track-mounted excavators (three tests), a vibratory plate compactor (two tests), and a small tandem roller (one test) as compactors. Each test involved compacting one to three lifts with multiple passes of the equipment and observing reduction of the fill volume using a lidar scanner. The results show that a typical method specification results in compacted lifts of fill with a volume that is 7.6%–16.6% lower compared to the volume after placement of the lift. Additionally, the results show that the volume reduction follows a hyperbolic relationship with the number of compactor passes, suggesting asymptotic behavior with respect to volume with an increasing number of passes.