No abstract

Soil contamination by heavy metals threatens human health, and the disposal of heavy metal-contaminated soil remains a serve problem worldwide. The heavy metals in soil degrade soil mechanical properties, while the utilization of contaminated soil is difficult. In previous studies, to decrease the impact of heavy metals, different types of cement and fibres were used to improve soil mechanical properties. This paper investigates the validity of combined use of wheat straw fibre and Portland cement in heavy metal-contaminated soil, and discusses the effect in mechanical properties. Wheat straw reinforced soil (WS), wheat straw and cement reinforced soil (WCS) and wheat straw and cement reinforced heavy metal-contaminated soil (WCCS), were tested via different heavy metal content and type, different fibre content and length, different cement content and curing age. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS), failure strain, deformation modulus, cohesion and internal friction angle were determined by series of unconfined compressive strength tests and direct shear tests.