Field and large scale laboratory studies on dynamic properties of emplaced municipal solid waste from two dump sites at Delhi, India

Dynamic properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) from two dump sites located at Delhi, India are evaluated from field and large scale laboratory tests. Shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles of MSW, measured at these two sites using surface wave techniques, are in range of Vs data reported for MSW landfills worldwide. Representative bulk MSW samples were collected from large test pits excavated at the two dump sites to determine the near surface unit weight. Large scale undrained cyclic triaxial (CTX) tests were conducted on reconstituted MSW specimens to investigate the effect of various parameters such as composition, confining pressure, number of loading cycles, loading frequency and saturation on the dynamic properties. Undrained CTX tests, conducted on the specimens with and without fibrous materials demonstrated the effect of fibrous waste constituents on the stiffness and damping behavior of MSW. Specimens consisting of fibrous waste constituents such as plastics and textiles exhibited significantly less modulus reduction compared to specimens with negligible amount of fibrous content. The modulus reduction (G/Gmax) and material damping ratio curves derived from the present study are in the range reported for MSW in the literature. The G/Gmax curves from present study are in good agreement with curves recommended for MSW at Tri-Cities landfill in USA and Tianziling landfill in China. Dynamic properties evaluated from the present study add to the growing database of the worldwide dataset and can be useful for evaluating the seismic stability and associated permanent deformations of the existing dumps in and around Delhi.