Water Retention and Desiccation Potential of Lignocellulose-Based Fiber-Reinforced Soil

AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of three different lignocellulose fibers [jute, coir, and water hyacinth (WH)] on the soil water retention curve (SWRC) and desiccation potential of compacted clayey silt. Samples of compacted clayey silt mixed with an amount of discrete natural fibers wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering 2019-11, Vol.145 (11)
Main Authors: Bordoloi, Sanandam, Leung, Anthony Kwan, Gadi, Vinay Kumar, Hussain, Rojimul, Garg, Ankit, Sekharan, Sreedeep
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic plants
Coarseness
Coir
Desaturation
Desiccation
Drying
Ductility
Fiber reinforced materials
Fibers
Floating plants
Freshwater plants
Jute
Lignin
Lignocellulose
Matric suction
Moisture content
Reinforced soils
Retention
Retention capacity
Silt
Soil
Soil compaction
Soil investigations
Soil moisture
Soil suction
Soil surfaces
Soil testing
Soil water
Surface cracks
Technical Note
Technical Notes
Water content
Water hyacinths
Wetting
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Summary:AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of three different lignocellulose fibers [jute, coir, and water hyacinth (WH)] on the soil water retention curve (SWRC) and desiccation potential of compacted clayey silt. Samples of compacted clayey silt mixed with an amount of discrete natural fibers were exposed to the natural environment and controlled events of 15  wetting/drying cycles for 105 days. Matric suction and moisture content of near-surface soil were monitored along with allied surface crack formation, quantified by the crack intensity factor (CIF). Adding lignocellulose fibers moderately increased the water retention capacity of the soil but had no significant effect on the rate of desaturation. The presence of fibers could reduce CIF effectively, by at least half the amount compared with bare soil. Among the fibers tested, coir provided the most significant resistance against desiccation cracking due to its comparatively higher lignin content and multifilament nature, which increase the fiber ductility and surface coarseness, both of which are favorable to resisting crack formation. The shape of the CIF-suction relation of selected soils mirrors that of the SWRC and may be represented by a simple modified van Genuchten fitting approach.
ISSN:1090-0241
1943-5606
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002153