PROPERTIES OF SOFT SOIL CONTAINING OUTER LAYER FACE MASK

In construction, soft clay soil is continuously being the biggest concern for engineer. It is classified as problematic soil because of its weak properties and it usually does not meet the construction requirement due to excessive settlement. In this research, the improvement of soft clay soil is made by adding a small percentage of the waste generated from face mask. By doing this, it is hoped to improve the soil’s properties and preserve the environment by reducing the abundant waste. Several laboratory tests (particle size test, soil consistency test, standard Proctor test and unconfined compression test) were conducted to determine the soil properties. The outer layer face mask (OLFM), which was cut in pieces, was added in the amount of 0.25 %, 0.5 % and 1 % of the total volume. The results show that the mixture of 1 % of the outer layer face mask’s into the soft clay soil is able to increase the soil’s shear strength by 2.8 times.