Improvement of weak soils in highway constructions with basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag

In this study the weak soil encountered on the Tarsus Organized Industrial Zone Connection Road, which is under construction, was used as the weak soil, and the slag material obtained as waste from Iskenderun Demir-Çelik A.Ş. was used as BOF slag. Consistency limits, grain size analysis, compaction and California bearing ratio (CBR) tests were carried out to determine that the soil is a weak soil according to the Highway Technical Specification (KTS). The soil, which was determined to be weak soil, was mixed with 10%, 25%, 50% and 75% BOF slag, and the consistency limits, compaction and CBR tests were carried out separately for each percentage mixing ratio. As a result, it was determined that the weak soil lost its weak soil properties by decreasing the liquid limit (LL), plasticity index (PI), optimum water content, swelling percentage values, and increasing dry unit weight and CBR percentages. In this study, it has been determined that the weak soils encountered in road construction can be used by recompressing by mixing 25%-50% waste BOF slag depending on the CBR values