Granites by-products in comparison with the dolerite for the construction of pavement structures with the method of inverted pavement

ETZI, ANDREINA;CONTU, ALESSIO;Rombi J;Portas S;MALTINTI, FRANCESCA;CONI, MAURO

2014-01-01

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Abstract

Sardinia is characterized by high amounts of granite, with mining rocks for ornamental use ranked 2nd in the world after China. Direct result of mining is the production of scraps and blocks of poor ornamental quality being landfilled. The study reported on this paper is a part of an ongoing researched aimed to optimize the use of extracted rockdebris, with scope of reducing the amount of dumped material and support the sustainability of natural resources. In particular, the study focused on the use of this resource for the realization of road pavement layers according to the South-African technique of the so called “Inverted Pavement”. This technique provides high mechanical strength for an unbound base layer super compacted. The material commonly used in South Africa is the crushed stone derived from dolerite, which is present in high quantities.The possibility of using granite has being investigated according to the South Africa Technical Specifications. Granites deriving from quarries were analyzed and compared with Dolorite from the physico-chemical and mechanical point of view. According to the preliminary results obtained granites by products are a valuable resource to be used to constructed super compacted layers of Inverted Pavement.