Evaluation of natural and artificial fiber reinforcements on the mechanical properties of cement-stabilized dredged sediment

Abstract

The combination of chemical stabilization and fiber reinforcement can simultaneously improve the strength and ductility of dredged sediment. The polypropylene fiber (PF) and straw fiber (SF) were respectively used as artificial and natural reinforcements of cement-stabilized dredged sediment (CDS). A series of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted to investigate the effects of cement content, fiber content, fiber length and water content on the mechanical properties of PF-reinforced CDS (CPFDS) and SF-reinforced CDS (CSFDS). Furthermore, the cementation-reinforcement mechanism was explored and analyzed via macro failure characteristics and micro interfacial morphologies inside typical CPFDS and CSFDS samples. The results showed that increasing cement content or decreasing water content significantly improved the UCS and aggravated the brittleness of CPFDS and CSFDS. The suitable addition of PF can effectively improve the UCS of CDS, while incorporating SF exhibited the opposite role. The maximum 7d-, 28d-, 60d- and 90d-UCS of CPFDS were respectively 17.7%, 43.6%, 10.7% and 9.7% higher than that of CDS. The optimum length of PF inside CPFDS and SF inside CSFDS was 3 mm and 5–10 mm, respectively. Both incorporating PF or SF can effectively improve the ductility of CDS. Based on the proposed parameters of total-water/cement ratio and fiber cementation factor, the effective strength development models of CPFDS and CSFDS considering cement content, fiber content, water content and curing time were empirically established. The fiber “bridge” effect and interfacial friction between fiber and cemented soil particles were mainly responsible for the strength evolution and ductility improvement of CPFDS and CSFDS.