<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The inclusions of geosynthetic materials (fibers, geomembranes and geotextiles) is a new improvement technique that ensures uniformity in the soil during construction. The use of tension resisting discreet inclusions like polypropylene fibers has attracted a significant amount of attention these past years in the improvement of soil performance in a cost-efficient manner. A series of direct shear box tests were conducted on unreinforced and reinforced Chlef sand with different contents of fibers (0, 0.25, 0.5 and0.75%) in order to study the mechanical behavior of sand reinforced with polypropylene fibers. Samples were prepared at three different relative densities 30%, 50% and 80% representing loose, medium dense and dense states,respectively, and performed at normal stresses of 50, 100 and 200 kPa. The experimental results show that the mechanical characteristics are improved with the addition of polypropylene fibers. The inclusion of randomly distributed fibers has a significant effect on the shear strength and dilation of sandy soil. The increase in strength is a function of fiber content, where it has been shown that the mechanical characteristics improve with the increase in fiber content up to 0.75%, this improvement is more significant at a higher normal stress and relative density.</p></abstract>

The inclusions of geosynthetic materials (fibers, geomembranes and geotextiles) is a new improvement technique that ensures uniformity in the soil during construction. The use of tension resisting discreet inclusions like polypropylene fibers has attracted a significant amount of attention these past years in the improvement of soil performance in a cost-efficient manner. A series of direct shear box tests were conducted on unreinforced and reinforced Chlef sand with different contents of fibers (0, 0.25, 0.5 and0.75%) in order to study the mechanical behavior of sand reinforced with polypropylene fibers. Samples were prepared at three different relative densities 30%, 50% and 80% representing loose, medium dense and dense states,respectively, and performed at normal stresses of 50, 100 and 200 kPa. The experimental results show that the mechanical characteristics are improved with the addition of polypropylene fibers. The inclusion of randomly distributed fibers has a significant effect on the shear strength and dilation of sandy soil. The increase in strength is a function of fiber content, where it has been shown that the mechanical characteristics improve with the increase in fiber content up to 0.75%, this improvement is more significant at a higher normal stress and relative density.

Effect of randomly distributed polypropylene fiber reinforcement on the shear behavior of sandy soil

Studia Geotechnica et Mechanica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The inclusions of geosynthetic materials (fibers, geomembranes and geotextiles) is a new improvement technique that ensures uniformity in the soil during...

Sand Properties	Standard test specifications	Value
Medium grain size, D₅₀ (mm)	ASTM D-422	0.40
Maximum diameter, D_max(mm)	ASTM D-422	2.00
Coefficient of uniformity, C_u (.)	ASTM D-422	2.227
Coefficient of curvature, C_c (.)	ASTM D-422	0.891
Mean specific gravity, Gs(.)	ASTM D854-02	2.665
Maximum void ratio, e_max(.)	ASTM D4253-00	0.85
Minimum void ratio, e_min(.)	ASTM D4254-00	0.56

Effect of randomly distributed polypropylene fiber reinforcement on the shear behavior of sandy soil

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Sep 30, 2019

Page range: 151 - 159

Received: Feb 06, 2019

Accepted: May 27, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2019-0014

Keywords
Sand, direct shear box tests, polypropylene fibers, shear strength, normal stress, relative density

© 2019 Mehdi Missoum Benziane et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Experimental program.

Engineering properties of Chlef sand.

Physical and mechanical properties of polypropylene fiber.

Relative density, Dr(%)	Fiber content, Fc(%)	Normal stress, 6_n(kPa)
30	0,0.25, 0.5and 0.75	50, 100 and 200
50	0, 0.25, 0.5and 0.75	50, 100 and 200
80	0, 0.25, 0.5and 0.75	50, 100 and 200

Effect of randomly distributed polypropylene fiber reinforcement on the shear behavior of sandy soil

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Sep 30, 2019

Page range: 151 - 159

Received: Feb 06, 2019

Accepted: May 27, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sgem-2019-0014

KeywordsSand, direct shear box tests, polypropylene fibers, shear strength, normal stress, relative density

© 2019 Mehdi Missoum Benziane et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Experimental program.

Engineering properties of Chlef sand.

Physical and mechanical properties of polypropylene fiber.

Keywords
Sand, direct shear box tests, polypropylene fibers, shear strength, normal stress, relative density