International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395 -0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 04 | Apr -2017
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
www.irjet.net
Effect of Sisal Fibre on Shear Strength Characteristics of Kuttanad Clay Nirmal John Joy 1, Chippy Tresa Thomas2 1Assistant 2PG
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, SAINTGITS College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala, India student, Department of Civil Engineering, SAINTGITS College of Engineering, Kottayam, Kerala, India
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Abstract – Kuttanad is one of the few places that still use
homogeneous soil mass having improved soil properties.[7] Compaction is done for maximum dry density and optimum moisture content while Triaxial is done for shear strength parameters
unpaved roads for inland transportation in the rural areas of Kerala, India. Clay itself is dumped and compacted to make the roads. Since no further treatment is given and is subjected to adverse climatic conditions these roads need maintenance every year. Betterment of properties of this clay could help in reducing the yearly maintenance needed. Shear strength parameters helps in determining the shear strength of the clay, so shear strength parameters are selected for study in this research. Improvement of shear strength using locally available waste materials could be economical and ecofriendly. The effect of sisal fibre on dry density, moisture content and shear strength parameters is found out. The dry density was found to be decreasing while the optimum moisture content increased with respect to increase in percentage of sisal fibre added. Shear strength parameters also showed variation with addition of different percentage of sisal fibre. The effect of seven day curing is also studied.
1.1 Sisal Fibre Sisal fibre is a promising reinforcement for use in composites on account of its low cost, low density, high specific strength.[1] Sisal fibre is obtained from Agava sisalana plant.[2] The fibres are extracted and used for many purposes like bag, mat industries. If to be imported then it would be of high cost. Since this plant could be seen in rural areas, promoting the plant growth would be better than importing. This could make it more economical and ecofriendly. Anyway since, only the waste from the industries using sisal fibre is considered in this work, this is already an economical method. Moreover it is helping the easy and beneficial reuse of the industrial waste which might have caused environmental problems on dumping or burning in that case.
Key Words: Sisal fibre, Standard proctor compaction, Triaxial, shear strength parameters.
1. INTRODUCTION Kuttanad clay is one of the most problematic soils, other than black cotton soil in Kerala. The main industries in Kuttanad consist of coir industry, textile industry, bag, mat industry etc. Among which sisal fibre is used in mat and bag industry. Thus trimmed sisal fibre is available in plenty as a waste material. Using of locally available waste material for improvement of shear strength is always an economical method. The increase in scarcity of usable land leads to the requirement of improving the available problematic soil. The main problems faced by the soil could be due to its origin, water content, environmental conditions etc. Rectifying the problems by using economical and ecofriendly methods is the most befitting method in the present scenario. The place selected for this particular study is having a lot of industries which is having waste materials that could be used for the betterment of the shear strength characteristics. Fibres added to soil usually provide reinforcement to the soil layers. And thus increases the shear strength. May it be any fibre, the reinforcing action is supposed to improve the shear failure resistance. Here sisal fibre is added in varying percentages and is kept for seven days to check effects of curing. Compaction is the process of increasing the density of soil by mechanical means by packing soil particles closer together with reduction of air voids and to obtain a
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Figure 1 : Sisal fibre pieces India possesses a large chunk of wastelands and practically, one of the viable cultivation on such a dry ecosystem is sisal.[6]so considering sisal as a raw material and cultivating it and finding new applications for it could be recommended. Many studies have already been done about the properties of sisal fibre. Physical and chemical properties of sisal fibre have been subjected to many experimental investigations.
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