Study of Cohesive Soil Behavior on Addition of Coconut Fiber and Micro Fine Cement

Abstract

Good quality of subgrade soil is required to maintain the standards in the field of highway construction. Sometimes, the available soil may not satisfy the desired standards, therefore, it is required to improve the soil properties through various methods. Mechanical and chemical stabilization methods are mostly useful for the stabilization of subgrade soils. In this study, subgrade soil is considered as clay soil, coconut fibers and micro fine cement are used to stabilize it. Micro fine cement is blast furnace slag-based cement and Portland-based cement intended for grouting applications. Portland-based micro fine cement is used, which helps in improving the stiffness of paving materials, particularly those which include silt or clayey soils in the subgrade or base layer. Micro fine cement grout possesses high strength, durability, better flow properties and bleed characteristics than Ordinary Portland cement. Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests are carried out to assess the strength and penetration characteristics for different combination of clay soil with coconut fibers and micro fine cement. Coconut fibers are added to the soil at different percentages from 0.5 (0.5) 2 considering aspect ratios 30, 50, 70 and 90. The study is extended with the addition of 1% micro fine cement to the coconut fiber and soil mixture.