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Strengthening of high plastic clays by geotextile reinforcement

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Abstract

High plastic clays (fat clays) instigate failures like rutting and fatigue cracks in flexible pavements and sometimes make the pavements unserviceable when subjected to wet-dry cycles of the environment. This study focuses on the strengthening potential of polypropylene fiber (PP) on the engineering properties of fat clays. Different fiber percentages (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8% by oven-dried soil weight) were used in clay samples and then compaction properties, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), elastic modulus (E50), California bearing ratio (CBR), and swell-consolidation properties of reinforced samples were investigated. Also, desiccation tests were carried out to assess the efficacy of fibers in enhancing the cracking resistance of clay. The test results show remarkable strength improvement, as the UCS value of 0.4% reinforced soil increased by 356%, E50 by 109%, and soaked CBR by 225%, resulting in a better-quality subgrade for pavement construction. The compression and rebound indices were decreased by 49.5% and 78.8% for fiber content of 0.8%, respectively, as well as the percent swell and swell pressure were also lowered by 75.4% and 70%, respectively, shifting the medium swelling soil to a low swelling class. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies revealed that the frictional interface between fiber-clay particles appears to be the primary mechanism influencing the reinforcing effect. Economically, stabilizing fat clay reduces the required pavement thickness by an average of 38%. Hence, PP fiber as a low-cost material provides a long-term stabilizing solution for widespread fat clays.

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Acknowledgements

The laboratory facilities provided by the Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory at the School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, China, and experimentation facilities by the Soil Mechanics & Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory at The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan, are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Muhammad Hamza, Wang Xiang, Zhihong Nie, Ashiru Mohammed, Farhad Ali & Rahat Ullah

  2. Department of Technology, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

    Muhammad Hamza, Muhammad Waqas Younis, Muhammad Ali, Mudassar Dilawar, Mazhar Yasin & Atteq Ur Rehman

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Mubashir Aziz

  4. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Construction and Building Materials, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Mubashir Aziz

  5. School of Civil Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

    Ashiru Mohammed

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  1. Muhammad Hamza
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Correspondence to Muhammad Hamza.

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Hamza, M., Aziz, M., Xiang, W. et al. Strengthening of high plastic clays by geotextile reinforcement. Arab J Geosci 15, 805 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-09972-w

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