Review on the Study of Stress-Strain Behaviour of Cohesive Soil Mixed with Natural Fibres

Anna Mariam Saji

Abstract: The term soil reinforcement is conventional since decades ago for the stabilization of soft ground such as of clay and peat. Numerous researches have arisen in the utilization of natural fibers as the reinforcement materials. Cost reduction, increment of sustainability awareness and eco-friendly environment are some of the advantages when using natural fibers to stabilize soft ground. A research study was carried out to evaluate the strength of the soft soil when unreinforced and reinforced using natural fibers. The crushed coir fibers were added at different percentages to the dry weight of the sample. A series of an unconsolidated undrained Tri-axial test was conducted on the unreinforced and reinforced samples where the behavior of the samples were observed and compared. The results indicated that inclusion of fibers affects the soil?s undrained shear strength, causes decrease in preconsolidation pressure and increase in compressibility and swelling indices. It was observed that increasing the percentage inclusion increases the undrained shear strength of the soil, up to a certain amount. Moreover, the stiffness and ductility of the soil are quite improved with the use of natural fiber.

Keywords: Coir Fibers, Triaxial Test, Compressibility, Swelling Indices, Stiffness