Hydrological response and crack resistance of polypropylene-fiber reinforced compacted steel slag-bentonite mixtures under wetting–drying cycles

Desiccation-induced cracks in a compacted clay liner significantly deteriorate the hydraulic barrier performance of landfill covers. The present study explores the effects of polypropylene (PP) fiber reinforcement on the hydrological response and crack resistance of compacted steel slag (SS; 90 wt%) - bentonite (10 wt%) mixtures under drying and wetting cycles. Comprehensive tests were conducted to explore the impact of different fiber lengths (6-12 mm) and contents (0-0.4 % wt.%), including hydraulic conductivity tests for measuring the saturated hydraulic conductivity (k