Abstract ID: 3.12406 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

Mountain regions necessitate efficient yet sustainable protection measures to face natural hazards. Gabions offer a convenient, environmental friendly solution to face problems ranging from soil erosion control, river bank stabilization, stream energy dissipation, landslides prevention, creation of rockfall safety barriers, and protection of structures like bridge abutments or viaduct foundation. Filling gabion baskets with natural resources like ad hoc quarried rock fragments often turns to be expensive and poses environmental concerns. C&DW offer an alternative solution for creating more sustainable structures, provided their engineering performance is proved together with their environmental compatibility. A comprehensive research has been undertaken in the geotechnical laboratory of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio to investigate the mechanical and environmental performance of gabions filled with different C&DW. The mechanical performance is detected by performing unconfined and confined uniaxial compression tests using an ad-hoc designed equipment on smaller scale models (0.4×0.4×0.4 m) of gabions filled with different blocks. They include concrete fragments artificially created with variable types and proportions of components (cement, water and aggregates) to infer controlled properties to the constituent material. Their performance is compared with that of gabions filled with natural rock fragments, the latter used for reference. In all cases, the mechanical properties of the constituent materials are evaluated with specific tests (point load, uniaxial compression, Los Angeles abrasion and freeze-thaw) to characterize material strength and fix standard acceptance levels. In a second phase, focus is given to the combination of high-quality materials (recycled concrete) with lower-quality components (bricks) to optimize performance and resource utilization. Stiffness and strength of gabions are examined to determine their influence on the overall performance of structures distinguishing the effects of particle sizes, shapes, and material combinations on deformation behaviour and load-bearing capacity. This study contributes to the sustainability of mountain hazard mitigation measures, addressing the increasing need for high performance materials with circular economy solutions based on the transformation of wastes into valuable resources. Its outcomes aim to establish guidelines for the practical implementation of C&DW in gabion structures.