Department of civil engineering

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON STABILIZATION OF

CLAY SOIL USING COIR FIBER

Presented By-

V.HARATHI 19H61A0146

Under the Guidance of

Mr CH.HEMANTH KUMAR
INTRODUCTION
 Clayey soil are considered as the problematic deposits for civil engineering constructions since
they are susceptible for change in volume due to climatic variations.

 Therefore it is essential to stabilize the soil for supporting the sub structure.

 Various methods are available to stabilize the soil and the method should be analysed in the laboratory
initially with soil material before applying it on the field conditions.

 Stabilization of soil should be cost-effective,long term physical and chemical alteration of soil will
enhance their physical properties.

 Stabilization of soil can be done by adding additives or without additives, the following are major
methods of soil stabilisation: Lime Fly ash Stabilization, Soil-Bituminous Stabilization, Soil Lime
Stabilization, Soil Cement Stabilization.

 In the present study, the possibility of stabilizing clayey soil by improvising its physical
properties with stabilizer coconut coir are investigated and is considered to be the most suitable
stabilizing agent for clayey soil.
COIR FIBER
 Coir or coconut fiber belongs to the group of hard structural fibers.
 It is an important commercial product obtained from the husk of coconut and is extracted from
the outer shell of a coconut.

Types of Coir Fiber:

 There are two types of coconut fibers, one distinction is based on whether they are recovered
from ripe or immature coconut husks.
 The husks of fully ripened coconuts yield brown coir. Dark brown in colour, it is used
primarily in brushes, floor mats, and upholstery padding.
 On the other hand, white coir comes from the husks of coconuts harvested shortly before they
ripen. Generally light brown or white in colour, this fiber is softer and less strong than brown
coir fiber.
 Brown fibers are thick, strong and have high abrasion resistance. White fibers are smoother
and finer, but also weaker.

 Hence for further studies we are going to consider Brown Coconut Coir.
Coir Fiber Structure
Chemical properties % Composition Physical properties Value

Lignin 45.84 Length in inches 6-8

Cellulose 43.44 Density(g/cc) 1.40

Hemi-Cellulose 00.25 Tenacity(g/Tex) 10.0

Pectin’s and related 03.25 Breaking 30

compounds elongation index
Water soluble 05.25 Diameter in mm 0.1 to 1.5 BROWN FIBER

Ash 02.22 Rigidity of modulus 1.8924

(dyne/cm2)
Swelling in water 5%
(diameter)
Moisture at 65% 10.50
RH WHITE FIBER
LITERATURE REVIEW
 Kar,et al conducted research on cohesive soil which was randomly mixed with coir fiber, with a fiber
length of 20 mm. The highest shear strength was achieved at fiber content of 0.8% with an increase in the
cohesion value of 2.7 times, and an increase in the friction angle of 1.5 times.

 Sarvade, et al used clay from South India. In this study, the soil was reinforced with coir which was
shaped like a mat, at different positions, where the coir mat was covered withcashew nut oil. The soil
which was covered with coir mats experienced a 3 times increase inbearing capacity than the non-
reinforced soil, the compressive strength increased by 88%,while cohesion increased by 5 times that of
non-reinforced soil.

 Das, et al conducted a direct shear strength test on sandy soil. The results showed that the sandy soil
which was reinforced with coir fiber with a length of 15 mm experienced an increase in shear strength by
21.5%.

 Suryadharma and Hatmoko conducted a study on the shearbehavior of sand and clay stabilized with
lime, rice husk ash, and coir fiber. The fiber contentwas fixed at 1.2% of the dry weight of the soil. With
the addition of fibers, the cohesion valuedecreases, and the friction angle increases.
 Fahriani and Apriyanti analyzed the bearing capacity of shallow foundations in theform of
squares and rectangles using the Terzaghi method on the original soil and soil whichad been
added with coir fiber. The optimum coir fiber content of 1% has resulted in thelargest increase in
foundation bearing capacity. The use of coir fiber to increase the bearingcapacity of the
foundation is recommended not more than 2% of the dry weight of the soil.
OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVES

 To evaluate how natural cellulose coir fibers is a better alternative for soil reinforcement.

 To review and do detailed analysis of the characteristics, benefits, applications and weaknesses of coir
fiber as soil reinforcement.

 To justify how it is reportedly beneficial to switch to natural, biodegradable, environment friendly,

versatile.

 To determine the properties of Coir Geotextile.

 To determine the impact of coir geotextile on frictional resistance of soil by Direct shear test.
METHODOLOGY
Literature Review

Soil stabilization using coir fiber

Material collection

Material property

Material experimental procedure

Various % of adding fiber

Test procedure

Result

Conclusion
Methodology:
In this Study, The stabilization of soil using coir fiber is referred from the literature review then material
collection, properties of the material, material expenditure procedure, various % of adding coir fiber, test
procedure, and result.

Material used
CLAY SOIL:
 Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay minerals with traces
of metal oxides and organic matter.
 Clays are plastic due to their water content and become hard, brittle, and non–plastic upon drying or
firing.
 Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate
materials containing variable amounts of water trapped in the
mineral structure.
COIR FIBRE:
 Coir fibre is a natural fibre extracted from the outer husk of coconut and used in products such as floor
mats, doormats, brushes and mattresses.
 Other uses of brown coir (made from ripe coconut) are in upholstery padding, sacking and horticulture .
Test Procedure:
Direct Shear Test:
 A direct shear test is a laboratory or field test used by geotechnical engineers to measure the shear
strength properties of soil or rock material, or of discontinuities in soil
or rock masses.
 The fiber variations used are 0%, 0.25% , 0.50%, 0.75% and 1% of dry

weight of mixture with a fiber length of between 30mm to 50mm.

 Prepare a soil specimen of size 60mm x 60mm x 25mm either from undisturbed soil sample or from
compacted and remoulded sample.Soil specimen may be directly prepared in the box by compaction.

 Place the shear box inside the container and mount it on loading frame.
 Put the weights on the loading yoke to apply a normal stress intensity of 0.5kg/cm^2.

 Observe the proving ring dial gauge; the reading will increase till soil fails.Record the proving ring
dial gauge reading at failure.
 Results of this study are tabulated as follows:
Maximum shear stress for variations in coir fiber content
Normal load Normal stress
(kg) (kPa) 0% 0.25% 0.75% 1%

8.071 30.154 34.383 52.946 37.934

2.5

5 16.142 53.044 47.458 54.883 59.403

10 32.285 63.116 54.658 56.659 66.183

 Based on above table,a graph showing relationship between normal stress and maximum shear
stress could be made to determine the cohesion value(c) and friction angle(ɸ) as a parameter of
soil shear strength.
80
Maximum shear stress for variations in coir fiber content
72.64
70
66.183
63.116
60 59.403
54.884
54.883 56.659
52.946 53.044 54.658
50
Shear stress

47.458

40
37.934
34.383
32.284
30 30.154

20

10

0 Normal stress
8.071 16.142 32.285
Based on Figure 1 which is a straight line, the cohesion value is obtained from the point on the y-axis which
is cut by the straight line. The value of the friction angle is obtained from the angle of the straight line with
the x-axis. The analysis results showing the cohesion value and internal shear angle are shown in Figure 2
and Figure 3.
cohesio( kPa )

Coir Fiber Content(%)

Fig 2:Relationship between Coir Fiber Content and Cohesion

Friction Angle (°)

Coir Fiber Content (%)

Fig 3. Relationship between Coir Fiber Content and Friction Angle

 Figure 2. and Figure 3. show that the soil reinforced with coir fibers can increase the cohesion (c) and
the friction angle (ϕ).

 Initially, the soil had a cohesion of 29.5 kPa and an friction angle of 15°.

 After being reinforced by the coir fibers, the cohesion value had increased and reached the maximum
value at the specimen with 0.75% coir fiber content, which was 41.2 kPa with a percentage increase of
39.66%.

 The value of the friction angle also increased along with the increase of coir fibers content which was
mixed into the soil. The value of the friction angle reached its maximum at the coir fibers content of
1%, which was 22° with an increase of 46.67%.

 Coir fibers that are randomly mixed into the soil will increase the contact surface area which increases
the interaction between the fibers and the soil and also increase the interlocking between them,
therefore, strengthens the soil in resisting shear forces .
Conclusion and Result:
 The addition of coir fiber to clay can increase the cohesion and the friction angle. The maximum increase
in cohesion value was obtained at fiber content of 0.75%, which was 39.66%. The increase in the value of
the friction angle was obtained at 1% fiber content, which was 46.67%.

 The value of the unconfined compressive strength of clay has increased along with the more coconut fiber
added.

 The clay strengthened with coconut fiber becomes stiffer than the initial soft clay, thereby improving its
soil stability.

 The strength of soil-coir mix increases with increasing the percentage of coir Fibre.
REFERENCES
 Pooja Upadhyay1, Yatendra Singh2 . SOIL STABILIZATION USING NATURAL FIBER COIR International
Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 04 Issue: 12 | Dec-
2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072.

 Stuti Mauryaa , Dr.A.K.Sharmab , Dr. P.K.Jainc , Dr.Rakesh Kumard. REVIEW ON STABILIZATION OF

SOIL USING COIR FIBER International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN:2319-6890)(online),2347-
5013(print) Volume No.4, Issue No.6, pp : 296-299 01 June 2015.

 S. Muthu Lakshmi1*, S. Sasikala2, V. Padmavathi2, S. Priya2, V. Saranya2 . UTILIZATION OF COCONUT

COIR FIBER FOR IMPROVING SUBGRADE STRENGTH CHARACTERISTS OF CLAYEY SOIL
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056 Volume: 05
Issue: 04 | Apr-2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072.