Mechanical behavior of sandy soils stabilized with liquefied waste PET bottles under curing and freeze–thaw conditions
Innovative Infrastructure Solutions, cilt.11, sa.10, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 11 Sayı: 10
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s41062-026-02991-6
- Dergi Adı: Innovative Infrastructure Solutions
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste, Soil stabilization, Sustainable waste management, Freeze-thaw cycles, Curing time, Unconfined compressive strength
- Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Recycling and reusing Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) waste has been extensively studied in geotechnical engineering, mostly in solid forms such as fibers, strips, or powders. However, its potential application in liquefied form has received little attention. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the effects of liquefied waste PET bottles (LWPETB) on the mechanical properties of poorly graded sandy soil (SP). LWPETB was mixed with sand at contents of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% by dry weight, and the specimens were cured for 0, 7, 14, and 28 days prior to being subjected to unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests. The results indicated that optimum performance was achieved at 10% LWPETB content after a curing period of 7 days. The maximum UCS obtained was 799 kPa, indicating a substantial improvement in strength compared with the very low UCS values typically reported for untreated sandy soils. This was accompanied by significant improvements in stiffness and energy absorption capacity. However, higher additive contents led to a reduction in strength due to excessive polymer accumulation within the voids and weakened particle interactions. In addition, the freeze–thaw (F–T) behavior of the stabilized specimens was evaluated. The specimens incorporating 10% LWPETB retained nearly 90% of their UCS after 20 F–T cycles, indicating their mechanical stability under cyclic temperature variations. Although the present findings are derived from a laboratory-scale investigation focusing on short- to medium-term curing periods (up to 28 days), this study provides a foundation for future field-scale applications and long-term durability assessments. The findings demonstrate that LWPETB not only improves the engineering performance of sandy soils but also represents a sustainable strategy for PET waste recycling. By avoiding the high carbon emissions and energy demands associated with conventional stabilizing agents such as cement, this technique provides a potentially economically competitive, environmentally sustainable, and practical solution for geotechnical applications requiring rapid short-term strength development, particularly in cold-region conditions.