Exploring the Use of Rock Flour for Sustainable Peat Stabilisation

This paper aims to investigate the mechanical behaviour of peat stabilised with glacial rock flour for foundation construction. Peat, a natural organic soil, presents challenges for construction due to its high compressibility and low bearing capacity. This is an especially acute problem in Scotland (UK) where 25% of the territory is covered by peat. Glacial rock flour, a fine-grained powder produced by the crushing of stone in the construction industry, has been identified as a potential stabiliser for peat. This study evaluates the effect of varying percentages of glacial rock flour on the mechanical properties of peat, considering the unconfined compression strength (UCS). The findings indicate a significant improvement in UCS28 of the mixture with the addition of up to 15% rock flour. Hence, it is concluded that peat stabilisation with glacial rock flour can be an alternative, cost-effective, and sustainable solution to the typically used excavate-and-replace technique in peatlands in the UK.