Abstract: “Regular dredging works are necessary for the development of coastal regions and the maintenance of shipping channels. However indiscriminate disposal of the dredged soils in open waters can cause severe and irreversible impact on the marine ecosystem. It is therefore desirable to transform the otherwise waste material into reusable soils, though some form of pre-treatment is necessary to improve the material’s strength and stiffness. This paper describes an exploratory work of admixing dredged marine sediments of predominantly silt contents with activated steel slag for improvement of the mechanical properties. By first identifying the optimum activation concentration of NaOH for the steel slag, the solution was next introduced to the soil-slag mixture for uniform blending. Specimens were prepared per dry weight at ratios of clay : steel slag = 3:7, 5:5 and 7:3, then left to cure for up to 4 weeks. At intervals of 3, 7, 14 and 28 days, bender element and unconfined compressive strength”

Keywords: dredged soils, solidification, steel slag, strength, stiffness, bender element