Use of coir fiber and analysis of geotechnical properties of soil

Abstract

This paper presents the study on the construction of pavement layers to be spread over subgrade soil starts with the calculation of the power of the subgrade and the traffic volume to be transported. The design of the different pavement layers depends very much on the strength of the sub-grade soil they are to be laid over. The power of a subgrade is expressed mainly in terms of CBR (California Bearing Ratio). Weaker sub-grade essentially needs thicker layers when stronger sub-grade works along with thinner layers of pavement. Normally CBR testing is a simple and well accepted process conducted on soil samples to determine subgrade intensity. For an engineer to understand the exact CBR strength of the sub-grade strength becomes absolutely essential. However, several other measurements are also taken into account for determining the power of the subgrade.The use of waste material and natural fibers to boost soil quality is beneficial, because they are inexpensive, accessible locally and Ecological. The stabilizing effect of Natural Fiber (coconut coir) on soil properties was observed in this research. On the last the use of surplus material and fiber has seen a huge growth over the decade. Hence, an attempt has been made in this analysis to test the rise in subgrade intensity by supplying Coir Fiber in different layers. In this CBR study, different variations of parent subgrade soil with Coir Fiber were performed. From the laboratory study it was observed that coir fiber's overall efficiency is higher. The CBR value of the parent subgrade soil was also found to increase as the number of coir fiber layers increased.