Bearing Capacity of BC soil Reinforced with Coir Fibers Underlain by Loose Stratum

Abstract

Abstract--Shallow foundations are constructed on fills and over weak/compressible soils, the primary problem will be large settlements. In such cases, deep foundation is generally recommended which increases cost of the structure. In recent times, Ply soil' which is formed introducing randomly distributed fibers results in comparatively more homogeneous soil. Natural fibers such as coir fibers have been successfully introduced.In the present study, an attempt has been made to surface treat the coir fiber to make it water repellant, henceforth and their performance when introduced in soil is compared with un treated fibers. Further, model footing tests on clayey soil overlying a loose stratum and reinforced with optimum percentage (0.5%) of treated coir fibers and untreated coir fibers were used with varying H/B ratios in order to determine the maximum optimum depth of fiber reinforcement in the clay layer obtained using model footing test. Loose soil deposit has been simulated by compacting saw dust in prefabricated steel tank. Soil reinforced with optimum percentage of treated fibers at various H/B ratios of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, up to 2