Shear strength of fibre reinforced cemented Toyoura sand

Abstract

A series of consolidated drained and undrained tests are conducted on unreinforced, fibre, cement, and fibre reinforced cemented Toyoura sand specimens with varying relative densities. Three different types of materials e.g., Toyoura sand, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibres, and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) are employed in this study. Specimens in dimensions of 50 mm in diameter and height of 100 mm are prepared in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) mold to a target dry density value, $ {\rho }_{d} $ = 1.40 g/cm3 (Dr = 20%) and $ {\rho }_{d} $ = 1.489 g/cm3 (Dr = 60%) of Toyoura sand using under-compaction moist tamping technique. Fibre reinforced cemented Toyoura sand samples were prepared with 10% moisture content by weight of sand-fibre-cement mixtures. The results on density variation shows that due to a better contact between sand-fibre interaction or sand-cement-fibre bonding and interaction for the denser specimens, a greater increase in shear strength is observed. However, the general effectiveness of fibre and cement additives alone and when mixed together also enhances the strength of unreinforced specimens for loose conditions based on the variation of fibre and cement contents. The results and findings in the current study can be used for the construction of economical and sustainable geotechnical infrastructures.