Mobilization of Reinforcement Forces in Fiber-Reinforced Soil
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 1
Abstract
Fiber reinforcement represents a promising alternative in projects involving localized repair of slopes and reinforcement of thin soil veneers, where planar reinforcement (e.g., with geotextiles and geogrids) is difficult to implement. Current design methodologies allow quantification of the shear strength of fiber-soil composites in terms of the parameters that independently characterize the soil matrix and fibers. The shear strength of fiber-reinforced soil is considered to have two components, including the shear strength of the soil matrix and the tension mobilized within the fibers. Triaxial compression tests and fiber pullout tests were conducted to evaluate how the fiber tension is mobilized for varying shear strain levels. The results of this evaluation provide insights into whether the shear strength of fiber-reinforced soil is governed by the peak or residual shear strength of unreinforced soil. A revision to existing design methodology is proposed in which the individual contribution of fibers and soil matrix is quantified based on the strain level. The appropriateness of using the peak or residual shear strength of the unreinforced soil for predicting the equivalent shear strength of fiber-soil composites is discussed based on strain compatibility considerations.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
ASTM. (1995). “Standard test method for consolidated undrained triaxial compression test for cohesive soils.” ASTM D4767-11, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (1997). “Standard test method for tensile properties of yarns by the single-strand method.” ASTM D2256-97, West Conshohocken, PA.
Juran, I., and Chen, C. L. (1988). “Soil-geotextile pull-out interaction properties: testing and interpretation.” Transportation Research Record 1188, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC, 37–47.
Li, C., and Zornberg, J. G. (2003). “Validation of discrete framework for fiber-reinforcement.” Proc., North American Conf. on Geosynthetics, North American Geosynthetics Society, Albany, NY.
Maher, M. H., and Gray, D. H. (1990). “Static response of sand reinforced with randomly distributed fibers.” J. Geotech. Eng., 116(11), 1661–1677.
Michalowski, R. L., and Cermark, J. (2003). “Triaxial compression of sand reinforced with fibers.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 129(2), 125–136.
Michalowski, R. L., and Zhao, A. G. (1996). “Failure of fiber-reinforced granular soils.” J. Geotech. Engrg., 122(3), 226–234.
Sadek, S., Najjar, S. S., and Freiha, F. (2010). “Shear strength of fiber-reinforced sands.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 136(3), 490–499.
Zornberg, J. G. (2002). “Discrete framework for limit equilibrium analysis of fibre-reinforced soil.” Geotechnique, 52(8), 593–604.
Zornberg, J. G., and Li, C. (2003). “Design of fiber-reinforced soil.” Proc., 12th Panamerican Conf. of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Cambridge, MA, Vol. 2, 2193–2200.
Zornberg, J. G., Somasundaram, S., and LaFountain, L. (2001). “Design of geosynthetic-reinforced veneer slopes.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Earth Reinforcement (IS Kyushu 2001), H. Ochiai, J. Otani, N. Yasufuku, and K. Omine, eds., Vol. 1, Balkema, Tokyo, 305–310.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 21, 2011
Accepted: Apr 11, 2012
Published online: Apr 13, 2012
Published in print: Jan 1, 2013
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.