SHEAR STRENGTH IMPROVEMENT OF SANDY SOIL USING COCONUT FIBRE

Coconut fibre or more popularly known as coir fibre is obtained from the outer shell of coconut. It is a suitable example of a waste material that can be utilised as a reinforcing material for soil. The fact that it is easily available makes it all the more suitable for this purpose. The main aim of this research work is to investigate the variation in shear strength parameters of sandy soils by the use of brown coconut fibre as reinforcing material, at a fixed length of 15 mm, using the direct shear test. It also involves the determination of optimum fibre content required for the corresponding maximum value of shear strength paramenter. The results showed that almost 21.5% enhancement in shear strength parameter can be obtained on use of coconut fibre as reinforcement material.