Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Soft soils, characterized by low strength and high compressibility, pose significant challenges to civil engineering projects, often leading to excessive settlement and structural instability. While fiber reinforcement is a known soil improvement technique, there is limited research on the application of natural materials like bamboo fiber for stabilizing high-plasticity clays. This study systematically investigates the influence of bamboo fiber on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), apparent cohesion, and internal friction angle of a high-plasticity clay from Chittagong, Bangladesh. A comprehensive series of 63 unconfined compression tests (ASTM D-2166) and 63 direct shear tests (ASTM D-3080) were conducted on soil specimens reinforced with varying percentages of bamboo fiber (0% to 1.25%) and lengths (10 mm to 25 mm). The results demonstrate that bamboo fiber reinforcement has significant potential for ground improvement. The UCS increased by up to 75% and the apparent cohesion by a remarkable 195% compared to unreinforced soil, with optimal performance observed at a fiber content of 0.75% and a fiber length of 10 mm. This enhancement is primarily attributed to the "bridging effect" of the fibers, which creates a mechanical interlock that impedes the propagation of failure planes and enhances stress distribution. However, fiber lengths exceeding 10 mm led to a reduction in strength, which is interpreted as evidence of pull-out failures due to insufficient anchorage within the lab-scale specimens. While this research highlights the promise of bamboo fiber as a sustainable reinforcement material, it also underscores the critical role of optimizing fiber content and length. The study’s limitations, including its small scale and unaddressed long-term durability, necessitate further research to validate these findings for large-scale field applications.
Source: Discover Civil Engineering
Institution: Prairie View A&M University
Language: English
Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4415075703