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Coconut fibre-reinforced cement-stabilized rammed earth blocks

Article  in  World Journal of Engineering · March 2017

DOI: 10.1108/WJE-10-2016-0101

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 Coconut fibre-reinforced cement-stabilized
rammed earth blocks
Shubham Raj, Sher Mohammad, Rima Das and Shreya Saha
Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Agartala, Agartala, India

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to investigate the optimum proportion of coconut fibre and cement suitable for rammed earth wall construction. Coconut
fibres and cement can be easily incorporated into the soil mixture which adds strength and durability to the wall. This paper highlights the salient
observations from a systematic investigation on the effect of coconut fibre on the performance of stabilized rammed earth blocks.
Design/methodology/approach – Stabilization of soil was done by adding Ordinary Portland Cement (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 per cent by weight
of soil), whereas coconut fibre in length about 15 mm was added (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 per cent by weight of soil) as reinforcement. Thirty types
of mixes were created by adding different proportions of cement and fibre to locally available soil and compacting the mix at constant compaction
energy in three layers with Proctor rammer.
Findings – Samples were tested for compressive strength and tensile strength, and failure patterns were analysed. The use of cement and fibre
increases ultimate strengths significantly up to an optimum limit of 0.8 per cent fibre content, provides a secondary benefit of keeping material bound
together after failure and increases residual strength. Benefits of fibre reinforcement includes both improved ductility in comparison with raw blocks
and inhibition of crack propagation after its initial formation.
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Originality/value – After analysing the results, it is recommended to use 0.8 per cent fibre and 5-10 per cent cement by weight of soil to achieve
considerable strength. This research may add a value in the areas of green and sustainable housing, waste utilization, etc.
Keywords Tensile strength, Coconut fibre, Compressive strength, Rammed earth, Residual moisture content, Stabilized blocks
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction cement and lime in low proportions. Burroughs (2008)

recommended concerning ranges of soil properties for
Rammed earth has evolved as a versatile medium of
stabilization: clay/silt 21-35 per cent; gravel 13-62 per cent;
commercial and domestic building construction, catering a
sand 30-70 per cent; LL ⱕ 35 per cent; PL 16-19 per cent;
healthy and safe environment. Rammed earth is highly
PI ⬍ 15 per cent; and LS ⬍ 6 per cent. The suitability of soil
approachable for the benefits it provides in terms of
as rammed earth as assessed by scholars (King, 1996) states
temperature and noise control, strength, durability, low
that the soil with high organic content is unsuitable for
maintenance, fire proofing and, most importantly, as a
construction, as it biodegrades and results in more water
superior thermal mass (Miller and Miller, 1980; Simenson,
consumptions. Also, as stated by a researcher (Arora, 2009),
2013). Rammed earth blocks are made by ramming the mass
granular soils with sufficient fines are ideally suited for cement
of soil. The suitability of soil as rammed earth is neither
stabilization. Middleton (1992), NZS 4298 (New Zealand
exactly described nor has any standard consideration.
Standard, 1998) and SA (Standards Australia, 2002)
Different scholars and researchers consider different
recommends design values for unconfined compressive
parameters to judge whether a soil is suitable for rammed
strength of 0.5, 0.7 and 0.4-0.6 MPa, respectively, for earthen
earth construction or not. There is a wide range of values of
blocks. IS 2110 (Indian Standard, 1998) specifies the values
clay, silt, sand and gravel for a soil to be used for rammed
to be not less than 1.4 MPa.
earth construction. There is also a wide range for Atterberg’s
Natural fibres are being used since prehistoric times in
limits (LL: 25-49 per cent; PI: 2-30) and density achieved
earthen construction to improve the reduction of shrinkage
(1.7-2.16 g/cc). Most of the studies did not differentiate
cracking, tensile strength, durability and ductility in tension
whether it is dry density or bulk density with some moisture in
(Oliver and Gharbi, 1995; Morel et al., 2000; Binici et al.,
it, though density is an important factor governing higher
2005, 2007, 2009). Coconut fibre (scientific name: Cocos
strength in rammed earth construction (Tripura and Singh,
nucifera) extracted from the outer shell of coconut acts as an
2014). The raw soil blocks, even rammed earth blocks, do not
excellent structural member along with being moth proof,
meet the strength criteria. But their mechanical properties can
resistant to fungi, unaffected by moisture and dampness,
be improved to a great extent by using stabilizers such as
tough and durable. According to the official website of
International Year for Natural Fibres 2009, approximately
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on 500,000 tonnes of coconut fibres are produced annually
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1708-5284.htm worldwide, mainly in India and Sri Lanka. Its total value is

World Journal of Engineering

14/3 (2017) 208 –216 Received 4 October 2016
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1708-5284] Revised 19 October 2016
[DOI 10.1108/WJE-10-2016-0101] Accepted 21 October 2016

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Shubham Raj et al. Volume 14 · Number 3 · 2017 · 208 –216

estimated at $100m. India and Sri Lanka are also the main
exporters, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and
Indonesia. Around half of the coconut fibres produced are
exported in the form of raw fibre (Ali, 2010). Thus, using
coconut fibre as reinforcement in rammed earth construction
will not only provide strength and durability to the structure
but will also serve as a major step towards waste utilization.
Coconut fibres contain cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin as
major composition. These compositions affect the different
properties of coconut fibres. The pre-treatment of fibres
changes the composition and ultimately changes not only its
properties but also the properties of composites. Sometimes it
improves the behaviour of fibres but sometimes its effect is not
favourable. Das Gupta et al. (1978, 1979) studied the
behaviour of cement paste mixed with different lengths and
volume fractions of coconut fibre. The researcher concluded
that the maximum tensile strength and modulus of rupture of
cement paste composite increased up to a certain length and
volume fraction of coconut fibre and further increased in
length, or volume fraction decreased the strength and
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Cement in low percentage and randomly mixing coconut
fibres which are cheaper and locally available.
3. Materials
3.1 Soil
The soil sample was taken from a depth of 0.5 to 1 m from the
National Institute of Technology Agartala campus, India. The
soil sample was tested for its different index and mechanical
properties. All tests were performed as per Indian Standard
guidelines. The properties of soil used are as summarized in
Table I.
3.2 Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement of grade 43 confirming IS 8112
(Indian Standard, 2005) was used as a stabilizer throughout
the test program. Various materials can be used as stabilizers
such as lime, cement, etc. The authors have chosen to use

modulus of rupture. The researcher obtained better cement as a stabilizer as the soil contains very less amount of
mechanical properties with 4 per cent volume fraction of 38 clay, and most of the researchers prefer to use cement in low
mm length coconut fibre. Li et al. (2006) studied untreated proportion as stabilizers for the soil. Cement as compared to
coconut fibres in cementitious composites as reinforcement. lime provides better strength and bonding.
The resulting mortar had better flexural strength, higher
energy absorbing ability and ductility and lighter than the
conventional mortar. Better results were achieved with the 3.3 Coconut fibre
addition of a low percentage of coconut fibres and chemical Coconut fibre or coir was obtained from a local market in
agents in cementitious matrix. In the present study, the Agartala city, India. The fibres were fresh and free from dust
authors have attempted to improve the engineering properties
and pests. Average diameter of fibre used was approximately
of soil by using cement as a stabilizer and coconut fibre as
0.2 mm and these were cut into pieces of 15 mm. The authors
reinforcement in varying proportions.
chose this specific length of coir after going through several
research papers. Researchers (Babu and Vasudevan, 2008)
who studied the behaviour of coir fibre of varying length on
2. Research significance
strength concluded that the maximum strength improvement
Affordable housing is a primary need of the hour in today’s was observed by reinforcing soil with fibre of length 15 mm.
world. In developing countries such as India, nearly 70 per Some basic physical properties of coconut fibre were tested by
cent of its population live in rural areas (Census Report of the authors, and remaining properties could not be tested
India, 2011). Their income does not permit them to have because of limited facility, but were studied from other similar
houses made of modern and expensive building materials research papers. The physical and mechanical properties of
such as cement, concrete and steel bar reinforcement and to coconut fibre are summarized in Table II. Chemical
be equipped with modern technologies. Again, a big part of
composition of coconut fibre was studied by Corradini et al.
India is earthquake prone, especially the North-Eastern
(2006) in detail. Similar result is obtained by Coir Board,
Region which comes under zone v. The area which the
Ministry of MSME, Government of India. The results are
authors are studying in the present research, Tripura, is an
shown in Table III.
earthquake prone region, and a larger part of its population,
that is about 6.3 lakhs, is living below the poverty line
(Planning Commission of India Report, 2009-2010). Table I Properties of soil used
Conventional building materials here are much more costly
Property Parameters Values
which ultimately adds to the poverty of people residing in
this part of the country. The mud houses here made with Grain size Sand 78.1%
traditional methods are liable to severe damages even under distribution Silt 12.8%
moderate earthquake. Also, the life span of these houses are Clay 9.1%
not quite satisfactory. This paper is a little effort towards Atterberg’s limits Liquid limit, LL 31.1%
solving these problems, especially for North East Region, Plastic limit, PL 21.9%
Tripura, India. The paper shows that how a little Plasticity index, PI 9.2%
modification in raw soil proves it to be a much effective Proctor test Maximum dry density, MDD 1.72g/cc
building material. The authors in this research have Optimum moisture content, OMC 19%
proposed a method for strength improvement of locally Particle density Specific gravity 2.61
available soil by stabilizing it with Ordinary Portland

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Table II Physical and mechanical properties of the fibre used

Properties Length of single fibre (mm) Diameter (mm) Density (g/cc) Tensile strength (MPa) Elastic modulus (GPa)
Value 150-200 0.1-0.3 1.36 174 16-26
Reference Tested Tested Tested Reis (2006) Reis (2006)

Table III Chemical composition of the coconut fibre Figure 1 Compaction curve of the soil used for this study
Cellulose Hemi-cellulose Lignin 1.74
Reference (%) (%) (%)
1.72
Corradini et al. (2006) 36-43 0.15-0.25 41-45 1.7

Dry density in g/cc

Coir Board (Government
of India) 43.44 0.25 45.84 1.68

1.66

1.64
4. Method
1.62
4.1 Determination of optimum moisture content and
1.6
maximum dry density
Proctor test is one of the most important tests for soil and soil 1.58
12 14 16 18 20 22 24
composites. Optimum moisture content (OMC) is the water
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Moisture content in %
content in a soil sample for which it achieves maximum
compaction, that is, maximum dry density. Maximum dry
category of fibre content, rammed earth blocks were produced
density is that state of sample when it is most dense and has
in sub-categories of varying cement content (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and
minimum air void. Bahar et al. (2004) obtained OMC about
10 per cent) by weight of dry soil. The soil was thoroughly
9.5-11.0 per cent and dry density about 2.0 g/cc with this
mixed with the required proportions of cement and fibre and
moisture content. The researchers concluded that if too little
followed by the addition of the requisite amount of water as
water is present, the soil cannot achieve the same level of
determined from the OMC, to produce three samples of each
compaction because of greater degree of friction between the
category. The coconut fibre was randomly mixed with dry soil
soil particles, and if too much water is present, then capillary
cement. The authors observed that soil cement formed lumps
water occupies the soil pore spaces, reducing the level of
with fibre which was again and again separated by pulling
achievable compaction and increasing the level of porosity
fibres apart and mixed properly to obtain an almost
when the wall has dried. In the present study, the standard
homogeneous mix. Lubrication with grease was provided on
Proctor test was performed as per the guidelines of IS 2720
the inner surface of the mould to ensure prevention of damage
Part 7 (Indian Standard, 1980). The laboratory test consists of
while demoulding. The moistened soil was compacted in three
compacting soil at known moisture content into a cylindrical
separate layers, each covering about one-third of the height of
mould of standard dimensions using a compactive effort of
the mould after being compacted. Standard Proctor rammer
controlled magnitude. The soil is usually compacted into the
of weight 2.5 kg and a flat steel plate of dimensions 90 ⫻ 90
mould to a certain amount of equal layers, each receiving a
⫻ 6 mm was adopted throughout the production to achieve
number of blows from a standard weighted hammer at a
the required uniform compaction. The cube blocks were
specified height. This process is then repeated for various
demoulded after 24 h and specimens having cement were
moisture contents and the dry densities are determined for
placed under damped gunny bags for curing for a period of 28
each. The graphical relationship of the dry density to moisture
days, and the rest of the blocks were kept for drying in shade
content is then plotted to establish the compaction curve. The
at room temperature. Rammed earth blocks were produced in
maximum dry density is finally obtained from the peak point
30 categories of varying cement and fibre content to study the
of the compaction curve, and its corresponding moisture
effect of coconut fibre-reinforced cement-stabilized rammed
content is known as the optimum moisture content. The
earth blocks on compressive strength, and four categories of
compaction curve for the Proctor test conducted on locally
blocks to study the effect on split tensile strength. In the
available soil used for this study is shown in Figure 1.
present study, a total of 102 test blocks were casted and tested.
4.2 Production of test samples
Test samples were produced in steel moulds of dimensions
5. Results and discussions
100 mm ⫻ 100 mm ⫻ 100 mm. The compaction energy for In the present study, raw soil was added with varying
production of rammed earth blocks was kept constant as that proportions of cement as a stabilizer and coconut fibre as
for the standard Proctor test. All the test samples were reinforcement. A detailed study was conducted to analyse the
produced at water content 1 to 2 per cent more than optimum behaviour of the mix on density, unconfined compressive
moisture content (OMC). Freitag, 1986 observed that the strength and split tensile strength.
reinforced soil compacted on the wet side of OMC yields
higher strength. The rammed earth block production was 5.1 Unconfined compressive strength test
conducted in categories for varying fibre content (0, 0.2, 0.4, The results obtained from the unconfined compressive
0.6, 0.8 and 1 per cent) by weight of dry soil. For each strength test are summarized in Table IV.

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Table IV Results obtained from the unconfined compressive strength test

Fibre content Cement Unconfined compressive Density Residual moisture Dry density
in % content in % strength in MPa in g/cc content in % in g/cc
0 0 1.21 1.73 2.41 1.69
0 2.5 1.04 1.74 2.43 1.70
0 5 3.38 1.76 5.43 1.67
0 7.5 5.13 1.85 9.19 1.70
0 10 8.87 1.93 10.67 1.75
0.2 0 1.48 1.80 2.85 1.75
0.2 2.5 1.55 1.81 3.30 1.75
0.2 5 3.79 1.87 6.31 1.76
0.2 7.5 4.62 1.87 7.72 1.74
0.2 10 6.44 1.89 8.45 1.74
0.4 0 1.69 1.74 1.12 1.72
0.4 2.5 1.94 1.81 3.3 1.75
0.4 5 4.21 1.83 2.68 1.79
0.4 7.5 6.07 1.87 6.16 1.76
0.4 10 9.52 1.93 8.87 1.77
0.6 0 1.96 1.73 2.13 1.69
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0.6 2.5 2.11 1.77 2.59 1.73

0.6 5 5.10 1.81 3.50 1.75
0.6 7.5 7.65 1.85 6.94 1.73
0.6 10 10.09 1.93 11.46 1.73
0.8 0 2.26 1.72 2.26 1.69
0.8 2.5 2.34 1.78 2.34 1.74
0.8 5 5.55 1.81 3.33 1.75
0.8 7.5 8.09 1.84 4.97 1.75
0.8 10 10.42 1.91 8.31 1.76
1 0 2.07 1.70 2.07 1.66
1 2.5 1.7 1.67 1.54 1.64
1 5 4.70 1.79 2.70 1.74
1 7.5 6.26 1.84 11.15 1.66
1 10 9.57 1.90 11.63 1.70

5.1.1 Density The authors observed a decreasing relationship between

The density of rammed earth blocks varied in the range of
1.67-1.94 g/cc. A similar result was obtained by Tripura and
Singh (2014), where the density of rammed earth blocks
varied between 1.66 and 2.0 g/cc. According to Jagadish
(2007), the density of stabilized mud blocks should be in the
range of 1.8-1.85 g/cc. As the cement content increases from
0 to 10 per cent, density increases for a constant fibre content.
The variation is as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Variation of density with cement content
1.95
1.9
DENSITY IN g/cc
density and varying fibre content. This irregular decrease of
density can be attributed to the resistance produced by
reinforcement during compaction. A similar result was
obtained by Hoare (1978), in which he noted that for same
compactive effort, the reinforcement produces a resistance
to compaction and hence density decreases. The trend of
variation of density with varying fibre content is as shown in
Figure 3.
5.1.2 Moisture content and dry density
According to Simenson (2013), it is desirable to moist-cure
soil-cement blocks, and thus, curing was done by sprinkling
water on damped gunny bags. Hence, the blocks were cured at
a moisture content much higher than optimum moisture
content. After curing for 28 days, all cement-stabilized blocks

1.85 0% FIBRE
0.2% FIBRE
were dried for ten days prior to testing. At the time of testing,
1.8 the authors observed that cement-stabilized blocks having
0.4% FIBRE

1.75 0.6% FIBRE

higher cement content showed an increased residual moisture
0.8% FIBRE
content after the same period of curing and drying. The
1.7 increased residual moisture content for increasing cement
1% FIBRE

1.65
content for the same period of drying is quite normal, because
0 2 4 6 8 10 on increasing the cement content, the micro capillary rates
CEMENT CONTENT IN % increase and permeability decreases, and this tends to slow the

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 Cement-stabilized rammed earth blocks
Shubham Raj et al.
Figure 3 Variation of density with fibre content
1.95
1.9
1.85
Density in g/cc
0% CEMENT
1.8 2.5% CEMENT
5% CEMENT
1.75 7.5% CEMENT
10% CEMENT
1.7
1.65
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Fibre content in %
process of evacuation of water during the drying process. As
per the investigations of ACI Materials Journal Committee
(1990), on using cement as stabilizers, the permeability of
most soils get reduced because of which the ability of earth to
allow passage of moisture is significantly impaired. In this
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case, the residual water content is a function of the drying
period that become more important with a high quantity of
cement. The sample was taken from middle of the failed
specimen, and moisture content was determined as per the
guidelines of IS 2720 Part 2 (Indian Standard, 1973).
The dry density of rammed earth blocks was determined as
per the guidelines of IS 4332 Part 5 (Indian Standard, 2006)
using the following formula given by equation (1):
␳d ⫽ 100␳ / 共100 ⫹ m兲
Where,
␳ ⫽ bulk density in g/cc; and
m ⫽ moisture content in per cent.
In the present study, authors observed both increase and
decrease in dry density in a very irregular pattern with varying
cement and fibre content at same compactive effort. This
result may be because of the resistance of reinforcement in
compaction and increase in bonding because of cement and
reinforcement.
5.1.3 Variation of compressive strength with varying cement
content
As cement content increases form 0 to 10 per cent, there is a
significant increase in compressive strength of rammed earth
blocks. The strength of stabilized blocks having 5-10 per cent
cement content becomes three to seven and half times the
strength of raw soil blocks. As per Crowley (1997),
cement-stabilized soil blocks gain strength from both the
formation of a cement gel matrix that binds together the soil
particles and the bonding of the surface-active particles, such
as clay, within the soil. The compressive strength may
decrease sometimes if cement used for stabilization is in less
amount. A researcher (Minke, 2006) found that very low
percentage of cement content, around 2 per cent, can actually
lower the strength. The researcher attributed this
phenomenon to the fact that cement interferes with the
inter-particle bonding of silt and clay. A similar result was
obtained in the present research; when cement content is
increased from 0 to 2.5 per cent, there is a decrease of 14.46
212
World Journal of Engineering
Volume 14 · Number 3 · 2017 · 208 –216
and 17.63 per cent in compressive strength for 0 per cent fibre
and 1 per cent fibre reinforced blocks, respectively. In fact, the
increase in compressive strength for 2.5 per cent cement
content is between 1.48 and 7.65 per cent for varying
percentage of fibre added which is not that much significant.
Thus, the authors also recommend to use cement greater than
2.5 per cent by weight of dry soil to observe a significant
improvement in strength. The authors observed a linear
variation of compressive strength with varying cement content
from 5 to 10 per cent as observed by various researchers
(Tripura and Singh, 2014) which is shown in Figure 4.
5.1.4 Variation of compressive strength with varying fibre content
As fibre content increases from 0 to 0.2 per cent, compressive
strength increases by 22.31, 49.28 and 12.13 per cent for 0,
2.5 and 5 per cent cement, respectively. But for 7.5 and 10 per
cent cement content, there is a decrease in compressive
strength by 9.94 and 27.4 per cent, respectively. This
observation can be attributed to the formation of soil pockets
with a lack of reinforcement in the blocks and interference of
fibre in bonding between soil and cement particles. As fibre
content increases from 0.2 to 1 per cent, a uniform increase in
compressive strength is observed up to 0.8 per cent
fibre content, and thereafter, strength again decreases which
can be clearly seen in Figure 5. This phenomenon may be
because of the formation of bulk of fibre in the mix which
creates weaker planes. A similar trend was observed by several
researchers (Jiang et al., 2010). Hence, 0.8 per cent fibre is
found to be the optimum amount of fibre for achieving
maximum compressive strength. The compressive strength for
0.8 per cent fibre-reinforced cement-stabilized rammed earth
Figure 4 Variation of compressive strength with cement content
12
Compressive strength in MPa
10
8 0% FIBRE
0.2% FIBRE
6
0.4% FIBRE
4 0.6% FIBRE
0.8% FIBRE
2
1% FIBRE
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Cement content in percentage
Figure 5 Variation of compressive strength with fibre content
12
10
Compressive strength in MPa
8
0% CEMENT
2.5% CEMENT
6
5% CEMENT
4 7.5% CEMENT
10% CEMENT
2
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Fibre content in %
 Cement-stabilized rammed earth blocks
Shubham Raj et al.
blocks is 1.87, 1.93, 4.59, 6.69, 8.61 times the compressive
strength of raw soil block for 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 per cent
cement content, respectively.
5.2 Split tensile test
The split tensile strength test was conducted as per the
guidelines of IS 5816 (Indian Standard, 1999) on unstabilized
rammed earth blocks having 0, 0.2, 0.6 and 1 per cent fibre
content by weight of dry soil. The split tensile strength was
calculated as per IS 5816 (Indian Standard, 1999) using the
formula given by equation (2), and the results obtained are
summarized in Table V:
fct ⫽ 2000P/ ␲ld
Where
P ⫽ maximum load applied to the specimen in Newton;
l ⫽ length of the specimen in mm; and
d ⫽ cross-sectional dimension of the specimen in mm.
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The authors observed that the tensile strength initially
decreases at low fibre content, that is from 0 to 0.2 per cent,
as a low amount of fibre interferes in the inter-particle bonding
between clay and silt particles in soil. The strength decreases
because of the lack of reinforcement. As fibre content further
increases from 0.2 per cent, tensile strength increases because
of the increase in reinforcement up to a certain fibre content,
that is 0.8 per cent, and then strength again starts decreasing.
This observation may be because of the formation of bulk of
fibre in the specimen at high fibre content which certainly
reduces the strength of rammed earth. High fibre content
produces a resistance to compaction for the same compactive
effort. A researcher (Hoare, 1978) observed both a decrease of
the soil strength, caused by decreased soil density for high
fibre content, and an increase in the soil strength which he
attributed to the addition of reinforcement. The researcher
Table V Results obtained from the split tensile test
Fibre content in % 0 0.2
Tensile strength in KPa 96 63
Figure 6 Variation of tensile strength with fibre content
250
200
TENSILE STRENGTH IN KPa
150
100
50
0
0 0.1
World Journal of Engineering
Volume 14 · Number 3 · 2017 · 208 –216
found that by using two distinctly different types of fibres
either a strength increase or decrease could be obtained for soil
compacted with the same energy. From the curve shown in
Figure 6, it can be clearly seen that maximum tensile strength
occurs at a fibre content of 0.8 per cent. Thus, 0.8 per cent can
be concluded as the optimum fibre content for reinforcement
in rammed earth in low volume fraction.
5.3 Failure pattern
The main difference observed between cement stabilized
rammed earth blocks with and without fibre reinforcement
was the failure pattern. Both type of blocks exhibited brittle
failure, but the blocks having fibre reinforcement were
attached firmly even after failure which can be seen in
Figure 7. Figure 8 shows the failure of unreinforced
cement-stabilized block under compression. Both type of
blocks showed wedge-shaped failure surface in unconfined
compression test exhibiting spalling on the four vertical sides
as shown in Figures 9 and 10. In the split tensile test, it is to
be noted that the samples without fibres cracked quicker than
the samples with fibres as reinforcement. Quick and abrupt
failure was observed for raw blocks as shown in Figure 11. The
two halves were held together by fibres even after failure as can
be seen in Figure 12. During the experiments, it was observed
that the fibres were pulled out during failure and did not fail by
tearing as shown in Figure 13. Thus, using fibre as
reinforcement in rammed earth walls serves as a protection
and safety measure during earthquake and sudden failure of
walls and structures.
6. Conclusions
From the study of fibre-reinforced stabilized rammed earth
blocks as discussed in the present paper, the authors
concluded the following points:
● Density has an increasing relationship with increasing
cement content for a constant fibre content, whereas it
shows a decreasing trend with increasing fibre content for
0.6 1 a constant cement content.
170 151 ● There is an increase in residual moisture content for
increasing cement content for the same period of drying.
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
FIBRE CONTENT IN %
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Shubham Raj et al. Volume 14 · Number 3 · 2017 · 208 –216

Figure 7 Cracking pattern of the fibre-reinforced stabilized block Figure 10 Wedge failure of the stabilized block without fibre
under compression reinforcement in compression
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Figure 8 Cracking pattern of stabilized blocks without fibre Figure 11 Failure of raw soil block during the split tensile test
reinforcement in compression

Figure 12 Failure of the fibre-reinforced block during the split

Figure 9 Wedge failure surface of the fibre-reinforced stabilized tensile test
block under compression

214
 Cement-stabilized rammed earth blocks
Shubham Raj et al.
Figure 13 Pulling out of fibres during failure in the split tensile
test
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Basically, residual moisture content is a function of the
drying period for cement-stabilized rammed earth blocks.
● There exists an irregular relationship between dry density
of blocks and fibre content at the same compaction energy
because of the resistance offered by fibre reinforcement
during compaction.
● The authors recommend to use cement content more than
2.5 per cent by weight of dry soil to observe an increase in
strength of rammed earth blocks. A linear increasing
relationship exists between compressive strength and
cement content.
● Both compressive strength and tensile strength increases
with increasing fibre content, but up to an optimum limit
of 0.8 per cent by weight of dry soil, thereafter it starts
decreasing.
● The authors recommend to use an optimum amount of 0.8
per cent coconut fibre as reinforcement and 5-10 per cent
cement for stabilization and strength improvement of
rammed earth blocks.
● Introducing coconut fibre as reinforcement in rammed
earth blocks has a significant effect on the strength of raw
soil blocks. There is an increase in compressive strength
and tensile strength by a factor of 1.87 and 2.11,
respectively, for blocks having 0.8 per cent fibre content
and 0 per cent cement content, with respect to raw soil
block.
● The tensile properties and failure pattern of reinforced
blocks show that this type of construction can be done in
seismic areas to provide a warning to the inhabitants prior
to complete collapse.
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Corresponding author
Shubham Raj can be contacted at: shubham.raj.nita@
gmail.com