Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Civil, Coastal, and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Shenghua Wu, Ph.D.

Advisor(s)

John Cleary, Ph.D. and Daniela Wolter FerreiraTouma, Ph.D.

Abstract

The feasibility of using dredged sediment from the Mobile River as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in mortar and concrete was investigated through a series of laboratory characterization and performance evaluation. Three dredged sediment samples (A, B and C) were initially examined, and Sample A was selected for further evaluation due to its closer resemblance to natural fine aggregate. This sample exhibited lower moisture content, higher sand equivalent values, higher specific gravity, and lower absorption. Mortar mixtures with 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75 and 100% dredged sediment replacement showed decreasing workability as the replacement level increased. The 20% replacement level produced the highest compressive strength, whereas drying shrinkage increased with increasing sediment content. Concrete with 20% dredged sediment had slightly lower unit weight, higher air content and improved workability. Although compressive strength was lower at 3 days, the mixture achieved higher strengths at 7 and 28 days than the control. Overall, the results indicate that dredged sediment is a viable partial replacement for fine aggregate in cementitious materials.

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