Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste at different phases

of biodegradation
Krishna R. Reddy
a,
, Hiroshan Hettiarachchi
b
, Janardhanan Gangathulasi
a
, Jean E. Bogner
c,d
a
Department of Civil and Materials Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 842 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West Ten Mile Road, Southeld, MI 48075, USA
c
Landlls +, Inc., 1144 N. President St., Wheaton, IL 60187, USA
d
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 16 July 2010
Accepted 8 June 2011
Available online 20 July 2011
Keywords:
Synthetic municipal solid waste
Bioreactor landlls
Leachate recirculation
Biodegradation
Geotechnical properties
Moisture content
Degree of decomposition
Hydraulic conductivity
Compressibility
Shear strength
a b s t r a c t
This paper presents the results of laboratory investigation conducted to determine the variation of geo-
technical properties of synthetic municipal solid waste (MSW) at different phases of degradation. Syn-
thetic MSW samples were prepared based on the composition of MSW generated in the United States
and were degraded in bioreactors with leachate recirculation. Degradation of the synthetic MSW was
quantied based on the gas composition and organic content, and the samples exhumed from the biore-
actor cells at different phases of degradation were tested for the geotechnical properties. Hydraulic con-
ductivity, compressibility and shear strength of initial and degraded synthetic MSW were all determined
at constant initial moisture content of 50% on wet weight basis. Hydraulic conductivity of synthetic MSW
was reduced by two orders of magnitude due to degradation. Compression ratio was reduced from 0.34
for initial fresh waste to 0.15 for the mostly degraded waste. Direct shear tests showed that the fresh and
degraded synthetic MSW exhibited continuous strength gain with increase in horizontal deformation,
with the cohesion increased from 1 kPa for fresh MSW to 1640 kPa for degraded MSW and the friction
angle decreased from 35 for fresh MSWto 28 for degraded MSW. During the triaxial tests under CU con-
dition, the total strength parameters, cohesion and friction angle, were found to vary from 21 to 57 kPa
and 1 to 9, respectively, while the effective strength parameters, cohesion and friction angle varied from
18 to 56 kPa and from 1 to 11, respectively. Similar to direct shear test results, as the waste degrades an
increase in cohesion and slight decrease in friction angle was observed. Decreased friction angle and
increased cohesion with increased degradation is believed to be due to the highly cohesive nature of
the synthetic MSW. Variation of synthetic MSW properties from this study also suggests that signicant
changes in geotechnical properties of MSW can occur due to enhanced degradation induced by leachate
recirculation.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Bioreactor landll technology involves injecting leachate and
other supplemental liquids into the waste to accelerate or enhance
the anaerobic biodegradation of MSW. Bioreactor landlls offer a
sustainable way to achieve higher rates of MSW degradation, faster
reduction of leachate and landll gas pollution potential, and an in-
crease in landll volumetric capacity. They also offer signicant
reductions in post-closure management as a result of the reduced
period for leachate and gas generation (Sharma and Reddy, 2004;
ITRC, 2006).
Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Re-
search Development & Demonstration Rule (40 CFR 258.4), several
eld demonstration projects have been initiated in the United
States to assess the performance of bioreactor landlls as com-
pared to the conventional landlls. Some of the well-designed
demonstration projects showed accelerated stabilization of MSW
based on the quantity and quality of landll gas produced and
the amount of landll settlement (Reddy and Bogner, 2003; ITRC,
2006; Benson et al., 2007). Several landll failures have been
attributed to accumulation of leachate within the landlls or
uncontrolled leachate injection (Koerner and Soong, 2000; Blight,
2008). Therefore, controlled leachate recirculation operations are
essential to prevent built-up of pore water pressures in the landll
and prevent any failures.
It is also believed that the degradation of organic matter in the
waste changes the composition of solids matrix of the MSW; most
degraded MSW is sometimes described as muck-like material.
With the drastic changes in solids composition and increased
moisture content, the mechanical behavior of MSW is expected
0956-053X/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2011.06.002

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 312 996 4755; fax: +1 312 996 2426.
E-mail addresses: kreddy@uic.edu (K.R. Reddy), hiroshan@ltu.edu (H. Hettiar-
achchi), jganga2@uic.edu (J. Gangathulasi), jbogner@landllsplus.com (J.E. Bogner).
Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Waste Management
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ wasman
to be quite different than that of fresh MSW (undegraded condi-
tion). It is critical to perform geotechnical stability analyses based
on the properties that accurately describe the MSW under different
phases of degradation. Several studies have been reported on geo-
technical properties of MSW (Landva and Clark, 1990; Gabr and
Valero, 1995; Kavazanjian, 2001; Zekkos, 2005; Grisolia and
Napoleoni, 1996; Jones et al., 1997; Vilar and Carvalho, 2004; Red-
dy et al., 2009a,b); however, very few studies focused on determin-
ing the change in properties of MSW due to degradation under
bioreactor landll conditions (Wall and Zeiss, 1995; Van Impe
and Bouazza, 1998; Pelkey et al., 2001; Hossain, 2002; Machado
et al., 2006; Reddy et al., 2009a). In general, these studies did not
systematically quantify the effects of leachate recirculation and en-
hanced degradation on the engineering properties of MSW.
Hossain (2002) reported controlled laboratory study on shred-
ded MSW from a transfer station in which the MSW was anaerobi-
cally degraded in reactors with leachate recirculation. Based on the
methane (CH
4
) production, reactors were destructively sampled to
obtain MSW samples degraded to different levels. Cellulose (C),
hemicellulose (H) and lignin (L) concentrations of the samples
were measured to better characterize the extent of degradation.
A general trend of increased compressibility (compression index)
and decreased shear strength (friction angle with zero cohesion)
with level of degradation (represented by (C + H)/L) was reported.
Additional studies performed following a similar approach, but
using MSW from a landll site, showed that both shear strength
properties (cohesion and friction angle) and hydraulic conductivity
decreased with increased decomposition of MSW (Hossain et al.,
2009; Hossain and Haque, 2009).
Reddy et al. (2009a) determined the changes in geotechnical
properties of landlled MSW which was subjected to leachate
recirculation for about 1.5 years. Because of the low amount of
leachate recirculation, the extent of MSW degradation was mini-
mal, leading to only minor differences between the properties of
fresh and landlled MSW. Because of heterogeneous composition
of eld MSW, quantifying the changes in properties solely due to
biodegradation is often complicated. To overcome this problem,
synthetic MSW can be used in laboratory investigations to
determine the parameters affecting the behavior of MSW under
controlled conditions. Synthetic MSW allows simulation of MSW
with the desired composition and it can be prepared by mixing
specic proportions of selected fresh products (paper, grass, etc.).
This paper presents the results of a comprehensive laboratory
study to systematically quantify changes in geotechnical proper-
ties at various phases of biodegradation under highly controlled
conditions in customized test reactors. The degradation process
was monitored by measuring gas production rates and gas compo-
sition. Based on the testing of synthetic MSW exhumed at different
phases of degradation, the changes in geotechnical properties are
quantied as a function of degree of degradation.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Fresh and biodegraded synthetic MSW preparation
Fresh synthetic MSW was prepared in the laboratory to be rep-
resentive of the typical composition of MSW generated in the Uni-
ted States. Typical MSW disposed in the landlls of the United
States consists of approximately 60% biodegradable fractions and
40% non-biodegradable fractions on wet mass basis (USEPA,
2006). Biodegradable fractions include paper and paper products,
food waste, and garden waste while non-biodegradable fractions
include metals, plastics, textiles, rubble, glass, miscellaneous inor-
ganic waste, and recalcitrant (lignin) fractions of wood wastes. The
biodegradable fraction (60%) was represented by selected fresh
materials: paper and paper board (25.2%) in MSW were repre-
sented by 20% shredded paper; yard trimmings and wood (14.9%)
was represented by 20% grass; food scraps and other biodegradable
fractions (19.1%) were represented by 10% vegetable waste, 5%
meat (ground beef) and 5% cellulose non-paper material. The
non-biodegradable fraction (40%) of synthetic MSW was repre-
sented by an equal mixture of local glacial till (CL) and ne sand
(SP). Clayey local glacial till is often used for daily cover at landlls
in the midwestern United States, except where alternate daily cov-
er materials (non-soil) are used (Bogner, 1990). Exhumed landll
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of bioreactor cell.
2276 K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286
samples from midwestern US landlls has indicated that substan-
tial percentages of local soils can be mixed with solid waste, due to
repetitive applications of daily cover and periodic placement of
thicker intermediate soil covers (Bogner, 1990).
The preparation of synthetic MSW involved weighing required
amounts of fresh individual components and then placing them
all together in a large plastic container. Leachate (with pH 7.5)
from a landll (Orchard Hills landll, IL) was added. To expedite
the degradation of synthetic MSW, anaerobic digester sludge ob-
tained from a wastewater treatment plant (Lisle, IL) was also
added. Synthetic MSW components, sludge and leachate were
mixed by hand until the sludge and leachate distributed uniformly
and the material appeared homogeneous. The resulting moisture
content was 83% by wet weight basis. The synthetic MSW was then
placed in the specially designed bioreactor landll reactors.
2.2. Bioreactor assembly and operation
Fig. 1 is a schematic of the bioreactor used for enhanced anaer-
obic degradation of synthetic MSW. The bioreactor consisted of a
cylindrical cell tted with metal plates at the top and the bottom.
The tubing was made of acrylic and had an inside diameter of
127 mm and a length of 508 mm. The metal plates made of alumi-
num were xed at the top and bottom of the cylindrical cell using
bolts. Top plate had three ports: one for leachate recirculation, one
for gas sampling and volume measurement, and another to mea-
sure gas pressure. Leachate was collected through the port pro-
vided at the bottom. All connections to the reactors were
properly sealed with anaerobic sealant to prevent any leak or air
intrusion. The reactor was accompanied by a recirculation cell of
diameter 102 mm and a height of 254 mm. Sludge-amended leach-
ate was re-circulated to the bioreactor through the recirculation
cell.
Four identical reactors R1, R2, R3 and R4 were prepared by plac-
ing 3 kg of synthetic MSW in each reactor. To ensure efcient
leachate recirculation, a lter paper, geotextile and a steel wire
mesh were placed at the bottom prior to the loading of synthetic
MSW into the reactor. Synthetic MSW was placed in three com-
pacted layers and the bulk unit weight of compacted synthetic
MSW ranged from 10 to 15 kN/m
3
. All connection ports were prop-
erly sealed using anaerobic sealant. Gas tightness of the reactors
was checked by immersing nitrogen-lled reactors in a water bath.
After the leak check, each reactor was once again purged with
nitrogen to displace the air if present in it, resulting in the onset
of anaerobic degradation phase. After ensuring the complete
anaerobic condition, all reactors were placed in a chamber main-
tained at a temperature of 3538 C which provided a favorable
environment for the growth of microbes.
To enhance the biodegradation process, leachate recirculation
was carried out in all four reactors. Leachate volume equal to
10% total weight of synthetic MSW was recirculated through
the waste samples. On the rst day, leachate collected from a
landll (pH 7.5) was used for recirculation, since the amount
of leachate generated from the reactors was less than required.
From the second day, leachate collected from the reactors R1,
R3 and R4 was neutralized (to pH 7.0) using sodium bicarbonate
and mixed with leachate obtained from the landll to recirculate
the desired volume. This procedure was continued for rst
50 days. Thereafter, reactors were recirculated with the amended
bioaugmented leachate (4 l of leachate from the landll
amended with 500 g of anaerobic digestor sludge, 100 g of
potassium phosphate, and 100 g of sodium bicarbonate). In the
case of reactor R2, amended leachate was recirculated from
the beginning. Leachate was recycled thrice a week for the rst
150 days.
Biodegradation process was monitored by measuring the vol-
ume and composition of gas and pH of leachate generated by syn-
thetic MSW in each reactor. Gas volume was measured by water
displacement method. Gas composition was measured using SRI
9300B gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a thermal conduc-
tivity detector. The pH of leachate was measured in accordance
with the procedure of EPA 9040C (USEPA, 1996).
Different phases of biodegradation were demarcated based on
the composition of gas and pH of leachate generated, and synthetic
MSW samples were exhumed at different phases of biodegrada-
tion. Samples from each phase of biodegradation were character-
ized by testing for moisture content, organic content, specic
gravity, and gradation based on the standard ASTM testing proce-
dures (ASTM, 2008). Moisture content was determined in accor-
dance with the standard procedure ASTM D2216, but the
samples were dried at a lower constant temperature of 60 C (to
avoid possible burning of any organic constituents) until the mass
remained constant. Wet gravimetric moisture content, dened as
the ratio of mass of moisture to the mass of wet synthetic MSW,
is used throughout this paper as it is commonly used in landll
practice. The organic content, which is a representation of volatile
solids in the synthetic MSW, was measured as per ASTM D2974
(heated at 750 C for 12 h to achieve constant mass). Specic grav-
ity was determined primarily in accordance with ASTM D854, with
the exception that the entire synthetic MSW sample was used for
testing instead of screening through #4 sieve. Particle size distribu-
tion was determined as per ASTM D422. Degree of decomposition
(DOD) was dened as follows to express the extent of biodegrada-
tion (Andersland et al., 1981):
DOD 1
X
fi
X
fo

1
1 X
fi

100; 1
where X
fo
is the initial organic fraction and X

is the organic frac-

tion after partial decomposition. In other words, X
fo
and X

are
the initial organic content and the organic content at any degrada-
tion stage under consideration given in fractional form, respec-
tively. Eq. (1) relates the percent organic fraction degraded with
respect to the inorganic fraction present, and it can be seen that
DOD varies from 0% for undegraded or initial waste condition to
100% for complete degradation of organic fraction in the waste. It
should be noted that the MSW samples R1, R2, R3 and R4 repre-
sented different phases of degradation, namely anaerobic acid
phase, accelerated methane phase, decelerated methane phase,
and methane stabilization phase, respectively, based on the gas
composition data (Table 1).
Table 1
Characteristics of fresh and degraded synthetic MSW.
Bioreactor Terminal
degradation
phase
Gravimetric
moisture
content (wet
weight
basis) at
termination
a
Organic
content
or LOI
(%)
Degree of
decomposition
(%)
Specic
gravity
Fresh 83.0 57.5 0 1.09
R1 Anaerobic
acid
68.8 40.2 50 2.05
R2 Accelerated
methane
77.9 38.9 53 2.26
R3 Decelerated
methane
84.3 28.6 70 2.30
R4 Methane
stabilization
53.9 15.5 86 2.47
a
All samples had initial moisture content of 83% (wet weight basis) prior to
placing in the reactors; nal moisture content inuenced by leachate recirculation
just before removal from the reactor. Geotechnical testing on all samples was
performed at moisture content of 50% (wet weight basis).
K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286 2277
2.3. Geotechnical testing
The synthetic MSW samples retrieved from the reactors were
air-dried for several days and then their moisture was adjusted
to 50% on a wet weight basis (100% on dry weight basis). The syn-
thetic MSW was then used to prepare specimens for hydraulic con-
ductivity, compressibility, and shear strength testing as described
below.
2.3.1. Hydraulic conductivity
To measure the hydraulic conductivity, rigid-wall as well as
exi-wall (triaxial) permeameters were used in general accordance
with ASTM standard procedures ASTM D2434 and D5084 (ASTM,
2008). Rigid-wall constant and falling head hydraulic conductivity
tests were conducted at zero conning pressure. For the fresh and
R1 (anaerobic acid phase) samples, a rigid-wall constant head
method was used. Synthetic MSW from R2 (accelerated methane),
R3 (decelerated methane) and R4 (methane stabilization) samples
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
Particle Size (mm)
P
e
r
c
e
n
t

P
a
s
s
i
n
g
Fresh
R1
R2
R3
R4
Particle Size
Reduction
Fig. 2. Particle size distribution of synthetic MSW at various phases of
biodegradation.
Dry Unit Weight (kN/m
3
)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
H
y
d
r
a
u
l
i
c

C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
c
m
/
s
)
10
-9
10
-8
10
-7
10
-6
10
-5
10
-4
10
-3
10
-2
10
-1
10
0
Initial
R1
R2
R3
R4
(a)
Confining Pressure (kPa)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
H
y
d
r
a
u
l
i
c

C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
c
m
/
s
)
10
-9
10
-8
10
-7
10
-6
10
-5
10
-4
10
-3
10
-2
10
-1
10
0
(b)
Fig. 3. Variation of synthetic MSW hydraulic conductivity: (a) with dry unit weight
(results from rigid-wall permeameter tests) and (b) with conning pressure (results
from exi-wall permeameter tests).
Degree of Decomposition (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
H
y
d
r
a
u
l
i
c

C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
c
m
/
s
)
10
-8
10
-7
10
-6
10
-5
10
-4
10
-3
10
-2
10
-1
10
0
K=5X10
-4
e
-0.08DOD
R
2
=0.99; K in cm/s; DOD=Degree of Degradation
Fig. 4. Variation of synthetic MSW hydraulic conductivity with degree of
decomposition.
Dry Unit Weight (kN/m
3
)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
H
y
d
r
a
u
l
i
c

C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
c
m
/
s
)
10
-9
10
-8
10
-7
10
-6
10
-5
10
-4
10
-3
10
-2
10
-1
10
0
Fresh synthetic MSW - Baseline
R1-Degraded
R2-Degraded
R3-Degraded
R4-Degraded
Reddy et al. (2009)- Field Fresh MSW - Rigidwall tests
Reddy et al. (2009)- Field Fresh MSW - Flexiwall tests
Durmusoglu et. al (2006) - 10 years old MSW
Jang et.al (2002) - < 10 years old MSW
Powrie and Beaven(1999) - Fresh MSW - Six months of testing
Gabr and Valero (1995) - 15 years old MSW
Noble and Arnold (1992) - Synthetic MSW
Fig. 5. Comparison of synthetic MSW hydraulic conductivity with reported eld
MSW hydraulic conductivity.
2278 K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286
were only subjected to falling head test due to the less permeable
nature of these degraded samples.
Flexi-wall permeability tests were conducted at different con-
ning pressures to study the variation in hydraulic conductivity
with respect to density at different phases of degradation. Speci-
mens compacted in a cylindrical mould (diameter 50 mm and
height 100 mm) using a tamper were extruded and placed in latex
membranes and then in the triaxial cells. The samples were rst
saturated by applying 35 kPa initial conning pressure and ush-
ing deionized water under a constant hydraulic gradient. Once
the sample was saturated, ow volume in a predetermined elapsed
time was measured, and the results were then used to calculate the
hydraulic conductivity. Following the saturation under 35 kPa con-
ning pressure, the specimens were consolidated under 69, 138 or
276 kPa sequentially, and hydraulic conductivity was measured
under each conning pressure based on the ow volume in given
time under constant hydraulic gradient across the sample.
2.3.2. Compressibility
Conned compressibility tests were performed in a oating ring
oedometer in general accordance with ASTM D2435 (ASTM, 2008).
Fresh and degraded synthetic MSW samples were mixed with
water to yield initial wet moisture content of 50%. The samples
were then placed into the ring (63 mm diameter and 25 mm thick)
in two layers, and each layer was compacted 15 times using
Harvard Miniature compaction tamper equipped with 9 kg spring.
The compacted samples had initial wet unit weight of 8.616.9 kN/
m
3
with target moisture content of 50% on a wet weight basis. The
testing procedure involved rst subjecting the specimen to a con-
stant vertical stress of 48 kPa and observing compression for 24 h.
Subsequently, the vertical stress was increased to 96, 192, 383 and
766 kPa, and compression was monitored for 24 h under each ver-
tical stress. Long term compressibility was also tested for the same
unit weight and moisture content conditions of synthetic MSW by
following the above procedure until 383 kPa and then the vertical
pressure was maintained constant and compression was measured
with time for 15 days.
2.3.3. Drained shear strength
Drained shear strength properties of the synthetic MSW were
determined by direct shear tests as per ASTM D3080 (ASTM,
2008). Specimens were compacted into a circular shear box with
inside diameter 63 mm and thickness 34 mm in layers. Initial
wet unit weight of the samples ranged from 11.2 to 16.2 kN/m
3
,
with moisture content of 50% on wet basis. Porous stones were
placed on the top and the bottom of the specimen. The specimen
was subjected a constant normal stress of 87 kPa and then sheared
at a constant strain rate of 0.035 mm/min. The horizontal deforma-
tion and shear stress were recorded periodically. The testing was
continued until the horizontal displacement reached 15% or more
of the specimen diameter (none exhibited peak shear response).
The same procedure was followed to test different samples under
two other normal stresses of 179 and 271 kPa. The fresh synthetic
MSW was tested under normal stresses of 32, 179, 271 and
364 kPa.
2.3.4. Consolidated undrained (CU) shear strength
Consolidated undrained triaxial testing was conducted in accor-
dance with ASTM D4767 (ASTM, 2008). Synthetic MSW was com-
pacted into cylindrical molds in layers. The compacted samples
had a diameter of 50 mm and height 100 mm with initial wet unit
weight ranging from 11.1 to 17.1 kN/m
3
. Each specimen was ex-
truded from the mold and transferred to a latex membrane and
placed in the triaxial chamber. Specimen was initially subjected
to conning pressure of 35 kPa and back pressure of 21 kPa and
was fully saturated. For each waste condition, three specimens
were consolidated under 69, 138, and 276 kPa conning pressures
and then sheared at a constant strain rate of 2.1 mm/min. During
shearing, pore water pressure was also measured. In the absence
of a peak shear response, the tests were continued until they
reached 30% axial strain. Based on the MohrCoulomb failure crite-
ria, total and effective shear strength parameters (cohesion and
friction angle) were determined. In geotechnical testing, it is com-
mon to assume 1520% strain level as a failure condition and to use
the corresponding stresses to calculate shear strength parameters.
To allow comparison of the results with direct shear test, shear
strength parameters for triaxial tests were also calculated at 15%
strain.
3. Results and discussion
The moisture content, organic content (loss-on-ignition, LOI),
specic gravity, and grain size distribution of the exhumed syn-
thetic MSW samples from the bioreactors at different phases of
degradation are summarized in Table 1 and Fig. 2. It can be seen
that organic content and particle size decreased, and specic grav-
ity increased with degradation. These samples were air-dried and
then their moisture was adjusted to the same 50% on a wet weight
basis (100% on dry weight basis) prior to testing for hydraulic con-
ductivity, compressibility, and shear strength testing.
Normal Pressure (kPa)
0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
A
x
i
a
l

S
t
r
a
i
n

(
%
)
0
20
40
60
Fresh : 0.34
R1 : 0.27
R2 : 0.26
R3 : 0.21
R4 : 0.15
Compression
Ratio
Fig. 6. Compressibility of synthetic MSW.
Degree of Decomposition (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n

R
a
t
i
o

(
C
c
e
)
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
C
c
= 0.3552 - 0.002101DOD
R
2
=0.93
DOD = Degree of Decomposition
Fig. 7. Variation of synthetic MSW compression ratio with degree of
decomposition.
K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286 2279
3.1. Hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity of fresh and degraded synthetic MSW
samples ranged from 10
3
to 10
8
cm/s (Fig. 3a and b). The rigid
wall permeameter test results provide hydraulic conductivity un-
der zero conning pressure. The hydraulic conductivity of the de-
graded synthetic MSW was two orders of magnitude less than
the fresh synthetic MSW. This decrease in hydraulic conductivity
can be attributed to the degradation and the increase in density
of the samples; bulk unit weight of fresh synthetic MSW was
8.83 kN/m
3
which increased to 16.87 kN/m
3
for degraded samples.
Synthetic MSW with the highest degradation yielded hydraulic
conductivity in the clay range due to their reduction in particle
size.
In the exi-wall permeameter tests, as conning pressure in-
creased, hydraulic conductivity decreased, indicating a trend simi-
lar to soils (Fig. 3b). At any particular conning stress, the
hydraulic conductivity of fresh synthetic MSW was higher than
the degraded synthetic MSW. In the stabilized methanogenic phase
with 70% decomposition, the hydraulic conductivity was reduced
by three orders of magnitude. This decrease can be attributed to
the reduction in particle size with degradation, the increased per-
centage of nes, and the resulting higher density. Test results
clearly show that the degradation of synthetic MSW will result in
lower hydraulic conductivity, which has to be considered in the de-
sign of leachate recirculation systems, if used for accelerated deg-
radation of MSW under eld conditions. Accordingly, the injection
rate for recirculating leachate has to be adjusted to avoid develop-
ment of excessive pore water pressures leading to slope instability
problems.
Fig. 4 shows how hydraulic conductivity of synthetic MSW var-
ies with the degree of decomposition. Fig. 5 shows the variation of
hydraulic conductivity of the synthetic MSW and other reported
values of eld MSW with respect to dry unit weight. At a lower
conning pressure, fresh synthetic MSW tested at dry density of
650 kg/m
3
, yielded hydraulic conductivity in the same range as
fresh eld MSW (Reddy et al., 2009b,c). For the higher conning
pressure of 276 kPa, the hydraulic conductivity of fresh synthetic
MSW was two orders of magnitude higher than that of degraded
MSW. The presence of 40% nes to represent non-biodegradable
material resulted in a clay-like behavior at higher conning pres-
sures. Korman et al. (1987) also reported that hydraulic conductiv-
ity of fresh eld MSW ranged from 2 10
5
to 3 10
7
cm/s in the
range similar to fresh synthetic MSW. Bleiker et al. (1995) reported
similar trends to the synthetic MSW results, namely increasing
waste density, resulting in lower hydraulic conductivity.
3.2. Compressibility characteristics
Normal pressure versus maximum axial strain for synthetic
MSW at different stages of degradation is shown in Fig. 6. Com-
pression ratio (C
ce
), which is the slope of these curves, was calcu-
lated for each case and shown on this gure. It should be noted
that compression ratio is used commonly in MSW settlement cal-
culations and it is related to compression index (C
c
), which is used
commonly for soils, by: C
ce
= C
c
/(1 + e
0
); where e
0
= initial void ra-
tio. As shown in Fig. 6, the compression ratio of the synthetic
MSW varied in the range of 0.340.15. As the waste degraded,
the compression ratio decreased. Fig. 7 shows the variation of com-
pression ratio with the degree of decomposition.
For the normal pressure of 48 kPa, fresh synthetic MSW and R1
representing acid production phase shows higher strain compared
to other samples. In the fresh synthetic MSW, larger particle size
and lower density of 8.53 kN/m
3
resulted in greater compression
due to particle raveling, interaction and ber effect. Similarly R1
sample had volumetric strain of 29% which may be attributed to
the difference in initial density of the sample prepared. R2 and
R3 samples resulted in lower strain varying from 18% to 22% due
to increase in density resulted from smaller particle size. R4 sam-
ple resulted only in 11% strain due to higher density attributed
by 86% degree of decomposition and 73% reduction in organic con-
tent. Increase in the normal pressure from 48 to 96 kPa and
Table 2
Compressibility of synthetic MSW and eld MSW based on laboratory experiments.
Source Compression
ratio
Synthetic
MSW
Current research
63 mm diameter oedometer test, fresh to degraded synthetic MSW particles were of average size 1.5 mm, 10% particles were greater
than 10 mm and 35% particles were ner than 0.1 mm
0.150.34
Reddy et al. (2009d)
63 mm diameter oedometer test, fresh synthetic MSW particles were of average size 1.5 mm, 10% particles were greater than 10 mm
and 35% particles were ner than 0.1 mm
0.160.31
Dixon et al. (2008)
Large scale test of size 500 500 0750 mm, fresh synthetic MSW, maximum particle size 120500 mm
0.30
Hettiarachchi (2005)
63 mm Teon cell, fresh synthetic MSW, maximum particle size 5 mm
0.180.21
Langer (2005)
0.5 0.5 0.75 m compression box, shredded fresh synthetic MSW control samples, maximum particle size 10 mm 40 mm
0.30
Field MSW Reddy et al. (2009b)
63 mm diameter oedometer test, shredded fresh MSW, maximum particle size 40 mm
0.240.33
Durmusoglu et al. (2006)
63 mm oedometer, 10 years old degraded MSW
0.130.23
711 mm diameter oedometer, 10 years old degraded MSW 0.190.26
Vilar and Carvalho (2004)
385 mm diameter, 365 mm high oedometer test, 15 years old degraded MSW
0.21
Hossain (2002)
63.5 mm diameter oedometer tests, shredded relatively fresh MSW in control samples, maximum particle size 120500 mm, majority
was 40120 mm
0.160.25
Gabr and Valero (1995)
63 mm diameter oedometer test, 1530 years old degraded MSW, maximum particle size 6.3 mm
0.150.22
Wall and Zeiss (1995)
570 mm diameter cell, shredded fresh MSW, maximum size 4.7 cm
0.210.25
Landva and Clark (1990)
470 mm diameter consolidometer, shredded fresh MSW samples from Edmonton, Canada
0.35
2280 K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286
subsequently to 192, 383 and 766 kPa resulted in compression
behavior similar to previous loading. Synthetic MSW at different
stages of degradation has similar rate of change in the strain for
the normal pressure greater than 383 kPa.
Irrespective of the size of the oedometer cell or the maximum
particle size, the compression ratio of synthetic MSW in published
studies ranged from 0.16 to 0.28 (Reddy et al., 2009d; Dixon et al.,
2008; Hettiarachchi, 2005; Langer, 2005), and these are compared
in Table 2. Table 2 also provides compressibility values found in
the literature for fresh to degraded MSW. In a recent study by
the authors, the compression ratio of fresh shredded MSW varied
from 0.24 to 0.33 with total compression between 46% and 58% un-
der a maximum pressure of 766 kPa (Reddy et al., 2009b). For the
aged MSW (exhumed landll samples), the compression ratio var-
ied from 0.15 to 0.36 (Durmusoglu et al., 2006; Hossain, 2002; Wall
and Zeiss, 1995; Gabr and Valero, 1995; Landva and Clark, 1990;
Reddy et al., 2009a). From the reported values, it can be observed
that there is no signicant difference or any particular trend in
the compression ratio in spite of different size specimen, age of
the waste and increase in moisture content (Reddy et al., 2009a;
Gabr et al., 2007; Durmusoglu et al., 2006; Hettiarachchi, 2005).
In the current study, compression ratio decreased with aging.
However, fewresearchers have reported aged MSWyielding higher
compression ratios than fresh MSW (Wall and Zeiss, 1995; Landva
and Clark, 1990). Compression ratio of synthetic MSW are approx-
imately within the range of values reported in the published liter-
atures. Total compression of the synthetic MSW was in range of
fresh eld MSW.
Creep behavior of the fresh and degraded synthetic MSW was
studied through the long-term compressibility tests under a con-
stant vertical stress of 383 kPa. Based on the measured compres-
sion with time, secondary compression ratio (C
ae
) was calculated.
C
ae
is dened as De/log(t
2
/t
1
), and it should be noted that the sec-
ondary compression ratio and the secondary compression index
Degree of Decomposition (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
S
e
c
o
n
d
a
r
y

C
o
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
o
n

R
a
t
i
o

(
C

)
0.000
0.005
0.010
0.015
0.020
C

= 0.01496 - 0.000045 DOD

R
2
=0.95
DOD = Degree of Decomposition
Fig. 8. Variation of synthetic MSW secondary compression ratio with degree of
decomposition.
Horizontal Displacement (mm)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
k
P
a
)
0
100
200
300
400
500
32
179
271
364
Normal Stress
(kPa)
(a) Fresh Synthetic MSW (DOD=0%)
Horizontal Displacement (mm)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
k
P
a
)
0
100
200
300
400
500
87
179
271
Normal Stress
(kPa)
(b) Degraded Synthetic MSW (DOD=86%)
Fig. 9. Horizontal displacement versus shear stress for: (a) fresh synthetic MSW
(DOD = 0%) and (b) degraded synthetic MSW from R4 Reactor (DOD = 86%).
Normal Stress (kPa)
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
k
P
a
)
0
100
200
300
400
500
Fresh 1 35
R1 16 34
R2 18 29
R3 34 29
R4 40 28
C
(kPa)

(degrees)
Fig. 10. Direct shear test results for synthetic MSW in different degradation phases.
Degree of Decomposition (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
C
o
h
e
s
i
o
n

(
k
P
a
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

A
n
g
l
e

(

o
)
0
10
20
30
40
Cohesion
Friction Angle
Fig. 11. Variation of synthetic MSW direct shear strength properties with degree of
decomposition.
K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286 2281
(C
a
) are related by: C
ae
= C
a
/(1 + e
p
), where e
p
= void ratio at the
end of primary compression. The calculated secondary compres-
sion ratio of the synthetic MSW varied in the range of 0.011
0.015. A decrease in secondary compression ratio with increase
Axial Strain (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
D
e
v
i
a
t
o
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
k
P
a
)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
69
138
276
Effective Confining
Pressure (kPa)
Fresh Synthetic MSW
Average Bulk Unit Weight = 11.09 0.63 kN/m
3
Wet Gravimetric Moisture Content = 50%
Axial Strain (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
P
o
r
e

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

(
k
P
a
)
0
50
100
150
200
69
138
276
Effective Confining
Pressure (kPa)
Fresh Synthetic MSW
Average Bulk Unit Weight = 11.09 0.63 kN/m
3
Wet Gravimetric Moisture Content = 50%
Fig. 12. Triaxial CU test results for fresh synthetic MSW (DOD = 0%).
Axial Strain (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
D
e
v
i
a
t
o
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
k
P
a
)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
69
138
276
Effective Confining
Pressure (kPa)
Synthetic MSW : R4 (DOD=86%)
Average Bulk Unit Weight = 16.56 0.37 kN/m
3
Dry Gravimetric Moisture Content = 50%
Axial Strain (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
P
o
r
e

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

(
k
P
a
)
0
50
100
150
200
69
139
276
Effective Confining
Pressure (kPa)
Degraded Synthetic MSW: R4 (DOD=86%)
Average Bulk Unit Weight = 16.56 0.37 kN/m
3
Dry Gravimetric Moisture Content = 50%
Fig. 13. Triaxial CU test results for the degraded synthetic MSW from reactor R4
(DOD = 86%).
Table 3
Drained shear strength properties of synthetic MSW and eld MSW based on direct shear tests.
Source Friction
angle ()
Cohesion
(kPa)
Synthetic
MSW
Current research
63.5 mm diameter shear box, fresh to degraded synthetic MSW, strength dened at 15% strain
35 (fresh) 1 (fresh)
34 (R1) 16 (R1)
29 (R2) 18 (R2)
29 (R3) 34 (R3)
28 (R4) 40 (R4)
Reddy et al. (2009d)
63.5 mm diameter shear box, fresh synthetic MSW particles were of average size 1.5 mm, 10% particles were greater than
10 mm and 35% particles were ner than 0.1 mm, shear strength dened at 15% strain
2729 1619
Dixon et al. (2008)
1.0 1.0 m shear box, synthetic MSW, maximum particle size 120500 mm, shear strength dened at 240260 mm
34 0
Field MSW Reddy et al. (2009b)
63.5 mm diameter shear box, shredded fresh MSW, maximum particle size 40 mm, shear strength dened at 15% strain
2630 3164
Hossain (2002)
100 mm diameter shear box, shredded eld MSW, maximum particle size 50 mm
2432 -
Caicedo et al. (2002)
900 mm diameter sample, 1 year old unshredded MSW, shear strength dened at 6.7% strain
23 78
Pelkey et al. (2001)
450 mm 305 mm shear box, fresh MSW
29 0
Jones et al. (1997)
Wykeham 300 mm 300 mm shear box, disturbed bulk sample, large particles were removed, 3 months old MSW, shear
strength dened at 10% stress
31 10.5
Gabr and Valero (1995)
63.5 mm diameter shear box, 1530 years old MSW, shear strength dened at 510% strain
2039 028
Landva and Clark (1990) 434 mm 287 mm sample dimensions, shredded fresh MSW from Edmonton, Canada, shear
strength dened at peak stress
24 23
2282 K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286
in degradation of synthetic MSW was observed. Fig. 8 shows the
variation of secondary compression ratio with the degree of
decomposition, showing similar behavior to primary compression
ratio.
3.3. Shear strength based on direct shear tests
Fig. 9a and b show the typical horizontal displacement versus
shear stress response under different normal stresses for fresh
and the mostly degraded (R4) synthetic MSW, respectively. Similar
behavior was found for the samples tested under other intermedi-
ate phases (R1, R2 and R3). All of the tests were conducted on sam-
ples at an initial moisture content of 50% on wet weight basis and
with bulk unit weight ranging from 11.2 to 16.2 kN/m
3
. The fresh
and degraded synthetic MSW samples exhibited continuous
strength gain with increase in horizontal deformation. In the ab-
sence of samples reaching any peak strength, shear stress at 15%
horizontal deformation was selected to determine the shear
strength parameters. Normal stress versus shear stress at 15%
deformation was plotted, and the shear strength parameters were
calculated based on the MohrCoulomb failure criteria (Fig. 10).
Based on the analysis of the data from each set, cohesion of fresh
synthetic MSW was 1 kPa and for degraded synthetic MSW was in-
creased from 35 for fresh waste to the range from 16 to 40 kPa.
The friction angle decreased in the range from 34 to 28 for de-
graded waste.
From the composition of synthetic MSW, it is likely that grass,
paper and nes contributed to the higher friction angle and lower
cohesion under freshly prepared condition. As the MSW degrades
particle size reduces and a more cohesive nature results. The stabi-
lized methanogenic phase where 70% decomposition has taken
place resulted in cohesion of 34 kPa and friction angle of 29.
In this study, overall composite behavior of fresh synthetic
MSW was frictional. However, with biodegradation, an increase
in cohesion and decrease in friction angle was clearly observed
through the testing and was conrmed by Fig. 11. This observation
is rather contrary to the current understanding established by data
published in the literature concluding that the behavior of MSW is
mainly frictional in nature (Langer, 2005; Hossain, 2002; Howland
and Landva, 1992). Typically biodegradation of organic material
such as food waste and garden waste makes the remaining MSW
more frictional with time. That means in typical MSW cohesion
diminishes and friction angle improves with the progression of
biodegradation. The main reason for observing the opposite trends
during this research is the selection of the substitute material to
generate the non-biodegradable portion of synthetic MSW: 20%
glacial till and 20% sand. Glacial till can have a considerable frac-
tion of clay that contributes to the cohesive property. Lack of mate-
rial such as metals, plastics and textiles must have caused the
selected material less frictional than assumed. Though sand is a
frictional material, waste components such as metals and plastics
are known for their interlocking contribution towards frictional
p=((
1
+
3
)/2) (kPa)
0 100 200 300 400
q
=
(
(

3
)
/
2
)
(
k
P
a
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Fresh : 8 21
R1 : 6 48
R2 : 1 37
R3 : 9 41
R4 : 5 57
Friction Cohesion
angle, (
o
) C (kPa)
(a) Total Strength Parameters
p'=(('
1
+
3
)/2) (kPa)
0 100 200 300 400
q
'
=
(
(

'
1

'
3
)
/
2
)
(
k
P
a
)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Fresh : 11 18
R1 : 7 51
R2 : 1 37
R3 : 10 43
R4 : 6 56
Friction angle Cohesion
' (

) C' (kPa)
(b) Effective Strength Parameters
Fig. 14. Total and effective shear strength parameters for fresh and degraded
synthetic MSW.
Degree of Decomposition (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

A
n
g
l
e

(

)
0
2
4
6
8
10
C
o
h
e
s
i
o
n

(
k
P
a
)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Friction Angle
Cohesion
Fig. 15. Variation of synthetic MSW total shear strength parameters with degree of
decomposition.
Degree of Decomposition (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
F
r
i
c
t
i
o
n

A
n
g
l
e

(

)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
C
o
h
e
s
i
o
n

(
k
P
a
)
10
20
30
40
50
60
Friction Angle
Cohesion
Fig. 16. Variation of synthetic MSW effective shear strength parameters with
degree of decomposition.
K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286 2283
properties. Some slowly-biodegradable material within garden
waste can also contribute to frictional properties early in the bio-
degradation process; but these were not represented in the grass
mixture used for this study.
Table 3 presents a comparison of drained direct shear strength
properties of synthetic MSW and eld MSW found in published lit-
erature. Similar to compression ratio, irrespective of the size of the
shear box or the maximum particle size, friction angle for synthetic
MSW varied in a range of 2635 and this range for eld MSW is
reported to be 2439 (Table 3). Cohesion varied in a wide range
of 164 kPa for synthetic MSW and 078 kPa for eld MSW. Shear
strength parameters for the eld fresh MSW conducted in large
scale direct shear testing apparatus yielded maximum friction an-
gle between 23 and 35 and maximum cohesion between 23 and
78 kPa (Pelkey et al., 2001; Caicedo et al., 2002; Gabr and Valero,
1995; Landva and Clark, 1990; Jones et al., 1997).
3.4. Shear strength based on triaxial CU tests
The axial strain versus deviator stress and excess pore water
pressure results from triaxial CU tests conducted using fresh and
mostly degraded synthetic MSW are shown in Figs. 12 and 13,
respectively. Other degraded samples showed similar stressstrain
and pore water pressure response. During the testing, deviator
stress increased continuously with increase in axial strain, without
exhibiting any peak or ultimate response. Therefore, the shear
strength properties of MSW are strain dependent. Fig. 14 shows
the calculated shear strength parameters obtained from all triaxial
tests. With pore water pressure measurements, it was possible to
calculate both total stress parameters and effective stress parame-
ters. Several previous studies reported stressstrain curves to be
concave upward (Jessberger and Kockel, 1993; Gabr and Valero,
1995; Grisolia et al., 1995; Kavazanjian, 2001; Caicedo et al.,
2002; Vilar and Carvalho, 2004), but such behavior was not ob-
served in this study, perhaps due to shredding and absence of rein-
forcing components such as bers in the synthetic MSW used in
this study.
Fig. 15 presents the variation of total stress parameters with the
degree of decomposition and Fig. 16 presents the variation of effec-
tive stress parameters with degree of decomposition. The cohesion
varied between 21 and 57 kPa and friction angle varied from 1 to
9. Similar to direct shear test results, as the waste degrades an in-
crease in cohesion and slight decrease in friction angle was ob-
served. One can logically conclude that the lack of frictional
material and inclusion of cohesive soils resulted in a declining fric-
tion angle and an improving cohesion with the progression of
biodegradation.
Shear strength properties from this study were compared with
published triaxial test results for MSW (Tables 4 and 5). During a
previous study by Reddy et al. (2009a), shredded fresh eld MSW
was tested using the same testing procedures and same sample
dimensions yielded the average total strength parameters: cohe-
sion of 32 kPa and friction angle of 12. Values obtained for the
fresh synthetic MSW through CU testing were lower than that of
fresh eld MSW. The effective angle of friction (14) and effective
cohesion (45 kPa) reported by Caicedo et al. (2002) for relatively
fresh MSW from Dona Juana landll are slightly higher than what
was found for synthetic MSW, which may be due to the presence of
higher percent of organic matter in the MSW from Don Juana land-
ll. Sample R3 with 50% decomposition had shear strength param-
eters with higher cohesion similar to values reported by Caicedo
et al. (2002). Gabr and Valero (1995) conducted triaxial CU tests
(without pore water pressure measurement) on 15 year old MSW
and reported a friction angle of 34 and cohesion of 18 kPa, which
Table 4
Total stress parameters for synthetic MSW and eld MSW based on triaxial shear tests.
Source Friction
angle ()
Cohesion
(kPa)
Current research
CU tests, 50 mm diameter 100 mm long sample, fresh to degraded synthetic MSW, shear strength dened at 15% strain
8 (fresh) 21 (fresh)
6 (R1) 48 (R1)
1 (R2) 37 (R2)
9 (R3) 41 (R3)
5 (R4) 57 (R4)
Reddy et al. (2009d)
CU tests, 50 mm diameter 100 mm long sample, fresh synthetic MSW particles were of average size 1.5 mm, 10% particles were
greater than 10 mm and 35% particles were ner than 0.1 mm shear strength dened at 15% strain
68 1923
Reddy et al. (2009b)
CU tests, 50 mm diameter 100 mm long sample, shredded eld fresh MSW, maximum particle size 1520 mm, shear strength dened
at 15% strain
12 32
Gabr and Valero (1995)
CU tests, 70.6 mm diameter 152 mm long sample, 1530 years old degraded MSW, shear strength dened at 15% strain
34 17
Table 5
Effective stress parameters for synthetic MSW and eld MSW based on triaxial shear tests.
Source Friction angle
()
Cohesion
(kPa)
Current research
CU tests, 50 mm diameter 100 mm long sample, fresh to degraded synthetic MSW, shear strength dened at 15% strain
11 (fresh) 18 (fresh)
7 (R1) 51 (R1)
1 (R2) 37 (R2)
10 (R3) 43 (R3)
6 (R4) 56 (R4)
Reddy et al. (2009b)
CU tests, 50 mm diameter 100 mm long sample, shredded eld fresh MSW, maximum particle size 1520 mm, shear strength
dened at 15% strain
16 38
Caicedo et al. (2002)
CD tests, 300 mm diameter 600 mm long, 1 year old unshredded MSW, shear strength dened at 15% strain
45 14
Vilar and Carvalho (2004)
CD tests, 150200 mm diameter, 300400 mm long, 15 years old degraded MSW, shear strength dened at 10% strain
22 20
2284 K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286
show that friction angle increased and cohesion decreased, possi-
bly due to degradation, the reverse of trends from the synthetic
MSW. Based on the triaxial CU tests with pore water measure-
ments, Vilar and Carvalho (2004) reported friction angles of
2233 and cohesion 2071 kPa, with such high cohesion possibly
due to presence of 55% organic material. In general, using MSW
from eld samples, an increase in friction angle and a decrease in
cohesion has been reported during biodegradation. On the other
hand, the synthetic MSW became highly cohesive with degrada-
tion due to the presence of easily biodegradable components and
the inclusion of clay soil. Recently, Terzaghi effective stress in mod-
ied form was used by Shariatmadari et al. (2009) to interpret the
CU test results on MSW, and such analysis may be required to
properly analyze the results of CU tests conducted in this study.
4. Conclusions
Geotechnical properties of synthetic MSW at different phases of
biodegradation were determined through laboratory-scale testing.
In particular, hydraulic conductivity, compression characteristics,
and shear strength parameters (friction angle and cohesion) of syn-
thetic MSW were studied at various stages of degradation. The test
results were compared with the relevant published studies. The
following conclusions can be drawn based on the results of this
study:
Hydraulic conductivity of synthetic MSW samples ranged from
1.4 10
5
to 8.3 10
9
cm/s. Degradation produced more nes
and higher unit weight, which resulted in lower hydraulic conduc-
tivity of the degraded synthetic MSW.
The compression ratio of the synthetic MSW varied from 0.34 to
0.15, and degradation resulted in lower compressibility compared
to fresh samples. Decreases in primary and secondary compression
ratios were observed with increased degradation.
Drained cohesion of synthetic MSW varied from 140 kPa and
the drained friction angle ranged from 3528. The decrease in
the friction angle 3528 may be attributed to the lack of materials
such as metals, plastics and textiles in the samples. As the sample
degrades, there is an increase in the cohesion and decrease in fric-
tional angle. For fresh as well as all the stages of degraded syn-
thetic MSW, both the friction angle and cohesion increased as a
function of increasing horizontal displacement.
Triaxial CU tests with porewater pressure measurements pro-
vided total and effective shear strength parameters. Based on the
total stresses, the cohesion varied between 21 and 57 kPa and fric-
tion angle varied from 1 to 9. Based on the effective stresses,
cohesion ranged from 18 to 56 and friction angle varied from 1
to 11. The synthetic MSW used in this research exhibited more
cohesive behavior as the biodegradation progressed, which is con-
trary to some reported studies (Hossain et al., 2009).
Overall, this study utilized synthetic MSW with controlled com-
position to systematically quantify the variation of geotechnical
properties at different phases of degradation. The variation in
properties can be signicant and should be properly accounted in
the analysis and design of landlls, particularly bioreactor landlls.
However, the synthetic MSW used in this study lacks components
such as bers with frictional and interlocking properties; therefore,
the effects of such components on geotechnical properties of MSW
at different phases of degradation should be properly assessed and
incorporated.
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by the National Science Foundation
(CMMI #0600441) and it is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Andersland, O.B., Khattak, A.S., A1-Khafaji, A.W.N., 1981. Effect of organic material
on soil shear strength. In: Yong, R.N., Townsend, F.C. (Eds.), Laboratory Shear
Strength of Soil, vol. 740. ASTM STP, pp. 226242.
ASTM, 2008. Annual Book of Standards. American Society of Testing and Materials,
West Conshohocken, PA.
Benson, C.H., Barlaz, M.A., Lane, D.T., Rawe, J.M., 2007. Practice review of ve
bioreactor/recirculation landlls. Waste Management 27, 1329.
Bleiker, D.E., Farquhar, G., McBean, E., 1995. Landll settlement and the impact on
site capacity and refuse hydraulic conductivity. Waste Management and
Research 13, 533554.
Blight, G., 2008. Slope failures in municipal solid waste dumps and landlls: a
review. Waste Management and Research 26 (5), 448463.
Bogner, J.E., 1990. Controlled study of landll biodegradation rates using modied
BMP assays. Waste Management and Research 8, 329352.
Caicedo, B., Yamin, L., Giraldo, E., Coronado, O., Soler, N., 2002. Geomechanical
properties of municipal solid waste in Dona Juana sanitary landll. Proc. of the
Fourth International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics, Rio De Janeiro,
Brazil, A.A. Balkema, V.1, 177-182.
Dixon, N., Langer, U., Gotteland, P., 2008. Classication and mechanical behavior
relationships for municipal solid waste: study using synthetic waste. ASCE
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 134 (1), 7990.
Durmusoglu, E., Sanchez, I.M., Corapcioglu, M.Y., 2006. Permeability and
compression characteristics of municipal solid waste samples. Environmental
Geology 50, 773786.
Gabr, M.A., Valero, S.N., 1995. Geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste.
Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM 18 (2), 241251.
Gabr, M.A., Hossain, M.S., Barlaz, M.A., 2007. Shear strength parameters of
municipal solid waste with leachate recirculation. ASCE Journal of
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering 133 (4), 478884.
Grisolia, M., Napoleoni, Q., Tangredi, G., 1995. The use of triaxial tests for the
mechanical characterization of municipal solid waste. In: Proceedings of the
Sardinia 95, Fifth International Landll Symposium, vol. 2. Cagliari, Italy, pp.
761767.
Grisolia, M., Napoleoni, Q., 1996. Geotechnical characterization of municipal solid
waste: choice of design parameters. Proc. of the Second International Congress
on Environmental Geotechnics, Osaka, Japan, A.A. Balkema, V.2, 641646.
Hettiarachchi, C.H., 2005. Mechanics of biocell landll settlement. Dissertation,
Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New
Jersey Institute of Technology, USA.
Hossain, M.S., 2002. Mechanics of compressibility and strength of solid waste in
bioreactor landlls. Dissertation, Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Civil
Engineering, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, USA.
Hossain, M.S., Penmethsa, K.K., Hoyos, L., 2009. Permeability of municipal solid
waste in bioreactor landll with degradation. Geotechnical and Geological
Engineering 27 (1), 4351.
Hossain, M.S., Haque, M.A., 2009. The effect of daily cover soils on shear strength
parameters of municipal solid waste with degradation in bioreactor landlls.
Waste Management 29 (5), 15681576.
Howland, J.D., Landva, A.O., 1992. Stability analysis of a municipal solid waste
landll. Stability and Performance of Slope and Embankments 11, ASCE
Geotechnical Special Publication No. 31.
Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council, 2006. Characterization, design,
construction, and monitoring of bioreactor landlls. ALT-3. Washington, DC:
Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council, Alternative Landll Technologies
Team. <www.itrcweb.org>.
Jessberger, H. L., Kockel, R., 1993. Determination and assessment of the mechanical
properties of waste materials. Proc., Sardinia 93, Fourth International Landll
Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy, 13831392.
Jones, D.R.V., Taylor, D.P., Dixon, N., 1997. Shear strength of waste and its use in
landll stability. Proc. of the Geoenvironmental Engineering Conference,
Thomas Telford, 343350.
Kavazanjian, E., 2001. Mechanical properties of municipal solid waste. Proc.,
Sardinia 2001, Eighth International Waste Management and Landll
Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy, V.3, 415424.
Korman, E.M, Horvitz, E.G., Kleppe H.J., Dalton, G.M., 1987. Material properties of
landlled primary waste. Environmental Conference: Portland Marriott,
Portland, OR, April 2729, 179186.
Koerner, R.M., Soong, T.-Y., 2000. Leachate in landlls: the stability issues.
Geotextiles and Geomembranes 18 (5), 293309.
Landva, A.O., Clark, J.I., 1990. Geotechnics of waste ll. Geotechnics of waste lls
theory and practice, ASTM STP 1070, Philadelphia, 86113.
Langer, U., 2005. Shear and compression behaviour of undegraded municipal solid
waste. Dissertation, Doctor of Philosophy, Loughborough University.
Machado, S.L., Carvalho, M.F., Nascimento, J.C.F., Dourado, K.A., 2006. Aging effect on
MSW mechanical behaviour. Proc. of the ISSMGES Fifth ICEG Environmental
Geotechnics, Cardiff, Wales, UK, 14391446.
Pelkey, S.A., Valsangkar, A.J., Landva, A., 2001. Shear displacement dependent
strength of municipal solid waste and its major constituents. Geotechnical
Testing Journal 24 (4), 381390.
Reddy, K.R., Bogner, J.E., 2003. Bioreactor landll engineering for accelerated
stabilization of municipal solid waste. Invited Theme Paper on Solid Waste
Disposal, International e-Conference on Modern Trends in Foundation
K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286 2285
Engineering: Geotechnical Challenges and Solutions, Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras, India, October 2003, pp. 22.
Reddy, K.R., Hettiarachchi, H., Gangathulasi, J., Parakalla, N., Bogner, J., Lagier, T.,
2009a. Compressibility and shear strength of municipal solid waste under
short-term leachate recirculation operations. Waste Management and Research
27 (6), 578587.
Reddy, K.R., Hettiarachchi, H., Parakalla, N., Gangathulasi, J., Bogner, J., 2009b.
Geotechnical properties of fresh municipal solid waste at Orchard Hills Landll,
USA. Waste Management 29 (2), 952959.
Reddy, K.R., Hettiarachchi, H., Parakalla, N., Gangathulasi, P.J., Bogner, J., Lagier, T.,
2009c. Hydraulic conductivity of municipal solid waste in landlls. ASCE
Journal of Environmental Engineering 135 (8), 677683.
Reddy, K.R., Hettiarachchi, H., Gangathulasi, J., Bogner, J., Lagier, T., 2009d.
Geotechnical properties of synthetic municipal solid waste. International
Journal of Geotechnical EngineeringJ. Ross Publishing 3 (3), 429438.
Shariatmadari, N., Machado, S.L., Noorzad, A., Karimpour-Fard, M., 2009. Municipal
solid waste effective stress analysis. Waste Management 29 (12), 29182930.
Sharma, H.D., Reddy, K.R., 2004. Geoenvironmental Engineering: Site Remediation,
Waste Containment, and Emerging Waste Management Technologies. John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ.
USEPA, 2006. Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2005 Facts and Figures.
<www.epa.gov>.
USEPA, 1996. Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Wastes. EPA Method SW 846, third
ed., US Government Printing Ofce, Washington DC.
Van Impe, W.F., Bouazza, A., 1998. Large shear tests on compacted bales on
municipal solid wastes. Soils and Foundations 38 (3), 199200.
Vilar, O., Carvalho, M., 2004. Mechanical properties of municipal solid waste. ASTM
Journal of Testing and Evaluation 32 (6), 112.
Wall, D.K., Zeiss, C., 1995. Municipal landll biodegradation and settlement. ASCE
Journal of Environmental Engineering 121 (3), 214224.
Zekkos, D.P., 2005. Evaluation of static and dynamic properties of municipal solid
waste. Dissertation, Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California, Berkeley, Calif.
2286 K.R. Reddy et al. / Waste Management 31 (2011) 22752286