Effect of coir on the mechanical properties of A-4 soils
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.83179/fs27x778Keywords:
soil stabilization, coir, natural fibers, sustainabilityAbstract
Soil stabilization with natural fibers represents a sustainable alternative to traditional chemical methods, offering environmental benefits while maintaining technical effectiveness (Medina-Martínez et al., 2022). Among available fibers, coir exhibits favorable mechanical properties and is abundantly produced in tropical regions (Asha’ari et al., 2022), although few investigations have addressed its application in A-4 soils. The effect of untreated coir addition on undrained shear strength and elastic modulus of an A-4 soil was evaluated through unconfined compression tests (ASTM D2166). Thirteen different configurations were prepared with fiber contents of 0.5 %, 1.0 %, 1.5 %, and 2.0 %, and lengths of 8 mm, 15 mm, and 20 mm, under controlled conditions of optimum moisture content (11.4 %) and maximum dry density (1.9 g/cm³). Results show maximum increases of 300 % in undrained shear strength (1168 kPa) and 99.6 % in elastic modulus (48.5 MPa) compared to natural soil (292 kPa and 24.3 MPa). A significant interaction between percentage and length was identified: short fibers (8 mm) reach their optimum at 1.5 %, while longer fibers (15-20 mm) maintain sustained improvements up to 2.0 %. The optimal configuration corresponds to 20 mm at 1.5 %. These results confirm the technical viability of coir as a sustainable stabilizer for low-plasticity silty soils in road infrastructure applications.
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