Shear Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Sands
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 3
Abstract
Soil reinforcement using discrete randomly distributed fibers has been widely investigated over the last 30 years. Several models were suggested to estimate the improvement brought by fibers to the shear strength of soils. The objectives of this paper are to (1) supplement the data available in the literature on the behavior of fiber-reinforced sands; (2) study the effect of several parameters which are known to affect the shear strength of fiber-reinforced sands; and (3) investigate the effectiveness of current models in predicting the improvement in shear strength of fiber-reinforced sand. An extensive direct shear testing program was implemented using coarse and fine sands tested with three types of fibers. Results indicate the existence of a fiber-grain scale effect which is not catered for in current prediction models. A comparison between measured and predicted shear strengths indicates that the energy dissipation model is effective in predicting the shear strength of fiber-reinforced specimens in reference to the tests conducted in this study. On the other hand, the effectiveness of the predictions of the discrete model is affected by the parameters of the model, which may depend on the test setup and the procedure used for mixing the fibers.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers would like to acknowledge the support of the University Research Board (URB) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) for funding this research program.
References
Al-Moussawi, H., and Andersland, O. B. (1988). “Discussion on the behavior of fabric versus fiber-reinforced sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 114(3), 383–385.
ASCE GSP 69. (1997). Ground improvement, ground reinforcement, ground treatment, development 1987–1997, ASCE GSP-69, Reston, Va.
Consoli, N. C., Casagrande, M. D. T., and Coop, M. R. (2007). “Performance of a fibre-reinforced sand at large shear strains.” Geotechnique, 57(9), 751–756.
Consoli, N. C., Casagrande, M. D. T., Prietto, P. D. M., and Thome, A. (2003). “Plate load test on fiber-reinforced soil.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 129(10), 951–955.
Diambra, A., Russell, A. R., Ibraim, E., and Muir Wood, D. (2007). “Determination of fiber orientation distribution in reinforced sands.” Geotechnique, 57(7), 623–628.
Gray, D. H., and Al Refeai, T. O. (1986). “Behavior of fabric versus fiber-reinforced sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 112(8), 804–820.
Gray, D. H., and Ohashi, H. (1983). “Mechanics of fiber-reinforcement in sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 109(3), 335–353.
Heineck, K. S. and Consoli, N. C. (2004). “Discussion of 'Discrete framework for limit equilibrium analysis of fiber-reinforced soil,' by J. G. Zornberg,” Geotechnique, 54(1), 72–73.
Heineck, K. S., Coop, M. R., and Consoli, N. C. (2005). “Effect of microreinforcement of soils from very small to large shear strains.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 131(8), 1024–1033.
Hoare, D. J. (1979). “Laboratory study of granular soils reinforced with randomly oriented discrete fibers.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Soil Reinforcement: Reinforced Soil and Other Techniques, Ecole Nationale des ponts et chaussées, Paris, 47–52.
Jones, M. J., McKinley, J. D., Ogden, C., and Ellis, D. J. (2001). “The strength properties of a fiber-reinforced engineered soil.” Proc., XVth Int. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Balkema, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1605–1608.
Kaniraj, S. R., and Havanaji, V. J. (2001). “Behavior of cement-stabilized fiber-reinforced fly ash-soil mixtures.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(7), 574–584.
Maher, M. H., and Gray, D. H. (1990). “Static response of sands reinforced with randomly distributed fibers.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 116(11), 1661–1677.
Maher, M. H., and Ho, Y. C. (1993). “Behavior of fiber-reinforced cemented sand under static and cyclic loads.” Geotech. Test. J., 16(3), 330–338.
Maher, M. H., and Ho, Y. C. (1994). “Mechanical properties of kaolinite/fiber soil composite.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 120(8), 1381–1393.
Maher, M. H., and Woods, R. D. (1990). “Dynamic response of sands reinforced with randomly distributed fibers.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 116(7), 1116–1131.
Michalowski, R. L. (2008). “Limit analysis with anisotropic fibre-reinforced soil.” Geotechnique, 58(6), 489–501.
Michalowski, R. L., and Cermak, J. (2002). “Strength anisotropy of fiber-reinforced sand.” Comput. Geotech., 29, 279–299.
Michalowski, R. L., and Cermak, J. (2003). “Triaxial compression of sand reinforced with fibers.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 129(2), 125–136.
Michalowski, R. L., and Zhao, A. (1996). “Failure of fiber-reinforced granular soils.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 122(3), 226–234.
Mostafa, H., El Khouly, M., El Zahaby, K., and Hafez, H. (2004). “Effect of discrete fibers inclusion on the mechanical behaviors of sands.” Proc., 1st Int. Conf. on Geotechnical Engineering, Beirut, Lebanon, 281–287.
Ranjan, G., Vasan, R. M., and Charan, H. D. (1996). “Probabilistic analysis of randomly distributed fiber-reinforced soil.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 122(6), 419–426.
Rowe, P. W. (1969). “The relation between the shear strength of sands in triaxial compression, plane strain and direct shear.” Geotechnique, 19(1), 75–86.
Santoni, R. L., Tingle, J. S., and Webster, S. L. (2001). “Engineering properties of sand-fiber mixtures for road construction.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 127(3), 258–268.
Santoni, R. L., and Webster, S. L. (2001). “Airfields and road construction using fiber stabilization of sands.” J. Transp. Eng., 127(2), 96–104.
Shewbridge, S. E., and Sitar, N. (1989). “Deformation characteristics of reinforced sand in direct shear.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 115(8), 1134–1147.
Shewbridge, S. E., and Sitar, N. (1990). “Deformation based model for reinforced sand.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 116(7), 1153–1170.
Shewbridge, S. E., and Sitar, N. (1996). “Formation of shear zones in reinforced sands.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 122(11), 873–885.
Tingle, J. S., Santoni, R. L., and Webster, S. L. (2002). “Full-scale field tests of discrete fiber-reinforced sand.” J. Transp. Eng., 128(1), 9–16.
Waldron, L. J. (1977). “Shear resistance of root-permeated homogeneous and stratified soil.” Soil Science Society of America Proceedings, 41, 843–849.
Zornberg, J. G. (2002). “Discrete framework for limit equilibrium analysis of fiber-reinforced soil.” Geotechnique, 52(8), 593–604.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: May 19, 2008
Accepted: Aug 31, 2009
Published online: Feb 12, 2010
Published in print: Mar 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.