Laboratory Investigation on Fiber-Reinforced Expansive Subgrade Soil Stabilized with Alkali Activated Binder: A Reliability-Based Perspective

Expansive soil possesses inferior mechanical behavior with periodic variability in heave/shrink, causing distortion and premature failure to the pavement structures. In the present study, an attempt was made to strengthen the expansive subgrade soils by combining alkali-activated binder (AAB) with naturally available hemp (HF) and banana fiber (BF). HF and BF were chemically treated (10M of KaOH) to improve their durability. The influences of varying dosages of fibers and slag in fiber-reinforced alkaline soil significantly improved California Bearing ratio (CBR) and flexural strength. Microstructural and morphological studies using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also carried out to understand the behavior of HF and BF-AAB soil mixture at varying slag and fiber content. It was observed that HF-alkaline soil achieved higher interfacial bonding with good interlocking density relative to BF-AAB soil. Furthermore, the uncertainties associated with subgrade strength in terms of CBR were expressed in the form of a reliability index (βCBR) using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The results showed that the optimum dosages of slag and fiber in the alkaline soil mixture were essential factors for regulating the linear shrinkage tensile crack and strengthening the stiffness of subgrade soil.

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    • © 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
  • Corporate Authors:

    American Society of Civil Engineers

    1801 Alexander Bell Drive
    Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400

    American Society of Civil Engineers

    Geo-Institute
    Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400

    Society of Exploration Geophysicists

    Houston, TX  United States  77072
  • Authors:
    • Syed, Mazhar
    • Ahuja, Manan
    • Jambholkar, Aditya R
    • GuhaRay, Anasua
  • Conference:
    • Geo-Congress 2022
    • Location: Charlotte North Carolina, United States
    • Date: 2022-3-20 to 2022-3-23
  • Publication Date: 2022

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Web
  • Pagination: pp 241-250
  • Monograph Title: Geo-Congress 2022: Soil Improvement, Geosynthetics, and Innovative Geomaterials
  • Serial:

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01851240
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 9780784484012
  • Files: TRIS, ASCE
  • Created Date: Jul 13 2022 10:56AM