Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of PVA Fiber Reinforced Cemented Soil

Abstract

In this work, the experimental study of unconfined compressive strength tests, direct tensile strength tests and three point bending tests were carried out to evaluate the effect of PVA fiber reinforcement on the mechanical behaviour of cemented silty soil. In general, the addition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber lead to an increase in compressive strength, and it was observed more significant improvement in tensile strength and flexural strength, moreover, the inclusion of fibers effectively altered the brittle failure pattern of unreinforced cemented soil and improve the toughness and ductility. In addition, the microstructural of interaction between fibers and cemented soil was investigated. The proposal of regression model was utilized for predicting compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength.