Strength of Peat Treated with Peat Ash

Abstract

For construction on peaty ground, shallow peat layer is normally replaced by stiffer soil. The replaced peat may be burned into peat ash to reduce the volume. In this study, the potential of peat ash in improving the shear strength of peat was investigated using unconfined compression tests. It is found that peat ash has insignificant effect to the 7 days strength of peat. Peat ash increases the strength of peat by about 50% at Day 14. At Day 28 and 56, the effect of peat ash to strength of peat is comparable to the effect of cement, whereas the effect of cement is about 10% larger than that of peat ash. It is found that effect of peat ash in strengthening the peat become less significant with the present of cement.