Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166

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Measurement
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Three point bending flexural strength of cement treated tropical marine soil MARK
reinforced by lime treated natural fiber
⁎
Vivi Anggrainia, , Afshin Asadib, Agusril Syamsirc, Bujang B.K. Huatd
a
School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500 Bandar Sunway, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
b
Department of Civil Engineering, International College of Auckland, 131 Queen Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
c
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan Ikram-Uniten, 43000 Kajang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
d
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Marine soil in the Selangor State of Malaysia was characterized with respect to its engineering properties as
Three point bending pavement layer in road constructions. Samples were collected from North Klang area in Selangor, Malaysia and
Flexural behavior subjected to physico-chemical, mineralogical and geotechnical analyses. Quick lime or calcium oxide (CaO)
Coconut fiber treated coconut fibers were introduced to soil cement mixture to enhance the flexural strength of tropical marine
Load deflection
soil. Three point bending tests were carried out on treated samples after 7, 14 and 28 days respectively. The tests
Tropical marine clay
results showed improvements in the flexural performance of the mixture as it could be seen by the increase in the
Cement treated clay
flexural strength, Young’s modulus and the toughness index especially when the treated fibers were incorporated
into the mixture. It was found that, the bond strength and interaction between treated fibers and soil was the
dominant mechanism controlling the reinforcement benefit. It can be concluded that, the application of the CaO
treated coconut fiber reinforced cement treated marine clay from Peninsular Malaysia is useful both in strength
and ductility as pavement layer in road constructions.

1. Introduction marine clays as a non-conventional construction material have been

The prospects of infrastructural projects have expeditiously ex-
panded around the globe in recent times. Huge demand for usable land
is one of the consequences to execute such developmental projects such
as road construction. As a result of high demand of land, the full uti-
lization of any available land is important; regardless the condition of
the land such as the unsuitability of the land for construction purposes
due to its poor engineering properties (e.g. high compressibility, low
shear strength, uneven distribution of moisture and cracks develop-
ment, among others). As such, engineers have faced considerable
challenges in the constructions of various coastal structures. Large de-
posits of weak tropical marine clays are encountered throughout the
peninsular Malaysia. They are found in Johor, Malacca, Klang, Penang
and Alor Star. The properties of this marine soil depend on its initial
conditions. A comprehensive review of literature indicates that, ex-
tensive amount of work related to the determination of the engineering
behavior of marine soil has been carried out worldwide for the past five
decades. The properties of marine soil vary significantly for moist and
dry soils. In tropical area, the soil has higher proportion of organic
matters that acts as cementing agent [1]. Previous works on the use of
reported. The treatment of the unconfined marine clay by adding sig-
nificant amount of cement has improved its compressive strength [2].
Significant research on strength and stiffness characteristics was per-
formed [3,4]. Also the application of marine clay with palm clinker as
an artificial aggregate has been reported by Chan and Robani [5].
Different materials and construction techniques are required to provide
civil engineers alternatives to traditional road construction practices.
Alternatives to traditional construction materials including stabilization
of local materials and utilization of asphalt/Portland cement concrete
pavement systems are expensive and cost prohibitive for low volume
roads [6]. As such, various construction techniques have been em-
ployed for road construction purposes. Subgrade soil functions princi-
pally to transfer applied loads from pavement to the layer beneath,
therefore it should have a sufficient load carrying capacity. Cement
treatment in soil improves strength as well as stiffness, although it
imparts brittleness in soil. All structural layers in pavement are sub-
jected to tensile (flexural) stresses. As a result, zone tensile stresses
develop in earth structures such as embankments, dams and multilayer
pavements due to flexure. Tensile strength is one of the most important
design parameters to consider when reinforcement materials are

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: vivi.anggraini@monash.edu (V. Anggraini), afshin.asadi@ica.ac.nz (A. Asadi), agusril@uniten.edu.my (A. Syamsir), bujang@upm.my (B.B.K. Huat).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2017.07.045
Received 23 February 2016; Received in revised form 15 May 2017; Accepted 24 July 2017
Available online 25 July 2017
0263-2241/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
V. Anggraini et al.
embedded in the soil [7]. Recently, locally available natural fibers such
as coconut fibers are used as soil reinforcement material due to their
availability, low cost and environmentally friendly nature. Despite
these many advantages of coconut fiber as soil reinforcement [8–11],
some modifications or pre-treatment are always useful to improve the
performance of coconut fibers in soil matrix [12–16]. Alkaline treat-
ment is one such method to improve mechanical properties of natural
fiber used as soil reinforcement in subgrade soils. In this method, a
strong sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is used to remove lignin, hemi-
cellulose and other alkali soluble compounds from the surface of the
fibers in order to increase the number of reactive hydroxyl groups on
the fiber surface to enhance chemical bonding [16–18]. Study by Ra-
mesh et al. [50] mentioned that kerosene, bitumen and varnish were
used to coat the coconut fibers in order to modify the surface of the
fibers. This study is inspired by the idea of treating coconut fiber by
saturating it with lime. In the current study, slaked lime is used to
improve the interfacial bond characteristic of coconut fiber reinforced
cemented soil. Slaking is a process of converting quick lime to hydrated
lime by reacting with water which leads to a better use of lime in pa-
vement stabilization work. Silva et al. [51] indicated that lime treat-
ment was efficient in preserving the cellulose structure of coconut fiber
initially. Cellulose is the main structural constituent of plant fibers, as
such tensile strengths and Young’s modulus increases with increase
cellulose content in plant fibers. This study aims therefore to investigate
the flexural behavior of the cement stabilized tropical marine clay soil
which is reinforced with untreated and treated coconut fibers. Also, the
effect of fibers on the flexural characteristics of the reinforced treated
cement stabilized soil was analyzed.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Raw material
2.1.1. The clays
Tropical marine clay used in the study was collected from North
Klang area in Selangor, Malaysia. The location of the sampling point of
the marine clay at Port Klang, Malaysia is shown in Fig. 1. Clay samples
were collected along seashore in Selangor at the depth of 5 m. A total of
three locations were selected for sampling using trial pit method, the
soil was dark grey in colour containing some organic features like de-
composed decaying organic matters. Samples were bagged, labelled
and transported to the laboratory for studies.
2.1.2. Cement
The cement used in the study was ordinary Portland cement Type 1
obtained from local cement factory. Table 1 summarizes the chemical
and physical properties of the cement.
2.1.3. Coconut fibers
Coconut fibers used in this investigation were brown fibers obtained
from a factory in Batu Pahat, South of Malaysia. Fibers of length 15 mm
and 0.2–0.3 mm in diameter were used in the study (Fig. 2). In addition,
lime was used as treatment materials of coconut fibers. The chemical
composition of quick lime (CaO) used in this study is given in Table 2.
The chemical and physical properties of coconut fibers are given in
Table 3.
The large discrepancies among values reported for tensile strength
of coconut fibers generally present variable and irregular cross-sections
were correlated with their tensile behavior. The differences of cellulose
content of the natural fibers were also affected to the fiber resistance for
each single fiber [11].
2.2. Specimen preparation
2.2.1. Pre-treatment of fiber by lime
The coconut fiber was pre-treated by slaked lime with a
159
Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166
concentration of 0.5 M of CaO in 500 ml aqueous suspension for 24 h
(Fig. 3). The product was saturated in a beaker covered with aluminium
foil and kept for 24 h. After 24 h, the treated fiber was washed and kept
at room temperature for 4 days prior casting.
2.2.2. Standard proctor compaction
The standard proctor compaction test according to ASTM D698-70
was conducted to determine the initial compaction characteristics of
the soil specimen alone, cement and fiber reinforced soil. After the
optimum mix proportion was determined, the specimens were then
prepared in the form of a beam. For plain soil-cement, all mixtures
(cement, clay and water) were mixed in a mixer for 5 min. For fiber
inclusion soil cement, untreated and treated coconut fibers were added
into the fresh soil cement and mixing was continued for another 5 min
until the fibers were distributed thoroughly. Details on mix proportion
and number of specimens are given in Table 4.
2.2.3. Casting of beams
In order to evaluate flexural characteristics of fine-grained soils
subjected to bending conditions, a flexural beam test setup was devel-
oped with beam dimensions of 250 mm in length, 50 mm in width, and
50 mm in depth, respectively (Fig. 4). Several investigators have
maintained a same ratio of length l to breadth b and length l to depth d
in the range of 4–5 [19–23]. Compaction was carried out using a
rammer of 50 mm in diameter and 2.5kg in weight, falling freely from a
height of 300 mm above the surface. This standard compaction ad-
vocated the beams being constructed in four layers of 25 mm thickness,
each layer imparted with 100 evenly distributed blows. The specimens
were removed after 24 h and wrapped with plastic sheets for 7, 14 and
28 days prior the test date (Fig. 5). Out of the many beams tested, the
behavior of 36 selected samples was considered in this paper including
both unreinforced and reinforced clay beams.
2.2.4. Flexural strength test
The three point bending test (flexural) was conducted on soil beam
specimens. The ASTM D1609 was used as a reference in order to de-
termine a testing procedure. A flexural beam test setup was developed
with clay beam dimensions having 250 mm in length, 50 mm in width,
and 50 mm in depth were vertically loaded at the middle on two simple
supports until failure. The loading rate of 0.1 mm/min at room tem-
perature and in normal humidity conditions was subjected to the spe-
cimens. The specimen was placed onto two supports with a 130 mm
span length. The flexural stress for square section of the outer layer of
the specimen was calculated. The deflection measurement in three
point tests is measured using the machine’s crosshead position sensor (a
digital encoder). Results from the load-deflection curves are used for
calculating value such as flexural strength test using this equation.
3PL
FS =
2BH 2 (1)
where FS is flexural strength or modulus of rupture (MPa), P is the
breaking load (N), L is the span of the simple supports (mm), B is the
width of the specimen (mm) and H is the thickness of the specimen
(mm).
Young’s modulus can be obtained from:
PL3
E=
4ΔBH 3 (2)
where E is modulus elasticity (MPa), P is the breaking load (N), L is the
span of the simple supports (mm), B is the width of the specimen (mm),
H is the thickness of the specimen (mm) and Δ is deflection of beam
(mm).
Evaluation of toughness indices of cemented soil was referred to
ASTMC1018. The evaluation method based on ASTM C1018 is a fre-
quently-used approach to determine flexural toughness of fiber re-
inforced concrete. In this evaluation method, 4 flexural toughness
V. Anggraini et al. Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166

Fig. 1. (a) The location of the sampling point of

(a) (b) the marine clay at Port Klang, Malaysia, (b)
marine clay underneath road fill, and (c) depth of
Road fill marine clay sampling.

Marine Clay

(c)

5m

Table 1 Table 3
Chemical and Physical properties of cement used in this study. The chemical and physical analysis of coconut fiber.

Chemical composition (%) Physical properties Basic properties Values

SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 K2 O Na2O LOI S.G Fineness Chemical analysis
(m2/kg) Lignin (%) 45.84
Cellulose (%) 43.44
18.3 5.00 2.7 60.1 1.15 3.21 0.08 0.00 7.22 3.09 355 Water soluble (%) 05.25
Ash (%) 02.22
CEC (meq/100 g) 40–60
EC (mS/cm) 4–6

Physical analysis
Length (cm) 13–15
Density (g/cm3) 1.40
Breaking elongation (%) 30
Diameter (mm) 0.2–0.3
Tensile strength (MPa) 90–150

indices (I5, I10, I20, I30) were used to evaluate the flexural toughness.
Fig. 6 shows the typical relational curve of the vertical load and the mid
span deflection (PV-δ) of flexural toughness test. Fig. 6 also illustrates
the calculation of flexural toughness parameters of ASTM method.
When the first crack appeared, the mid-span deflection of the beam
Fig. 2. Short coconut fiber. specimen was defined as δ0. The flexural toughness indices I5, I10, I20,
and I30 can be calculated as follows

A1 + A2
I5 = A1
A1 + A2 + A3
Table 2 I10 = A1
The chemical composition of Calcium Oxide (CaO). A1 + A2 + A3 + A 4
I20 = A1
Element Content (%) A1 + A2 + A3 + A 4 + A5
I30 = A1 (3)
Calcium 71.48
Oxygen 28.51 where I5, I10, I20, and I30 are flexural toughness indices; A1, the first
crack area, which is the area above the axis of mid-span deflection and

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V. Anggraini et al. Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166

Fig. 3. Coconut fiber treatment.

Quick lime

Short coconut fiber

Product was
saturated of 0.5M
,500 ml in aqueous
suspension at 40°C

Dry treated coconut fiber

Soaked for 24 hours
as soil reinforcement

Table 4
Details on mix proportion of cement and fiber reinforced soil.

Mix design code Cement (%) Fiber (%) Proportion No.of specimens Test Standard

S – – – 9 Three-point bending (7, 14 and 28 days) ASTM C1609

SC 10 – – 9
SC-UF 10 1 Untreated fiber 9
SC-TF 10 1 Treated fiber 9

Abbreviations: S: Soil; SC: Soil and cement; SC-UF: Soil – cement-untreated fiber; SC-TF: Soil-cement-treated fiber.

under the curve with the mid-span deflection being equal to δ0;
(A1 + A2) is the area above the axis of mid-span deflection and under
the curve with the mid-span deflection being equal to 3δ0;
(A1 + A2 + A3) is the total area above the axis of mid-span deflection
and under the curve with the mid-span deflection being equal to 5.5δ0;
(A1 + A2 + A3 + A4) is the total area above the axis of mid-span de-
flection and under the curve with the mid span deflection being equal to
10.5δ0; (A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 + A5) is the total area above the axis of
mid-span deflection and under the curve with the mid-span deflection
being equal to 15.5δ0.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Characteristics of tropical Klang marine clay
Table 5 shows the basic geotechnical properties of the tropical
marine clay.
Fig. 5. Specimens wrapped in plastic sheet (28 days curing).
The marine clay soil is classifies as clay of high plasticity (CH). The
soils were classified according to British Standard (BS) and American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

Fig. 4. Compacting beam.

50 mm Handle

Dopping
250 mm weight

Rammer for
compaction

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V. Anggraini et al. Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166

1.6
OMC Untreated
1.4
fibres

Flexural strength (MPa)

1.2 Treated fibres
Vertical Load (kN)

1
0.8
0.6

A A2 A3 A4 A5 0.4
0.2
0 δ0 3δ0 5.5δ 0 10.5δ0 15.5δ0
Midspan deflection (mm) 0
22.5 25 27.5 30 32.5 35
Fig. 6. Calculation diagram for flexural toughness.
Moisture content (%)

Table 5 Fig. 7. Variation of flexural strength with moisture content.

Geotechnical properties of the tropical marine clay used for this study.
is as result of the leaching of salts [33,34] and thus the salinity of the
Parameters Values soils should be taken into account as well. Other mineral detected was
Natural moisture content (%) 98–103 quartz (mainly consist of SiO2) which in fine state does react with
Specific Gravity (Gs) 2.55–2.67 quicklime [31]. These type of minerals were also found in other marine
Unit weight (kN/m3) 14–16 clay [25,29,35,36].
Particle Size distribution (%) 5–20 sand
20–35 silt
m35–60 clay
3.2. Variation of flexural strength with moisture content of untreated and
Activity 0.875–1.25 treated coconut fibers
Liquid Limit, wL (%) 61.5–90
Plastic Limit, wP (%) 35–51 The variation of the computed flexural strength with moisture
Plasticity Index, IP (%) 26–49
content is given in Fig. 7. The maximum flexural strength was achieved
Salinity (dS m−1) 1.3–1.7
Organic Content (%) 5–6 at or close to the optimum moisture content (OMC) with a significant
pH 7–7.8 decline in strength on either side of the OMC. With the introduction of
XRD analysis Kaolinite, illite, Montmorillonite, Halloysite, treated coconut fiber, an increase in flexural strength in order of
Quartz. 1.3 MPa (44%) was achieved at the optimum moisture content. At in-
creasing moisture content, the difference between the treated and un-
treated fibers that reinforced cemented soil samples tends to decrease; it
Table 6
The summary of marine soft clay according to BS and AASHTO soil classification system.
implied that, the role of coconut fiber was limited at water contents
greater than the OMC.
Classification Results Standard Type of soil
3.3. Load deflection response
British classification CH BS 5930 High plasticity clay
AASHTO A-7-6 ASTM D3282 Clayey soil
Typical flexural load versus deflection curves of stabilized samples
of marine soils at different curing ages are presented in Fig. 8. For soil-
(Table 6). cement (SC), the load was found to increase linearly with increasing
From the table, it shows that the marine clay samples were domi- deflection from the beginning up to the peak load, after that a sharp
nated by clay fraction (35–60%) followed by silt fraction (25–35%). drop load indicating the brittleness was observed (especially at 14 and
Sand fraction in marine clay samples ranged between 5% and 20%. 28 days). This sharp drop showed the brittleness of the SC. Unlike SC,
Shell fragments were also commonly found in the marine clays samples. untreated and treated coconut fiber reinforced soil prior to the peak, the
The presence of higher clay and silt fractions is a characteristic of the cracks began to initiate and quickly became localized at the peak. This
typical muddy coastal beach of peninsular Malaysia [24–26]. caused the matrix to fail. As the fibers began to take over, the load
The wL values ranged from 61.5% to 90% while wp values were started to increase again. For fiber inclusion, the fiber bridging effect
between 35% and 51%. The plasticity index, Ip ranged from 26% to helped to control the rate of energy release. Thus, soil cement-untreated
49%. The ratio between plastic limit and liquid limit of the samples fiber (SC-UF) and soil cement-treated fiber (SC-TF) maintained its
ranged between 0.4 and 0.6; these values typically reflect marine clay ability to carry load after the peak. However, this also depended on
from around the world [25,27–30]. treated and untreated fiber. In this case, treated fiber performed better
The value of Gs ranged between 2.5 and 2.6. The pH test showed than untreated fibers.
that the samples were slightly alkaline with values ranging from 7 to
7.8. These values of Gs and pH were also similar to the marine clay 3.4. Effect of untreated and treated coconut fiber on flexural behavior of
deposit studied by Rao et al. [32], Tan et al. [29], and Rahman et al. cemented soil
[25]. Loss on ignition (LOI) value for organic content in marine clay
samples was low, ranging from 5% to 6%. Tan et al. [29] and Rahman The flexural properties of untreated and treated fibers of the ce-
et al. [25] stated that the organic content of Singapore and Malaysia mented marine clay have been investigated by carrying out flexural
sedimentary deposit marine clay is around 3%, with moderate contents strength test using simple beam test with third point loading.
of quartz, illite and hallite. The activity of the Klang marine clay was In order to identify the effect of fiber inclusion on flexural behavior
low and ranged from 0.8 to 1.25. The activity of the clay and other characteristics, the strength and young’s modulus evolution of each
minerals in the material mainly affects the plasticity of fine-grained curing time have been shown in Figs. 9and 10.
sediments [31,32]. A previous survey on geotechnical properties of Inclusion of fibers to specimens changed the flexural behavior
Norwegian marine clays showed that the high sensitivity of marine clay considerably. It did not only give high flexural strength value but also

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V. Anggraini et al. Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166

0.8 50
(a) 7 days S
0.7 45

Young's modulus (MPa)

SC 40
0.6
SC-UF 35
0.5 S
Load (kN)

30
SC-TF
0.4 25 SC
20
0.3 SC-UF
15
0.2 10 SC-TF
5
0.1
0
0 7 14 28
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Curing time (days)
Deflection (mm) Fig. 10. Young’s modulus of unreinforced and reinforced soil at different curing time.

0.8 treated fiber reinforced cemented soil found in various curing ages (7,
0.7
(b) 14 days S 14 and 28 days) were 0.67, 0.96 and 1.2 MPa respectively. Maximum
SC flexural strength for the soil was 0.27 MPa, for the soil-cement re-
0.6 inforced soil composites were 0.31, 0.45 and 0.67 MPa respectively and
SC-UF
for untreated fiber reinforced cemented soil were 0.54, 0.73 and
Load (kN)

0.5
SC-TF
0.4 0.9 MPa respectively.
0.3
In Fig. 10 the highest modulus of elasticity values were 25, 37 and
48 MPa at 7, 14 and 28 curing days respectively belonging to the spe-
0.2
cimens containing treated coconut fibers reinforced cemented soil. For
0.1 the untreated fiber reinforced cemented soil, the young’s modulus of
0 the specimens was enhanced and reached strength of just 19, 25 and
0 2 4 6 8 35 MPa at 7, 14 and 28 curing days respectively. Treated fibers re-
Deflection (mm) inforced cemented soil led to an approximate 40%, increase in modulus
of elasticity compared to untreated fibers.

0.8
(c) 28 days S 3.5. Flexural toughness indices
0.7
SC
0.6 Fig. 11 shows the variation of flexural toughness indices (I5, I10, I20,
SC-UF
0.5 I30) of the high performance cemented soil containing untreated and
Load (kN)

SC-TF treated coconut fiber content at 7, 14, and 28 days of curing. As seen
0.4
from the figure, the inclusion of treated coconut fiber had a significant
0.3 effect on flexural toughness indices at all curing ages. With the ex-
0.2
istence of treated coconut fibers, the external load could be transferred
to the coconut fibers through the interfacial bonding between the fibers
0.1 and cemented soil matrix. Untreated and treated coconut fibers were
0 able to restrain the crack propagation and traverse across the cracks to
0 2 4 6 8 transfer internal force, and the coconut fibers and the cemented soil
Deflection (mm) matrix would bear the load. The toughness of SC-UF and SC-TF at a
deflection of δ0 (I5) depended primarily on the energy absorption
Fig. 8. Load-deflection behavior of unreinforced and reinforced clay beams at (a) 7 days,
ability of the matrix (cementation bond and the interfacial of lime
(b) 14 days, and (c) 28 days.
treated coconut fiber), since the fiber reinforcement could not be fully
mobilized at a very small deflection [37]. Furthermore, the highest
1.4 performance of reinforcing fibers untreated and treated with lime was
1.2 expected, hence the significant increase of toughness occurred. SC-TF
Flexural Strength (MPa)

was ideal elastoplastic material since the values of I5, I10, I20, and I30
1
were 5, 10, 15, and 30, respectively at all curing ages. The higher values
S
0.8 of I5, I10, I20, and I30 from SC-TF indicated that the SC-TF had much
0.6
SC better flexural toughness.
SC-UF
0.4
SC-TF 3.6. Effect of coconut fibers on flexural cracks of unreinforced and
0.2 reinforced clay beams
0
7 14 28 Fig. 12 shows typical crack patterns of specimens at three-point
Curing time (days) bending test at 28 day testing. When clay beam was subjected to flex-
ural loading, just as concrete, there was tendency for flexural stress to
Fig. 9. Flexural strength of unreinforced and reinforced soil at different curing time.
develop which had the potential to initiate cracks when the soil car-
rying capacity was exceeded. During flexural loading of the reinforced
improved their stiffness. As it can be seen, the flexural strength of lime
soil, it was evident that untreated and treated coconut fiber reinforce-
treated fibers was more than untreated fiber, cement reinforced soil,
ment that directly affected the flexural cracks developed. As it can be
soil cement and soil alone. The enhancement of flexural strength of the
seen from the Fig. 12, fiber reinforced and unreinforced soil specimens

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V. Anggraini et al. Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166

7.5 30 Fig. 11. Effect of coconut fiber treatment in cemented

soil.
25

Toughness Index (I10)

7
Toughness Index (I5)

20
6.5 S
S 15
SC
6 SC
10
SC-UF
SC-UF
5.5 5 SC-TF
SC-TF
0
5 0 7 14 21 28
0 7 14 21 28 Curing Ɵme (days)
Curing Ɵme (days)

50 70

Toughness Index (I30)

Toughness Index (I20)

60
40
50
30 SC 40 S

SC-UF 30 SC
20
20
SC-TF SC-UF
10 10
S SC-TF
0
0
0 7 14 21 28
0 7 14 21 28
Curing Ɵme (days)
Curing Ɵme (days)

showed to have a reinforcing effect which is well-illustrated in the
failure mode. On the visual observation, cracks were initiated from
tension zone (top of the beam), where the bending moment was sus-
pected to be higher and progressive towards compression zone (top of
beam), which means zero bending moment. However, the crack was
more pronounced in the natural soil (S). Unreinforced soil specimens
(SC) experienced a more sudden rupture and had a more brittle beha-
vior which may correspond to the brittle behavior of the hardened
cement. As it can be seen from the figures, the crack reduced as the
untreated and treated fibers were included. The interpretation of this
behavior could be attributed to the presence of coconut fiber which
prevented progression of cracks due to cracks arresting, crack thinning
and cracks bridging effect of coconut fibers. The untreated or treated
coconut fiber was suspected to play crucial role in arresting crack for-
mation and progression.
A good understanding of ion exchange process and lime effect ex-
plained the underlying reasons of the load-deflection behavior of re-
inforced clay beam using lime treated fiber. The combined effects of
fiber and cement inclusions on the flexural behavior of soil have been
reported in several studies [37–40]. The results indicated that fiber
plays a more important role in cemented soil than it does in un-
cemented soil. The bridge effect of fiber can efficiently impede the
further development of tension cracks and deformation of the soil. Bond
strength and friction at the interface are reported to be the dominant
mechanisms controlling the reinforcement benefit [38,39,41,42]. In
this study, this bond strength increased further due to the following

Fig. 12. Crack development in coconut fiber reinforced clay

S SC beam under flexural loading at 28 days.

SC-UF SC-TF

164
V. Anggraini et al.
mechanisms. Coconut fiber has a negatively charged complex [43–47].
The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the coconut fiber was 40–60
meq/100 g (see Table 5). The coconut fiber had an electrical con-
ductivity of 4–6 mS/cm and naturally contains large amounts of po-
tassium and sodium ions, which have potential to participate in ion
exchange process with any cation with a valance higher than sodium/
potassium [47]. During the treatment, coconut fiber cation exchange
complex was saturated with slaked lime for the extended period.
Therefore, the absorbed calcium displaced the residual such as po-
tassium and sodium in the complex, which was washed away. Calcium
was attracted to the surface of fiber with higher strength due to the
presence of a higher valance of charge. Since the cation exchange ca-
pacity (CEC) of the coconut fiber was reasonably high, the role of cal-
cium ions in ion exchange mechanism could result in Portlandite crystal
growth on the surface of the fiber [43,44,48,49]. Calcium complexes on
the surface of fiber form as a gel (i.e. calcium hydroxide and calcium
silicate hydrate). They may coat fibers as the chemical processes
moving toward the crystallisation (cementitious) stage as they form
hydrates at later ages of treatment when fiber is in soil matrix. There-
fore, the interface bonding between fiber surface and soil particles was
further improved by the presence of calcium hydroxide and calcium
silicate hydrate gels in lime treatment process.
4. Conclusions
The study investigated the engineering properties of marine clay soil
as pavement layer in road constructions. Marine clay deposits of the
peninsular Malaysia were employed for the testing. The inclusion of
untreated and treated coconut fibers into soil cement in addition to the
increase of curing periods enhance the flexural strength, young’s
modulus and toughness index values. As such, the treated marine clay
soil improved the properties of the matrix composite especially in
flexural strength. Therefore, treated marine clay soil can serve as a
potential raw material treatment in road constructions. The structural
ability depends on the modifications that were made to the coconut
fibers. It was found that, the flexural behavior characteristics of treated
coconut fibers increase considerably compared to untreated coconut
fibers. Thus, this proposed treatment also showed the ability to resist
flexural stress and tension of the fibers reinforced cemented marine
clay.
The inclusion of lime treated coconut fibers improve stiffness of the
cemented soil and cause an increase of approximately 100% in elastic
modulus of the specimens. An increase in strength was observed when
the lime treated coconut fiber was blended with marine clay soil of high
salinity. This indicates that, the flexural rigidity of the treated coir fiber
in cemented soil increased in salt water. In addition, coconut fibers of
length 1 cm increased the flexural strength of the composites. As a re-
sult, the coir fiber treatment changed the cemented soil’s brittle beha-
vior to a more ductile one. Consequently, flexural cracks were also
reduced with an inclusion of treated coconut fiber. Thus, treated co-
conut fiber played substantial role in limiting the flexural crack for-
mation and propagation at every stage of crack formation. In conclu-
sion, the application of the quick lime (CaO) treated coconut fiber
reinforced cement treated marine clay from Peninsular Malaysia is
useful both in strength and ductility of the stabilized marine clay as
pavement layer in road constructions.
Recommendations
From the study it is recommended that, the curing time should be
increase (> 60 days) in order to investigate the effectiveness of longer
design life and the stiffness of cemented marine soil reinforced with
coconut fibers in the coastal environment. Therefore the strength evo-
lution of treated fibers reinforced cemented clay can be perceived as
future trend techniques in the engineering application.
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Measurement 111 (2017) 158–166
Acknowledgement
The financial support from the Research Management Center (RMC)
of the Universiti Putra Malaysia under RUGS (No. 05-02-12-1890RU)
“Development and optimisation of using treated coconut fibre as earth
platform in soft soil” is gratefully acknowledged.
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