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Effect of Waste Bamboo Fiber Addition on Mechanical Properties of Soil

January 2019
Open Journal of Civil Engineering 09(03):173-184

DOI:10.4236/ojce.2019.93012

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Effect of bamboo fiber addition on deformation modulus of mixed soils.

…

Condition of compaction test.

…

Results of water absorption test of bamboo fiber.

…

Results of liquid limit and plastic limit of the mixed soil.

…

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Open Journal of Civil Engineering, 2019, 9, 173-184

http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojce

ISSN Online: 2164-3172

ISSN Print: 2164-3164

DOI:

10.4236/ojce.2019.93012 Jul. 5, 2019 173 Open Journal of Civil Engineering

Effect of Waste Bamboo Fiber Addition on

Mechanical Properties of Soil

Motohei Kanayama1*, Satoko Kawamura2

1Department of Food Production and Environmental Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka, Japan

2Naigai Engineering Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

For soil improvement, a method using

plant fiber has been used since ancient

times. In recent years,

the construction method using plant fiber has attracted

attention as a ground improvement technology with less environmental load

In this work, the soil improvement effect using waste bamboo fiber was expe-

rimentally examined. The liqu

id limit and plastic limit of the mixed soil

tended to increase with increasing bamboo fiber content and there was no

change in the plasticity index of the mixed soil by the difference of bamboo

fiber content. As a result from the compaction test and unconfined compres-

sion test, it was revealed that mixing of bamboo fiber resulted in a reduction

of soil material required for construction and increasing in strength. The

maximum compressive stress of the bamboo fibe

r mixed soil at the mixing

ratio of 0%, 1%, 3% and 5% were 115, 108, 130 and 152 kN/m2

, respectively.

As the soil with fiber showed the lower stiffness and higher strength than that

without fiber in the dry region, it can be judged that the addition of fib

brought ductility to the soil. And it was found that the decrease in the stiff-

ness of the specimen due to the increase of water content was suppressed by

the addition of the bamboo fiber. From the results of the observation with the

digital microscope, it was observed that the two-

layer structure consisting of

the main relatively thick fibrous structure and the secondary capillary fibrous

structure were f

ormed. Thus, it was found that the complex structure of the

bamboo fiber is deeply involved in the strength of the mixed soil.

Keywords

Industrial Waste, Bamboo Fiber, Andosol, Unconfined Compressive

Strength, Soil Improvement

1. Introduction

In recent years, the invasion of neglected bamboo forest into Satoyama in Japan

How to cite this paper: Kanayama, M. and

Kawamura, S.

(2019) Effect of Waste Bam-

boo Fiber Addition on

Mechanical Proper-

ties of Soil

Open Journal of Civil Eng

neering

, 173-184.

https://doi.org/10.4236/ojce.2019.93012

Received:

May 31, 2019

Accepted:

July 2, 2019

Published:

July 5, 2019

9 by author(s) and

Scientific

Research Publishing Inc.

This work is licensed under the Creative

Commons Attribution International

License (CC BY

4.0).

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Open Access

M. Kanayama, S. Kawamura

DOI:

10.4236/ojce.2019.93012 174 Open Journal of Civil Engineering

has become a more serious problem. When bamboo invades the surrounding

fields and forests, the growth of other plants and trees will be inhibited as a re-

sult of light shielding by height and occupying the area by making groups. In

addition, since the roots of bamboo spread widely in the ground as much as 30

cm depth, it is known that the watershed protection function declines, and

landslides are induced if heavy rain falls. Bamboo grows fast and breeds by un-

derground stems. Therefore, just removing the bamboo shoot does not mean

that the bamboo itself is removed. Once bamboo invades Satoyama, it is difficult

to completely remove them. For the above reasons, while maintaining the bam-

boo grove which has been excessively propagated, it is also required to establish

the effective utilization method of bamboo and to bring the bamboo grove into

profitability again.

In the improvement of ground during the construction of structures, the me-

thods using plant fibers have been used for a long time. It is known that the sta-

ble improvement of soil material by not only bamboo waste materials but also

natural substances has been done for thousands of years. Hejazi

et al.

[1] sum-

marized the history of stable improvement of soil material by natural substances

as follows. They stated that in the Mesopotamian civilization limestone was used

as construction material with mixing into weak soil, and in various ancient civi-

lizations straw and hay, etc. were mixed with mud and those were used as a

sun-dried brick. They also stated that people were improving the ground soil

using familiar plant fibers in the Great Wall of China and Ziggurat of Babylon

respectively. Furthermore, the ground improvement by natural fibers such as

hemp, jute, coconut and bamboo has been done for more than 5000 years as a

traditional construction method.

Various improvements of building materials using the bamboo have been car-

ried out by efforts to eliminate the bamboo groves problem and development of

construction method considering the environment in recent years. Several stu-

dies showed that the bamboo fiber was the suitable fiber for mixing with the ce-

ment material [2] [3]. It is clarified that the improvement effect was much supe-

rior to that by other fibers. As a further improvement, various fibers are added

into lime-soil to enhance the mechanical properties, and to reduce the vertical

and lateral deformation [4] [5] [6]. Nishida

et al.

[7] investigated the improve-

ment effect due to the high water absorption by adding the bamboo waste ma-

terial with the cementitious solidifying material to the bottom sediment with

high water content. As a result, it was clarified that the bottom sediment with

high water content can be improved to the transportable strength by adding the

bamboo waste material. It was also revealed that the improvement effect was

larger for the water absorbing material with higher water absorption ratio. Ya-

mashita

et al.

[8] studied the strength and cracking characteristics of the building

wall mixed with the bamboo as the reinforcing material. As a result, it was re-

vealed that the unconfined compressive strength of the wall clay mixed with the

M. Kanayama, S. Kawamura

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bamboo was greater than that of the conventional wall clay mixed with the

straw. In addition, it was revealed that the cracked area ratio decreased by in-

creasing the added amount of the reinforcing material regardless of that type. In

particular, it was reported that the effect of suppressing cracks was remarkable in

the bamboo fiber with long fiber length. Sako

et al.

[9] examined the availability

of the bamboo chips to prevent the erosion of the promenade in the historic site.

As a result, it was revealed that the specimens mixed with the bamboo chips had

high erosion resistance and increased the unconfined compression strength. Ot-

subo

et al.

[10] used the bamboo fiber as the base material for the sprayer in the

greening plant of the slope, and investigated the erosion preventing the effect of

the base material itself. They showed that utilizing the bamboo fiber resulted in

less erosion than the conventional methods. Sato

et al.

[11] have extensively in-

vestigated the improvement of soft clay by incorporating bamboo chips and

flakes that have high water absorption characteristic of bamboo material.

Brahmachary and Rokonuzzaman [12] conducted the number of soaked and

unsoaked CBR value tests for ordinary soil and soil mixed with different quanti-

ty of bamboo fiber, and concluded that both unsoaked and soaked California

Bearing Ratio (CBR) value of soil increases due to the addition of bamboo fiber.

Devi and Jempen [13] investigated the shear strength behavior of a bamboo fiber

reinforced soil. They showed an increase in the shear strength parameters of the

soil with an increase in the percentage of fiber up to an optimum amount.

Ismanti and Yasufuku [14] presented the utilization of natural and environmen-

tal-friendly material, bamboo chips, mixed with a small amount of cement con-

tent in soil improvement. Thus, fiber-soil has been attracting attention in geo-

technical engineering [15] [16].

As described above, various studies on soil improvement using bamboo waste

materials have been conducted all over the world. From the results of the past

research, it can be judged that the ground improvement by the bamboo waste

material can be applied to the embankment work at general civil engineering

sites and the levee embankment at the agricultural field. Generally, relatively

rough bamboo chips and flakes are the common fiber conditions used in those

research, and the research as for the application of fine bamboo powder is not

much. In this paper, focusing on the relatively fine bamboo powder, the physical

and mechanical characteristics of the bamboo fiber mixed soil were experimen-

tally investigated and the effect of the improvement was clarified.

2. Material and Methods

In this experiment, the andosol collected from the field in Iwate University was

used as soil material. The bamboo fiber, which was fibro used after logging and

commercially available, was used. This bamboo fiber contains fibers of various

sizes. When 1 kg bamboo fibers were classified using sieves of 2, 0.85 and 0.425

mm, the residual fractions of 2, 0.85 and 0.425 mm were 13%, 16% and 21%, re-

M. Kanayama, S. Kawamura

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spectively, and the fraction passing through 0.425 mm was 50%. This indicates

that this bamboo fiber contained many fine powdery particles. In order to inves-

tigate the effect of improving by addition of bamboo fiber and the influence of

compounding ratio on improving effect, the experiments conducted in this

study were 1) water absorption test of bamboo fiber, 2) liquid limit test and plas-

tic limit test, 3) compaction test, 4) unconfined compression test, 5) image ob-

servation of specimens by digital microscope. The physical properties of the soil

are shown in Table 1.

2.1. Water Absorption Test of Bamboo Fiber

In order to evaluate the effect of moisture content and water absorption time of

the bamboo fiber on water absorption rate, the water absorption test of the

bamboo fiber was carried out. The specimens with the moisture content of 10%

dried by natural air and 0% absolutely dried by the oven were used. The bamboo

fiber corresponding to 1 g of dry mass was added to the beaker filled with dis-

tilled water and stirred, and then absorbed for 1 or 1440 minutes. After water

absorption, the water absorbing sample was poured into the funnel and it was

confirmed that the surplus water was sufficiently dropped, and then the mass of

the bamboo fiber was measured. In this study, the water absorption rate was de-

fined as the ratio of the mass of absorbed water to the dry mass of the bamboo

fiber as following.

100

r wb

A mm= ×

(1)

where

is the water absorption rate,

is the mass of absorbed water in the

bamboo fiber,

is the dry mass of the bamboo fiber.

2.2. Liquid Limit Test and Plastic Limit Test of Bamboo Fiber

Mixed Soils

In order to evaluate the influence of difference in the bamboo fiber content on

the consistency of the bamboo fiber mixed soil, the liquid limit test and the plas-

tic limit test was conducted. The mass mixing ratio of the bamboo fiber to the

dry soil mass was 0%, 1%, 3% and 5%. Both tests were carried out in conformity

with Japanese Industrial Standard JIS A 1205.

2.3. Compaction Test of Bamboo Fiber Mixed Soils

In order to evaluate the effect of difference in bamboo fiber content on the

Table 1. Physical properties of soil.

Soil particle density

s (g/cm3) 2.727

Sand content (%) 28

Silt content (%) 44

Clay content (%) 28

Fine particle content Fc (%) 72

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maximum dry density and the optimum water content of the bamboo fiber

mixed soil, the compaction test by tamping with bamboo fiber mixed soil was

carried out. The mass mixing ratio of the bamboo fiber to the dry soil mass was

0%, 1%, 3% and 5%. Table 2 shows the condition of the compaction test. The

test was carried out in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standard JIS A 1210.

2.4. Unconfined Compression Test of Bamboo Fiber Mixed Soils

and Image Observation

In order to evaluate the unconfined compressive strength as an index when han-

dling as a ground improvement material on site, the unconfined compression

test of the specimen prepared by the compaction test was carried out. The test

was conducted in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standard JIS A 1216 by

using the universal compression tester (RTG-1210 manufactured by A&D Co.,

Figure 1). The compression rate was set to compressive strain 1%/min.

The influence on unconfined compressive strength of the mixed soil was ex-

amined by changing the mass mixing ratio of the bamboo fiber to the dry soil

mass to 0%, 1%, 3% and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, a part of the specimen

after the unconfined compression test was sampled and the change of the struc-

tural skeleton due to the addition of the bamboo fiber was observed by using the

digital microscope (UM 06 manufactured by Kenis Co., Figure 1).

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Results of Water Absorption Test of Bamboo Fiber

The results of the water absorption test are shown in Table 3. The bamboo fiber

used in this study was found to have a very high water absorption rate of 742.8% -

775.4%. Focusing on the water absorption time of the bamboo fiber in this test

result, there was no difference in the water absorption rate between the water

Figure 1. Universal compression tester and digital microscope.

Table 2. Condition of compaction test.

Rammer Mass

(kg)

Falling Height

(cm)

Mold Inner

Diameter (cm)

Mold Volume

(cm3)

Number

of Layers

Number of

tamps per layer

1.25 30 6 550 3 25

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Table 3. Results of water absorption test of bamboo fiber.

Initial Water Content

in Bamboo Fiber (%) Absorption Time (min) Water Absorption Rate

(%)

0 1 775.4

1440 772.3

10 1 751.5

1440 742.8

absorption time 1 minute and 1440 minutes at either water content ratio. On the

other hand, in terms of the initial water content ratio, the water absorption rate

of the bamboo fiber with 0% initial water content was higher by about 30% than

that with 10% initial water content. This is thought to be the thermal denatura-

tion due to the oven-drying of the bamboo fiber, so it is presumed that the water

absorption rate of the bamboo fiber has increased.

Nishida

et al.

[7] reported that the water absorption rate varies depending on

the condition of the bamboo fiber, based on the water absorption test results.

They showed that as the bamboo fiber became coarser the water absorption rate

became lower, and the lowest value was 102.5%. On the contrary, they also re-

ported that the cotton-like bamboo fiber has a higher water absorption rate, and

the highest value was 455.1%. Hejazi

et al.

[1] summarize that the water absorp-

tion rate of bamboo before fiberization is about 40% to 45%. Based on the results

of the past research and the sieve analysis of bamboo fiber, it can be judged that

the high water absorbency in this study is caused by the amount of finer bamboo

fiber. According to this result, it is revealed that the improvement effect such as

the bottom sediment with high water content is larger for the finer bamboo fi-

ber.

3.2. Results of Liquid Limit Test and Plastic Limit Test of Bamboo

Fiber Mixed Soils

In the liquid limit test and the plastic limit test, both limits tended to increase

with increasing bamboo fiber content as shown in Table 4. It is noted that the

plasticity index is the difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit and

the flow index is the gradient of the flow curve in the liquid limit test, defined as

following equations.

p Lp

I ww= −

(2)

( ) ( )

12 2 1

log log

I ww N N=−−

(3)

where

is the plasticity index,

is the liquid limit,

is the plastic limit,

the flow index, and

and

indicate arbitrary water content and number of

drops in the liquid limit test, respectively.

The liquid limit increased 47.7%, 46.8%, 48.3% and 51.8% and the plastic limit

increased 34.6%, 34.4%, 36.3% and 38.5% at the bamboo fiber content 0%, 1%,

3% and 5%, respectively. These increases are caused by the high water absorp-

tion of bamboo fiber. Both tests with 10% bamboo fiber content were also

M. Kanayama, S. Kawamura

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Table 4. Results of liquid limit and plastic limit of the mixed soil.

Fiber Content

(%)

Liquid Limit

(%)

Plastic Limit

(%)

Plasticity Index

Flow Index

0 47.7 34.6 13.1 3.5

1 46.8 34.4 12.4 5.3

3 48.3 36.3 12.0 6.8

5 51.8 38.5 13.3 7.4

conducted. However, since the properties of bamboo fiber became dominant

and the consistency of the soil was lost, both limit values could not be detected.

The plasticity index showed an almost constant value of about 12 to 13 regard-

less of the bamboo fiber content in this test. This is due to the increments of

both limit values with the increase of the bamboo fiber content. As a result it was

found that there was no change in the plasticity index of the mixed soil by the

difference of the fiber content. The flow index, which is equivalent to the gra-

dient of the flow curve in the liquid limit test, increased with an increase of the

fiber content. This means that the fiber mixed soils become difficult to flow as

the mixing ratio increases.

3.3. Results of Compaction Test of Bamboo Fiber Mixed Soils

The results of the compaction test for the bamboo fiber mixed soils are shown in

Figure 2. It can be seen that the higher the bamboo fiber content, the lower

compaction curve tends to be located. At bamboo fiber content 0%, 1%, 3% and

5%, each maximum dry density was 1.19, 1.17, 1.14 and 1.07 g/cm3, respectively,

similarly each optimum water contents was 32.3%, 34.9%, 35.5% and 36.8%, re-

spectively. Thus, it was found that as the bamboo content increased, the maxi-

mum dry density decreased and the optimum water content increased. Accord-

ing to this result, the unit volume weight of bamboo fiber mixed soil at the

maximum dry density becomes smaller, which means that the mixed soil be-

comes very lightweight as a material.

Using this result, the calculation was done about the mass of each bamboo fi-

ber mixed soil necessary for compacting 1 m2 with 30 cm in thickness at the op-

timum water content. For the sample soils with the bamboo fiber mixing content

0%, 1%, 3% and 5%, the mass required for the construction can be estimated to

be 356.2, 351.8, 342.0 and 320.4 kg, respectively. Comparing the required mass

of 0% and 5% mixed soil, 5% mixed soil is about 35 kg lighter. Assuming an ac-

tual construction site, it is considered that the weight loss of this soil sample is

economically beneficial.

3.4. Results of Unconfined Compression Test of Bamboo Fiber

Mixed Soils and Image Observation

The stress-strain curves of the mixed soils derived from unconfined compression

test are shown in Figure 3. It is found that the compressive stresses of all

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Figure 2. Results of the compaction test for the bamboo fiber mixed soils.

Figure 3. Stress-strain curves of mixed soils derived from unconfined compression test.

specimens tended to increase with an increase in the bamboo fiber content. The

maximum compressive stress of the bamboo fiber content 0%, 1%, 3% and 5%

were 115, 108, 130 and 152 kN/m2.

There was no difference in the stress-strain curves between the bamboo fiber

content 0% and 1%. According to this result, the bamboo fiber mixing content

was less than 1%, it was found that there was no improvement in the mechanical

properties of the soil due to the mixing of the bamboo fiber. When the bamboo

fiber content is above 3%, it is found that the maximum compressive strength is

exhibited at the optimum water content. Furthermore, the slope of the initial li-

near part in the stress-strain curve at high water content are tended to be steep

when the bamboo fiber content increased.

Figure 4 shows the relationship between deformation modulus and water

content of mixed soils with different fiber content. It is interesting that the ten-

dency of the stiffness characteristics of the specimens differs depending on the

presence and content of fibers. The soil with no fiber showed the high deforma-

tion modulus at the dry region and then decreased steeply with an increase of

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Figure 4. Effect of bamboo fiber addition on deformation modulus of mixed soils.

the water content. On the other hand, the soil with fiber showed the lower de-

formation modulus and decreased gradually. Considering the lower stiffness and

higher strength of the soil with the fiber than those without fiber in the dry re-

gion, it can be judged that the addition of fiber brought ductility to the soil. And

it is obvious that as the addition of fiber increased, the rate of decrease in the

deformation modulus became slower. Finally, it can be seen that in the wet re-

gion the deformation modulus with or without fiber was reversed. This means

that the decrease in the stiffness of the specimen due to the increase of water

content was suppressed by the addition of the bamboo fiber, the cause is consi-

dered to be due to the absorbency and structure of the bamboo fiber.

Figure 5 shows the relationship between the maximum dry density and the

unconfined compressive strength when bamboo fiber content is changed. It was

found that the strength of mixed soil increases and the maximum dry density

decreases due to the increase of bamboo fiber content. From this result, it was

clarified that the mixing of the bamboo fiber to the soil contributes to the in-

crease of the strength of the soil. It is expected to be utilized the bamboo mixed

soil as a lightweight civil engineering and agricultural material, such as ground

base reinforcement.

Figure 6 shows the result of image observation with the digital microscope.

It was confirmed that the bamboo fiber was placed very irregularly with re-

spect to the inside soil and so as to embrace the soil particles. Focusing on the

bamboo fibers, the structure was such that the thin fibers branch off from the

main fibers. In this way, it was observed that the two-layer structure consisting

of the main relatively thick fibrous structure and the secondary capillary fibrous

structure was formed. Figure 6 also shows the schematic diagram for this struc-

ture. As these bamboo fibers have high water absorbency, it could be imagined

that the fiber has remarkable water retention function, especially in the capillary

fibrous structure. Moreover, it is considered that the soil particles are bonded by

the capillary fiber and their aggregations induce frictional forces on the fibers

with interlocking forces. These complex forces are a relation to mobilize the ten-

sile stress on the fiber itself, it is suggested that the two-layer structure

contributes to the increase in strength of specimens.

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Figure 5. Relationship between maximum dry density and unconfined compressive

strength.

Figure 6. Picture of inside specimen with water content 32%and schematic diagram for

two-layer structure.

4. Conclusions

The purpose of this research is to propose an effective utilization method of

waste bamboo material. In this paper, the physical and mechanical characteris-

tics of the bamboo fiber mixed soil were investigated and the effect of the im-

provement was clarified. The main results obtained are as follows.

M. Kanayama, S. Kawamura

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10.4236/ojce.2019.93012 183 Open Journal of Civil Engineering

1) The bamboo fiber used in this study contained many fine powdery particles

and was found to have a very high water absorption rate of 742.8% - 775.4%.

2) The liquid limit and plastic limit of the mixed soil tended to increase with

increasing bamboo fiber content and there was no change in the plasticity index

of the mixed soil by the difference of bamboo fiber content.

3) From the result of the compaction test, it was found that the maximum dry

density of the mixed soil decreased and the optimum water content of the mixed

soils increased with an increase of the bamboo fiber content. According to this

result, the unit volume weight of the bamboo fiber mixed soil at the maximum

dry density becomes smaller, which means that it becomes very lightweight as a

construction material.

4) From the unconfined compression test, it was found that the compressive

stresses of all specimens tended to increase with an increase in the bamboo fiber

content. The maximum compressive stress of the bamboo fiber content 0%, 1%,

3% and 5% were 115, 108, 130 and 152 kN/m2. The soil with fiber showed the

lower stiffness and higher strength than that without fiber in the dry region, it

can be judged that the addition of fiber brought ductility to the soil. And it was

found that the decrease in the stiffness of the specimen due to the increase of

water content was suppressed by the addition of the bamboo fiber.

5) From the results of observation with the digital microscope, it was found

that the complex structure of the bamboo fiber is deeply involved in the strength

of the sample.

The bamboo fibers used in this study contained the fibers of various shapes. In

the next step, it is necessary to study the influence of their shape and the amount

of addition on the mechanical properties of the mixed soil.

Acknowledgements

Financial supports for this study have been provided partially by the Ministry of

Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (Grant in Aid for

Scientific Research, No. 18K05875). The authors would like to express the

deepest gratitude.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this pa-

per.

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[16] Ghosha, S.K., Bhattacharyyab, R. and Mondal, M.M. (2017) Potential Applications

of Open Weave Jute Geotextile (Soil Saver) in Meeting Geotechnical Difficulties.

Procedia Engineering

, 200, 200-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.029.

A Review on The Utilization of Geosynthetics and Natural Fibers in Enhancing the Pavement Subgrade Strength

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Dec 2023

The practice of reinforcing subgrade soil to improve its strength, a technique with roots dating back centuries, remains a crucial engineering endeavor, particularly in regions plagued by weak subgrades and challenging soils like expansive silts and clays with high swelling-shrinkage characteristics and low-bearing capacity. The conventional method of subgrade modification through excavation and replacement, marked by its exorbitant costs and time-consuming nature, has given way to alternative solutions, prominently natural and synthetic reinforcement methods. Geosynthetics including polypropylene fibers (PP), polyethylene fibers (PE), polyester fibers (PET), glass fibers, nylon fibers, steel fibers, and polyvinyl alcohol fibers (PVA), are widely employed for this purpose. Additionally, eco-friendly and cost-effective natural fibers like coir, sisal, palm, jute, hemp, bamboo, and kenaf fibers are gaining attraction. These fibers, their lengths, compositions (typically within the range of 0.2% to 1.5% of soil weight), and arrangements within soil samples have been subjected to extensive experimentation. Through laboratory analysis and testing, including sieve analysis, sedimentation analysis, Atterberg limits, and Standard Penetration Cone (SPC) tests, researchers have consistently demonstrated that reinforced soils exhibit improvement in shear strength, axial strain due to failure, load-bearing capacity, and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) strength. These findings underscore the potential for efficiently stabilizing problematic soils for road pavement construction using both natural and synthetic fibers, ultimately enhancing subgrade performance. This comprehensive review highlights the value of stabilizing problematic soils for constructing road pavements using natural and synthetic fibers.

Mixture design for eco-friendly hybrid clay treated with two stabilizers based on water absorption and retention of stabilizers

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2024
SOILS FOUND

Characterization of Cornstarch-Based Bioplastic Reinforced with Three Different Species of Bamboo Shoots

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2023

A Substantial Role of Agro-Textiles in Agricultural Applications

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

Agro-textiles have been used in the agriculture sector for thousands of years and are an attractive tool for the protection of crops during their entire lifecycle. Currently, the agro-textile market is dominated by polyolefins or petrochemical-based agro-textiles. However, climate change and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions have raised concern about the future oil-based economy, and petroleum-based agro-textiles have become expensive and less desirable in the modern world. Other products include agro-textiles based on natural fibers which degrade so fast in the environment that their recovery from the field becomes difficult and unattractive even by efficient recycling or combustion, and their lifetime is usually limited to 1 or a maximum of 2 years. Hence, the development of bio-based agro-textiles with a reduced impact on the environment and with extended durability is foreseen to initiate the growth in the bio-based economy. The world is gradually preparing the shift toward a bio-based economy, and research for sustainable bio-based alternatives has already been initiated. This review provides insight into the various agro-textiles used currently in agriculture and the research going on in the area of agro-textiles to offer alternative solutions to the current agro-textile market.

A Review on Soil Reinforcement Technology by Using Natural and Synthetic Fibers

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2021

Soil reinforcement techniques are frequently used to improve the engineering properties of soils in geotechnical engineering applications. For this purpose, natural and synthetic fibers have managed to attract the attention of geotechnical engineerings as an alternative reinforcement technique to traditional stabilization methods due to their sufficient strength, low cost and easily availability. The purpose of this study is to create a review on the effects of parameters such as fiber type, physical and mechanical properties of fiber, fiber quantity, fiber length and fiber surface roughness on the engineering properties of different types of soils, according to data of scientific studies on the reinforced-soils using different types of natural and synthetic fibers. Besides, this study contains information about the effects of water in the soil matrix on the behavior of natural fibers and the recommended treatments, in addition to the mechanical behavior of the fiber-soil composite.

Forming of bamboo fibers and fabrication of a bamboo fiber composite with a complicated shape

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2024
CELLULOSE

The objective of this research was to examine the bamboo fiber preforming procedures and the effects of preforming on the mechanical properties. The bamboo fibers were bent to an angular shape by using mold compression. Different moisture contents were applied to the bamboo fibers before bending. Next, tensile tests were conducted on the preformed bent fibers to investigate the strength degradation caused by fiber damage during the forming process. Additionally, the vacuum preforming method, limited to a pressure of 1 atm, was used for bamboo fiber bending preforming. Different fillet radii of the angled shapes were used in the experiments to investigate the impact of the angle curvature at the bending points on the strength of the bent bamboo fibers. Unidirectional bamboo fiber mats were manually woven using polyester fiber lines and preformed with a closed mold. The fabrication of the unidirectional bamboo fiber/epoxy resin composites was conducted by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). In this study, valuable insights into the design of the bamboo fiber preforming and composite manufacturing processes are provided, and our results can be used to contribute to the progress and utilization of the bamboo fibers in composite materials. Graphical abstract

Enhancing Mechanical Properties of Low Plasticity Clay Soil Using Hemp Fibers: Effects of Fiber Content and Fiber Surface Coating

Article

Aug 2023

In this study, the effect of different fiber contents (0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, and 0.20%) on the mechanical properties of low plasticity clay soils reinforced with raw and coated was investigated. For this purpose, reinforced specimens were axially loaded under different confining pressures (50, 100, and 200 kPa) in the unconsolidated-undrained triaxial compression test. The test results show that the stress–strain behaviour of the unreinforced soil changes from strain-softening to strain-hardening by adding hemp fiber into the soil. In general, bulging failure occurred in all specimens. The highest deviator stress at failure, energy absorption capacity and internal friction angle values were obtained in the specimen using 0.10% by-weight hemp fiber. The fibers are coated with three different water-repellent materials to protect the raw hemp fibers against biodegradation. The water absorption capacity of raw hemp fiber, measured as 218%, decreased by 127%, 213% and 159%, respectively, after coating Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, epoxy, and Crystal PIB 907. Fiber’s diameters, friction surface areas, and surface roughness increased by coating raw hemp fibers. Consequently, it is found that specimens containing 0.10% by weight-coated hemp fiber had higher deviator stress, internal friction angle, and energy absorption capacity values than those containing raw hemp fiber.

Intelligent Prediction Model on Soil Bamboo Fibre Mix for Road Construction

Article

Mar 2023
ADV ENG SOFTW

Application of plant-derived fibers in soil reinforcement on experimental, numerical, and case study scales: a review

Article

Jan 2023

The use of natural rather than artificial materials is of considerable interest in sustainable geotechnics. This review study focused on soil reinforcement with plant fibers and explored the behavior and performance of plant fiber-reinforced soil by random distribution as an effective method for soil improvement. The behavior of fiber-soil composites is essentially governed by the mechanical characteristics of synthetic fibers, but plant fibers have intrinsically distinct properties from synthetic ones. Biochemical and mechanical features of natural fibers determine the behavior of soil-fiber composites. Still, the biochemical and physical properties of fibers have received minimal consideration in geotechnical research involving natural georeinforcement materials. Thus, a thorough examination of the use of natural fibers for soil reinforcement was conducted in this study, and the impacts of the qualities of plant fibers on their performance in the soil were examined. The mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced soil was then investigated by analyzing laboratory, numerical, and case studies. The behavior of fibers in cohesive and granular soils was subsequently explored. The results demonstrated the significant effect of mechanical characteristics such as Young’s modulus and tensile strength, as well as biochemical constituents (cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose) on the performance and interaction of fibers in the soil. The findings also revealed that plant fibers greatly enhance mechanical parameters such as shear, compressive, and tensile strength. Recommendations are made for soil reinforcement with plant fibers and the selection of appropriate types and amounts of fibers.

A Review of Soil Reinforcement with Planetary Fibers

Article

Nov 2022

The applications of sustainable and renewable materials have received considerable attention in geotechnical engineering. Soil reinforcement with plant-based fibers is a cost-efficient and eco-friendly process with high reproducibility and accessibility. The use of natural fibers as reinforcement elements is inherently distinct from synthetic materials, and the behavior of natural fiber soil is influenced by both physicomechanical and biological features. Reinforcing soil with plant-based or cellulosic fibers can be undertaken via two methods: oriented fiber distribution (OFD) and randomly distributed fiber (RDF). The latter process is the latest trend that has attracted increasing attention in soil reinforcement science. This study was undertaken to provide a deeper comprehension of the behavior of various plant-based or bio-based fibers and their properties, mechanisms, and functions as reinforcement materials for enhancing the mechanical strength of soil. The significance of the biochemical composition of natural fibers on their performance under reinforced soil circumstances is also determined. This paper also addresses key factors for extending the life of planetary fibers through various treatment methods, as well as reinforcement through bio-mediated technology, and finally discusses the future direction of fiber-soil reinforcement.

Investigation of random inclusion of bamboo fiber on ordinary soil and its effect CBR value

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2018

Stability of any structure depends on strength properties of underground soil on which it is constructed. Structures basically transfer all the loads comes on itself directly to the ground. If the underlying soil is not stable enough to support transferred loads then various types of failure occur such as settlement of the structure, cracks and so on. To solve this issue, soil improvement is necessary because it not only lowers the construction cost but also cuts the risk of any damage of structure later on. Numerous improvement methods can be adopted to make ordinary soil stable enough to support the structural loads. In this research work a number of tests were conducted using both ordinary soil and fiber reinforced soil. Soil samples for unsoaked and soaked CBR tests were prepared at its maximum dry density analogous to its optimum moisture content in the CBR mould with and without fiber. The reinforcing agent used in this study are natural bamboo fibers having diameter of 3 and 6 mm and length of 10 and 20 mm respectively. The proportion of bamboo fiber by waterless weight of normal soil was used as 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80, 1.00, 1.20 and 1.40%. Bamboo fiber is natural fiber, acts as a strengthening material for ordinary soil. It binds the soil particles together and helps in reduction of rapid change in volumetric properties. Addition of fiber improves the ductility behavior and increases the CBR value of ordinary soil. It was observed from the test results that unsoaked and soaked CBR value of soil increases with the increase in length and diameter of bamboo fiber. It was also found that increasing the percentage of bamboo fiber increases the CBR value of reinforced soil, and this increment is significant at fiber dosage of 1.2%. This significant increase of CBR value will diminish the thickness of pavement.

Potential Applications of Open Weave Jute Geotextile (Soil Saver) in Meeting Geotechnical Difficulties

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2017

Geotextiles made of natural fibres like jute have been found to be effective in improving geotechnical characteristics of soil and are being extensively used for various technical end-uses viz. rural road construction, protection of river banks, stabilization of embankments, erosion control, management of slopes, consolidation of soft soils etc. Out of the several natural agents causing extensive damages to roads, landslides can claim to be a major destroyer. Open weave Jute Geotextile (JGT), popularly known as soil savers, if properly designed can fulfil the said criteria besides facilitating growth of vegetation. This article delineates testing and analysis of the prime property parameters of some open weave JGT samples of different fabric weight categories, manufactured in the jute mills, followed by their comparative analysis based on which they have been selected to fulfil the end-use requirement. This was followed by determination of the tolerance limit of the property parameters of the selected open weave JGT samples by statistical interpretation for formulation of the specification before the actual field trial.

Using fiber and liquid polymer to improve the behaviour of cement-stabilized soft clay

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2017
GEOTEXT GEOMEMBRANES

This work studies the effect of using two types of polymer (fibers and liquid) to enhance the strength of cemented soft clay. Four polymer contents were used (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1% by dry weight of the soil) to investigate the unconfined compressive strength, qun of soft clay mixed with three cement contents (5, 10 and 15%). For wide understanding to the polymer/cemented soil behaviour several factors were considered in this study such as curing time, dry unit weight, the mixture workability and the behaviour after disturbance. This investigation revealed that both fibers and liquid polymers can improve the cemented soft clay strength, however the fiber mechanism in improving the mixture is totally different than the liquid. Increasing the fiber content shall increase qun till a peak point at fiber content of 0.5%, where the strength started to reduce after. The mixture workability has been improved with increasing the liquid polymer content, and reduced with increasing the fiber content. Fibers can be used to raise up the strength of disturbed cemented soft clay up to 240% by using fiber content of 0.5%. Both fibers and liquid polymers showed a remarkable mechanically, economically and environmentally dominance to be used as additive to cement in improving the soft clay.

Shear Strength Behaviour of Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Soil

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2016

Bamboo is recognized as a potential natural reinforcing material for improvement and stabilization of soil. Arunachal Pradesh contributes about 40% of the bamboo species available in India. In the present study the shear strength behaviour of a bamboo fiber reinforced soil is investigated. Direct shear tests are performed on the unreinforced and reinforced soil with different percentage of bamboo fiber. The study reveals the increase in the shear strength parameters of the soil with increase in the percentage of fiber upto an optimum amount. Two different length of the fiber are considered in the study and shear strength parameters are also increased with the increase in the length of the fiber.

IMPROVED EFFECT OF THE HIGH WATER CONTENT CLAY USING THE WATER ABSORPTIVITY OF BAMBOO

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2014

This paper examined the utilization of bamboo that has been cut down in order to solve the standing problem of bamboo forest. Focusing on water absorptivity of bamboo chips and flakes, we consider improving the high water content soft clay such as dredged bottom mad. As a result, we found that there is sufficient improvement effect on bamboo chips and flakes. Improving effect would be affected by the differences in the absorption properties of bamboo chip and flake. In addition, the combination with solidification material, it is effective to reduce the solidification material addition rate. And, the addition of solidifying material is found also affects the decay of bamboo in improved soil.

Strength evaluation of jute fabric for the reinforcement of rammed earth structures

Article

Jan 2017
COMPOS PART B-ENG

Synthetic and artificial fiber fabrics are commonly used as masonry structures reinforcement, both for seismic retrofitting of historical buildings and for realization of new constructions in seismic areas. Correspondingly, natural fiber fabrics are appropriate to earth buildings reinforcement, being compatible from the point of view of environmental sustainability. In this paper the results of tensile tests on jute yarns are reported, organized and statistically analyzed in order to interpret the basic laws of size effects involved. The great variability of yarns behavior and the difficulties in controlling the boundary conditions induced to perform numerical tensile tests on statistical samples of jute fabric, generated in compliance with the statistical distribution of yarns mechanical properties. The comparison between laboratory and numerical tests permits to make some considerations on the difficulties involved in the experimental analysis, in order to define a reliable experimental technique to determine the properties necessary to the successive design.

Behavior of Reinforced Concrete with Fibers of Jute, Coir and Bamboo.

Article

Jan 1984

Short discrete vegetable fibers namely jute, coir and bamboo have been examined for their suitability for incorporation in cement concrete. Tests have shown no deterioration of the physical properties of these fibers in the mix, whose workability and homogeneity are secured through the proper proportioning. On the other hand, the favorable characteristics which emerge from fiber introduction are: improved ductility, higher impact and fracture toughness, and superior crack-inhibiting and wear resistance properties.

STRENGTH AND SHRINKAGE CRACK PROPERTIES OF WALL CLAY REINFORCED BY BAMBOO FIBER

Article

Jan 2013

Mud-plastered wall has been used since the old days in Japan. The physical properties of wall clay used for the wall differ by regions because the wall clays are collected in the vicinity of each construction site. Straws are mixed in the clay as reinforcing materials for preventing the shrinkage crack. However, the mixing amount is determined by the experience and intuition of craftsmen. In addition, it is hard to obtain straw recently. In this study, we measured the crack area and the strength of the wall clay from various regions, and the tests were carried out on the clay mixed with bamboo fibers as alternative reinforcing materials. As a result, the unconfined compression strength increased and the crack area decreased by mixing bamboo fiver compared to the wall clay with straw. From the above, it was clear that the wall clay strength and crack properties were improved by mixing bamboo fiber.

Effects of coir fibers on tensile and compressive strength of lime treated soft soil

Article

Sep 2014
MEASUREMENT

The purpose of this study is mainly to investigate the tensile and compression strengths of natural and treated soft soil. The tensile strengths and compression strengths of compacted specimens of natural soil, lime and coir fiber treated soil were obtained using the indirect tensile test and unconfined compressive test. The results revealed that both tensile and compressive strengths increased with the addition of lime, coir fiber and the increasing of the curing time. From the test results, the relationship of the unconfined compressive strength of the soft soil was predicted by the correlation agreed with the indirect tensile strength. It was indicated that lime and fiber reinforced soils took on the strain-hardening ductile failure characteristic. The load causing this failure was the highest obtained during the test, and the outer fractures occurred subsequent to the central fracture.

Preparation of scrap tire rubber fiber–silica fume mixtures for modification of clayey soils

Article

Aug 2013
APPL CLAY SCI

Ekrem Kalkan

This experimental work was performed to investigate the influence of silica fume-scrap tire rubber fiber mixture inclusion on the geotechnical properties of clayey soils. The natural and modified clayey soil samples were subjected to the unconfined compression, the shear box, the odometer and the falling-head permeability tests after compaction at optimum moisture content. The results of experimental research indicated that silica fume, fiber and silica fume-fiber mixture modification enhanced both the unconfined compression strength and strength parameters. Although, the fiber modification increased in the hydraulic conductivity, it decreased in the swelling pressure. It was observed also that the silica fume and silica fume-fiber modification decreased both the hydraulic conductivity and swelling pressure. Consequently, it is concluded that the silica fume-fiber mixture materials can be successfully used for the modifications of clayey soils in the geotechnical applications.