EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON STRENGTH CHARACTERISTICS OF PALM FIBER REINFORCED SOIL STABILIZE USING BAGASSE ASH

Expansive soils which are also known as problematic soils are having swelling and shrinkage properties which result in damage to the structure constructed over it. This paper investigated the resultant strength and swelling behavior when randomly distributed palm fibers are used to reinforce expansive soil and stabilized using bagasse ash. The soil was examined for compaction test and unconfined compression test at four different fiber contents (0.25%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.25%). The effect of aspect ratio and different percentage of fiber on the behavior of the composite soil specimen with curing were studied. The Maximum Dry Density (MDD) of fiber stabilized soils goes on decreasing and Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) goes on increasing with increase in the percentage of fiber in soil. The result indicated that inclusion of palm fiber increases the ductility and strength of soil. In order to further increase the strength of palm fiber reinforced soil varying percentage (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%) of bagasse ash is added. An optimum fiber content of 0.5% (by weight) showed the maximum result in the strength values whereas the combination of palm fiber and bagasse ash showed a decrease in strength value.