Secondary Materials
Comprehensive Use of Alternative Materials in Earthworks from Feasibility Study to Implementation with Professional Geotechnical Supervision
SG Geotechnika has long supported and developed the utilization of alternative and secondary materials. We provide comprehensive services for their application in earthworks, from laboratory and experimental testing to practical implementation on road, railway, and other civil engineering projects. Mechanical properties of secondary materials are often not only equivalent to natural ones but surpass them in certain aspects. Utilizing secondary materials offers an effective way to optimize resource use on construction sites and represents a key pathway toward sustainable development. With professional geotechnical supervision, SG Geotechnika ensures that their application is carried out safely, efficiently, and in accordance with circular economy principles.
Contact us
Doc. RNDr. František Kresta, Ph.D.
T: +420 602 342 896
E: Frantisek.Kresta@geotechnika.cz
The utilization of secondary and alternative materials
- Feasibility study of the utilization of a specific alternative material in earthworks
- Laboratory validation of alternative materials, including non-standard and long-term tests (e.g., swelling test of slag aggregates at 75 °C, susceptibility of colliery spoil to spontaneous combustion tests, long-term analysis of volume changes over months and years)
- Research and development of alternative hydraulic road binders using fly ash, blast furnace slag, or kiln and cement dust
- Technical and technological specifications for the use of alternative materials on construction sites
- Geotechnical supervision of earthworks involving alternative materials
- Control tests of alternative materials used in earth structures
- Analysis of causes of structural failures due to the use of alternative materials with unsuitable properties (volume changes, swelling of fluidized ash and bed ash, or iron and steel slags)
Reference
We Prepare Technical Specifications for the Utilization of Secondary and Alternative Materials
Experts from SG Geotechnika have authored and contributed to technical editorial boards developing specifications for the use of secondary and alternative materials. Doc. RNDr. František Kresta, Ph.D., chaired the WG7 Alternative Materials in Earthworks working group under Technical Committee TC 396 Earthworks at CEN in Brussels. The result is the technical report CEN/TC 16907-8 Alternative Materials in Earthworks, published in Brussels on October 21, 2024.
TP 268
Alternative Materials in Road Embankments
General guidance for the use of alternative materials in earthworks, description, and requirements for individual material groups according to CEN/TR 16907-8.
TP 198
Lightweight Road Embankments
Use of lightweight aggregates produced from expanded clay, foam glass, polystyrene, tire bales, and shredded tires.
Publication Alternative Materials in Earthworks
In 2025, our colleague František Kresta published the monograph Alternative Materials in Earthworks (Czech Road Society, 280 pp., ISBN 978-80-02-03081-2)
Comprehensive Utilization of Fluidized Combustion Products in Earthworks (MIT) – We designed and validated a soil treatment technology using fluidized combustion ash without additional additives, successfully applied on the D49 motorway; the technology is now used on multiple construction sites across the Czech Republic
Verification of the Use of Fly Ash from Předmostí u Přerov and Prosenice Repositories into the D1 Motorway Embankment – Technological regulation for the utilization of fly ash on site
Analysis of the Causes of Floor Deformations in Shopping and Administrative Centers, Ostrava – Determination of causes, floor subsoil behavior and design of remediation measures for IKEA Link Ostrava, TESCO Ostrava-Třebovice, TESCO Havířov, OC Futurum, Lidl Frýdek-Místek, Lidl Havířov, Demos Ostrava, MAKRO Ostrava, SUNGWOO Ostrava, IGY2 České Budějovice
Verification Laboratory Test of Alternative Hydraulic Road Binder, Brno – Development of alternative hydraulic road binder using fly ash and cement kiln dusts
Laboratory Test of Fly Ash Stabilizer, Rovinari Power Plant, Romania – Design of optimal mixing of dry fly ash, fly ash suspension and lime
Analysis of the Causes of D47 Motorway Deformation in the Ostrava – Bohumín Section – Determination of causes of road failure due to incorporation of secondary materials with inappropriate attributes
Implementation
Project CL02000185 – Comprehensive Use of Steel Slag in Linear Transport Construction
