Strength and Stiffness Response of Coir Fiber-Reinforced Tropical Soil

Babu, Sivakumar GL and Vasudevan, AK (2008) Strength and Stiffness Response of Coir Fiber-Reinforced Tropical Soil. In: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 20 (9). pp. 571-577.

PDF soil.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (435kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Use of natural fibers in civil engineering construction practice is often advantageous as they are cheap, locally available, biodegradable, and ecofriendly. Among the available natural fibers, coir is produced in large quantities in South Asian countries, such as India, Ceylon, Indonesia, Philippines, etc. and has better mechanical properties, such as tensile strength. In this paper, results on the strength and stiffness behavior of soil reinforced with coir fibers are presented. Soil samples reinforced with coir fibers of different sizes, and made into cylindrical soil specimens were tested in triaxial shear apparatus to determine the strength and stiffness of soil response due to fiber inclusion and the results were compared with that of unreinforced soils. The results show that addition of coir (1-2%) as random reinforcing material increases both strength and stiffness of clay soil considered in the study. In addition, available theoretical models for prediction of strength of fiber-reinforced soil are examined in relation to the results of the present investigation. Analysis shows that the available models are not adequate to capture the strength and stiffness response of coir fiber-reinforced soil. A nonlinear regression model for strength and stiffness response is proposed in the present study.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Publisher:	American Society of Civil Engineers
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords:	Soil stabilization;Biodegradation;Stiffness;Energy absorption;Tropical soils;Fiber reinforced materials.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2008 16:42
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:50
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/15949

Actions (login required)

View Item