Author : H.P. Singh

Use of natural fiber in civil engineering for improving soil properties is advantageous because they are cheap, locally available, biodegradable and eco-friendly. The natural fiber reinforcement causes significant improvement in tensile strength, shear strength, and other engineering properties of the soil. Over the last decade the use of randomly distributed natural and synthetic fiber has recorded a tremendous increase. Keeping this in view the present study was taken up. In this study a number of experiments were conducted on locally available (Doimukh, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India) soil reinforced with cotton fiber. Soil samples for CBR value tests were prepared at its maximum dry density corresponding to its optimum moisture content in the CBR mould with and without reinforcement. The percentage of cotton fiber by dry weight of soil was taken as 0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% and corresponding to each fiber content unsoaked and soaked CBR tests were conducted in the laboratory. Tests result indicates that unsoaked and soaked CBR value of soil increases with the increase in fiber content. It was also observed that increase in CBR value of reinforced soil is substantial at fiber content of 1 %. Thus the significant increase in CBR value of soil due to cotton fiber will substantially reduce the thickness of pavement subgrade.

Keywords: CBR value, Soil, Cotton fiber, Random Length, Random Diameter

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.3,No.3(Aug- 2013)