Effect of fiber on geotechnical properties of expansive soil

Bhatt, Rabindra

Effect of fiber on geotechnical properties of expansive soil

Date

2016-07

Authors

Bhatt, Rabindra

Publisher

G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)

Abstract

The rapid increase of industrialization and urbanization has lead to the generation of many wastes all over the world. The various industries produce a cumbersome amount of plastic waste, which is hazardous toward the environment. Such a huge amount of plastic poses a variety of problems such as soil contamination, groundwater contamination and environment pollution. The present study is focused to modify the geotechnical properties of soil by mixing different percentages of plastic fibre. The plastic fiber used in the study is Polypropylene fibre of name Recron 3S Fibre which is manufactured by Reliance Industries Limited. 0.25 %, 0.50 %, 0.75 %, 1.00 % and 1.25 % polypropylene fibre added to the soil and conducted test for analysis of strength properties of soil. Laboratory experiments such as standard proctor tests, California bearing ratio tests (CBR) and unconfined compressive strength test are performed to analyse the properties of soil. On addition of fibre, the OMC initially increases and then decreases continuously whereas MDD decreases continuously. The UCS tests were performed in 3 stages (i.e. on 7 days interval). The UCS increased almost linearly with the increasing amount of fibre content. The amount of strength gain by sample is about 23.79%, which is comparable to the benefits for other materials and other fiber. The unsoaked and soaked CBR values also increases with increase in fiber content. The analysis done on soil sample mixed with fiber indicates that increase in fiber content in soil improves the overall engineering characteristics of soil.