Performance of Coir Fiber Addition for Clay as a Sub-Grade for Pavement Design

Abstract

Clay soil behavior often becomes problematic with building construction, it is about the shrink-swell behavior in clay when influenced by water content. Coconut husk fiber (coir fiber), in general, is an industrial waste which is still infrequent to be re-used. This study aims are to determine the effect of coir fiber addition for mechanical stabilization of clay soil in terms of CBR (California Bearing Ratio) value. Soil samples used for laboratory tests were collected from Ulee Glee area of Pidie Jaya Regency. According to AASHTO classification, the soil category is A-7-5 (25) while for USCS classification, the soil is OH (Organic High). The percentage of added coir fiber was 0%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% of the dry weight of the soil with a coir fiber length of 2 and 3 cm. Two treatments of clay-coir fiber mixing method were applied namely direct mixing and mixing by layers. The results of natural soil compaction test obtained that OMC (Optimum Moisture Content) value and dry soil weight (γdmax) was 26.8% and 1.34 gr/cm3 respectively. The highest CBR results were obtained for clay soil with 0.4% coir fiber 3 cm (direct mix) with CBR value = 17.7%. Furthermore, the lowest CBR value is 10% for percentage of 0.2% with coir fiber length 2 cm (by layer). In general, high organic clay soil with coir fiber mixture addition is able to increase the CBR values if compared to CBR of natural soil which is 8.15%. Thus, the use of coir fiber in this study is able to improve soil bearing capacity which is useful for construction material in the site.

Assessing slope failure of soil erodibility problem by soil dispersive identification

“…As a tropical country, Indonesia has a high risk of geological disasters and landslides each year, particularly during the rainy season [2] and [3]. The Indonesian government has made measures to mitigate the risk of road damage, including enhancing road geometry, reinforcing slopes, and rehabilitating eroded soil [4] and [5]. However, this appears insufficient to address road slope degradation, as field evidence indicates that cracks and landslides caused by erosion continue to occur on the surface of road slopes [6].…”

“…Even exposure to a modest flow can readily result in particle separation from the soil structure and erosion of the soil [9]. * Corresponding author: r.munirwan@unsyiah.ac.id Due to the high cost of repairing significant earth constructions, substantial effort has been directed to various techniques of soil treatment [5] [10] and [11]. The simplest engineering solution for avoiding difficulties related to dispersive soils is to replace them with another soil [1].…”

Improvement of geotechnical properties of clayey soil with saw dust ash stabilization

“…The shortage of good quality soil suitable for construction and the recent emphasis on environmentally friendly mitigation strategies have prompted geotechnical engineering to explore and perfect systems for reusing excavated soils [1] and [2]. Preserving and improving existing pavements requires a sizable portion of transportation ministries' expenditures in every nation worldwide [3].…”

“…Building technology is constantly evolving to accommodate changing transportation trends, building materials, and sub-grade conditions. The majority of pavement failures are due to the presence of poor subgrade conditions [1].…”

Utilization of Coir Fibers to Improve the Bearing Capacity and Tensile Strength of Expansive Clay

“…Expansive clay is soil causing numerous problems in construction due to its low bearing capacity, high plasticity index, and high shrinkswell behavior influenced by its water content [1][2]. Low bearing capacity can result in the collapse of the foundation or slope failure.…”