Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40999-016-0118-y
RESEARCH PAPER
An Experimental Investigation on Effect of Adding Natural
and Synthetic Fibres on Mechanical and Behavioural Parameters
of Soil–Cement Materials
Milad Tajdini1 • Masoud Hajialilue Bonab1 • Sina Golmohamadi1
Received: 5 March 2016 / Revised: 19 October 2016 / Accepted: 22 October 2016 / Published online: 20 February 2017
 Iran University of Science and Technology 2017
Abstract Soil–cement is a mixture of Portland cement,
soil and water that sticks together due to the hydration of
the cement and compression of its components to create a
dense, durable compound, which has low permeability and
is resistant to erosion. Unfortunately, these mixtures do not
perform well under tensile load because soil–cement
materials are brittle. In this study, three types of fibres were
used to reinforce the materials to compensate for this flaw:
jute (a natural fibre), polypropylene, and steel (a synthetic
fibre) fibres. These fibres were randomly added to the soil–
cement mixture in three percentages (1, 2, and 3%). Tests
were then conducted on three different soil–cement gra-
dations each with three fine contents of different mineral
types (nine different gradations in total). First, sand
equivalent and Atterberg limits were conducted on the soil
samples. Then compaction, unconfined compression
strength, indirect tensile strength and flexural tests were
conducted on the soil–cement samples in two conditions:
control (unreinforced) and reinforced soil–cement samples.
Results showed an undeniable role of fibres in changing the
behaviour of the soil–cement–fibre matrix from brittle to
ductile producing post-peak behaviour. The results also
show that compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of
soil–cement materials improved dramatically by adding
steel fibres to the matrix.
& Masoud Hajialilue Bonab
hajialilue@tabrizu.ac.ir; mhbonab@gmail.com
Milad Tajdini
M.tajdini@tabrizu.ac.ir
Sina Golmohamadi
sinagolmohamadi@gmail.com
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Tabriz, Bv 29
Bahman, Tabriz, Iran
Keywords Soil–cement materials  Compressive strength 
Tensile strength  Flexural strength  Natural and synthetic
fibres  Gradation type
1 Introduction
Based on ACI 116R’s definition, soil–cement is a combi-
nation of soil and a certain amount of cement and water
that are mixed with a high density. In the 54th bulletin of
the International Committee of Large Dams (ICOLD),
soil–cement was defined as a combination of Portland
cement, soil, and water whose components, due to hydra-
tion and compaction, are bonded together and produce a
durable compacted composition with low permeability and
wear resistance. A more comprehensive definition pre-
sented by ACI 230IR is a hard material with specific
engineering properties made by mixing soil, aggregate,
cement, possible chemical additives and cement comple-
ments with water, compaction and curing [1, 2].
Soil–cement materials are an alternative to cement-
treated base (CTB) materials. The main difference between
these two options, is that CTB is generally composed of
fine aggregate sand a smaller amount of cement (3–5%)
which is used to reduce some undesirable characteristics of
the fine aggregate such as its large plasticity index and low
bearing capacity. In addition, these materials do not need
compaction to achieve the desired strength, and their
compressive strength is often limited to 2 MPa. Almost any
type of soil can be used in soil–cement materials with the
exception of organic soils, plastic clays and reactive sands.
Generally, soils with 5–35% fine aggregates which pass
through sieve No. 200 are the most economically efficient,
but soils with more than 2% organic material are com-
pletely unacceptable [1, 2].
123
354
Soil–cement is usually used as the base material for
roads, streets, and airport runways. If it is used for flexible
pavements, a hot mixture of asphalt concrete is poured over
the soil–cement. In rigid pavements, soil–cement is used as
the base materials to prevent the sub-base’s fine aggregate
scattering in damp conditions under heavy traffic loads.
Additionally, soil–cement is used for levelling, increasing
strength of pavements, and load transfer in joints and other
pavement connections.
In general, the thickness of soil–cement depends on
parameters such as the strength of the sub-base, design
period of the pavement, traffic and state of loading, and the
thickness of the pavement layer. Based on executive
instructions soil–cement bases are generally 15 cm thick;
in light traffic this value is decreased to 10 cm whereas in
heavy traffic the value is increased to 20 cm. In runways
and multi-layered roads, the thickness can reach up to
80 cm, which is undesirable both economically and tech-
nically [1].
It is necessary to mention that fibres are added to the soil
in two general methods: random and oriented. In random
addition, fibres are added to the bulk of the soil and
essentially disappear in the compound; while in the ori-
ented method, they are positioned in an orderly manner in
the soil. The second method, which includes geo-synthet-
ics, has been widely studied by researchers. A conceptual
study of the technical literature reveals that fibres are used
in six civil engineering practices: road construction,
retaining walls, embankments, slope stabilization, earth-
quake, and soil-foundation engineering [3].
Some researchers have investigated the effect of adding
fibres to fly ash–clay soils in a random fashion [4]. They
mixed their materials twice, once with 3% cement and once
with 3% cement and 1% fibres, and conducted an uncon-
fined compressive strength test with different treatment
times. The results showed that compared to materials with
no fibre, the materials with fibres had a higher peak
strength and more ductile rather than the brittle behaviour.
Other researchers conducted a drained triaxial test on
artificially cemented soils reinforced with randomly posi-
tioned polypropylene fibres [5]. Their results showed a 5%
increase in ultimate and peak strength in compression of
the control specimen. The results also showed better
behaviour for the material with fibres even when less
cement was added to the mixture.
In another research, they added three types of fibres,
namely polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) and glass fibres to artificially cemented soils and
subjected them to triaxial tests. They concluded that PP
decreased deviator stress in the specimen while the other
two fibres increased this stress [6]. They also deduced that
PP results in better ductility in the specimen compared to
the other two fibres.
123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
In addition, other researchers demonstrated that adding
1% glass fibre to a sand–cement matrix caused a 50%
increase in unconfined compressive strength compared to a
non-reinforced sand–cement matrix [7].
Another researcher concluded that adding 1% polyvinyl
alcohol (PVA) to sand with 4% cement doubled the peak
strength and axial strain in the specimen compared to the
non-reinforced specimen [8].
In another research, Park et al. investigated the ductility
of artificially cemented sands with 2, 4 and 6% cement by
adding 0, 0.3, 0.6 and 1% PVA fibres, which have good
bonding with Portland cement [9]. They mentioned that the
unconfined compressive strength of the material reinforced
with 1% fibre was three times higher than the non-rein-
forced materials.
Researchers investigated the mechanical characteristics
and durability of a clay–cement mixture reinforced with
fibres. For this purpose, they used four types of soils found
in the state of Louisiana (CL–ML, CL, ML, and CH) [10].
They used cellulosic and PP fibres for reinforcement and
concluded that the durability, toughness and elastic mod-
ulus of the reinforced cemented soil was a lot greater than
the non-reinforced materials.
Tang et al. investigated the effect of adding PP fibres to
cement-treated clay and non-treated clay. For this purpose,
they mixed clay with three different 0, 5 and 8% Portland
cement and 0.05, 0.15 and 0.25% fibres and concluded that
adding fibres reduced stiffness and created post-peak
behaviour in the materials [11].
A group of researchers investigated adding jute fibres to
a sand–cement mixture with a 1:300 ratio and concluded
that adding these fibres increased the performance of the
reinforced material and reduced water absorption and
apparent porosity of the fibre mixture matrix [12].
Some researchers investigated the resolution of low
tensile strength in the loose clays of Bangkok using a deep
mixing technique [13]. Using this technique, they mixed
clay with 10–20% cement and used PP and steel fibres with
a 0.5, 0.75 and 1% ratio, and observed an increase in the
toughness of the material under flexural loads exerted on
deep columns of cemented soil.
As can be seen, most of the past research has been
conducted on CTB. The use of soil–cement has certain
limitations due to the higher amount of cement compared
to CTB. In addition to being uneconomical, these mate-
rials need special treatment and maintenance, as large
amounts of cement result in more cracks because of
shrinkage. Shrinkage allows water to enter the pavement
layers causing the soil–cement to become brittle which
can cause sudden failure of the base materials. In partic-
ular, these materials will have lower strength when used
in pavements, due to small confining stresses, which can
cause the sudden failure to occur sooner. Reinforcing
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370 355

soil–cement could be a practical and feasible solution to 100

Gradation 1
resolve this drawback. 90 Gradation 2
Because the use, maintenance, and repair cost of 80 Gradation 3

asphaltic concrete pavements is very high, options such as 70

Passig Percent (%)

soil–cement materials could be a good road pavement 60
material substitute. However, cement-based materials such 50
as concrete, RCC, and soil–cement are brittle making them
40
unsuitable in tension under traffic loads. Thus, the addition
30
of fibres is a good idea to reduce the maintenance costs of
20
soil–cement materials.
As is evident from past studies, soil–cement has a very 10

peculiar behaviour. This behaviour is a result of unknown 0

factors that play a part in their strength. These factors need
to be investigated with numerous tests to discover how they
affect the strength of this material.
The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of
different parameters, such as characteristics of soil mate-
rials like sand equivalent (SE) and plasticity index (PI), and
characteristics of fibre like type and their content in the
soil–cement–fibre matrix, on the density, compressive,
tensile, and flexural strengths of soil–cement.
2 Materials and Testing Method
2.1 Materials
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
Grain Size (mm)
Fig. 1 Different gradations diagram used in the experiments
Finally, in all three gradations we used 5, 20 and 35%
silt, kaolinite and bentonite in a passive sieve 200, which
led to nine artificial gradations.
Hereafter, for convenience, each of the nine artificial
soils is represented by a two-character code including a
number and a letter. Thus, the numbers 1, 2, and 3 repre-
sent the gradation number of the available soils in Fig. 1
and the letters M, K, and B represent silt, kaolinite, and
bentonite, respectively, which constitute the finer part of
the grading.

2.1.1 Soil 2.1.2 Portland Cement

In accordance with accepted standards, three types of soil
gradations were employed to produce the soil–cement
mixture [2] to measure the effects of its gradation type,
sand equivalent, and plasticity index. The gradation pro-
cedure was done so that 15% of the materials remaining on
a No. 4 (gravel) sieve were constant for all of the three
gradations. However, the percentage of the materials
passing through a No. 200 (fine-grained) sieve were 5, 20,
and 35% for the three different gradations; thus, sand
percentages varied for each gradation (50, 65, and 80%).
To investigate the plasticity index effects, the materials
passed through the No. 200 sieve were chosen from three
different minerals, silt, kaolinite, and bentonite, each hav-
ing a particular water absorption potential. All of the tested
gradations and their characteristics are presented in Fig. 1
and Table 1, respectively. As shown in Table 1, three kinds
of artificial gradation were used in the USCS classification,
two of which are categorized in the SC classification and
the third in the SP classification.
To find the effects of the plasticity index (PI) in the
portion of material passing through sieve 200, three types
of fine-grained minerals with different plasticity indexes
were used: silt, kaolinite and bentonite. The physical
properties of the fine materials are shown in Table 2.
According to ASTM C 150, Portland Cement Type II was
used in this study. The cement was produced in the Tehran
Cement Factory, and has a specific gravity of 3.1 gr/cm3. It
is noteworthy that in addition to manifesting a good
durability when encountering a sulphate attack, the
hydration heat of this cement is also appropriate for this
study. Chemical characteristics of this cement are dis-
played in Table 3.
2.1.3 Water
Water has a vital role in achieving the maximum com-
paction and hydration of Portland cement. Drinking water
or other clean water free from harmful chemicals, such as
alkaline salts, acids, or organic salts, can be employed in
the soil–cement mixture to produce chemical interactions
with the hardening cement.
2.1.4 Fibres
The three fibres utilized in this project included natural jute
fibre and artificial polypropylene and steel fibres. Similar to
other studies [3], these fibres were randomly added to the
soil–cement mixture in three various percentages (1, 2, and

123
356 Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370

Table 1 Classification of the

Soil description (AASHTO) Soil description (USCS) Cc Cu Type of materials
soils and physical
characteristics of the sand Round sand (1) 17 120 A-2-4 SC
materials
Round sand (2) 18 167 A-2-4 SC
Round sand (3) 15 84 A-3 SP

Table 2 The properties of fine

Type of fine SL (%) PL (%) LL (%) PI (%) SSA (m2/g) Passing 200 (%)
materials
Silt 0 2 13 11 4 90%\
Kaolinite 6 30 59 29 17 95%\
Bentinite 22 32 93 61 67 99%\

Table 3 Characteristics of the

Chemical composition Loss on ignition Na2O SO3 MgO K2O CaO Fe2O3 Al2O3 SiO2
experimented cement (Type II)
Content (%) 2.27 0.12 3.34 2.2 0.78 63.27 3.33 5.21 20.82

3%). Since the reinforcing elements are mixed irregularly
with the soil in this reinforcement method, random place-
ment of these elements in every position and direction in
the reinforced soil is probable. Unlike random distribution,
which improves the soil characteristics in all directions,
continuous elements lying in a particular direction and
position in the soil layers reinforce the soil in only that
direction and layer. Thus, improving the homogeneity and
eliminating weak layers are two advantages of this method.
Characteristics of these fibres are demonstrated in Table 4.
If the artificial soil mix designs were reinforced with
fibres, two characters were appended to the code presented
in Sect. 2.1.1. This append age included the number 1, 2, or
3 as the percentage of the fibres used in the materials, and a
letter P, J, or S representing the polypropylene, jute, and
steel, respectively. For instance, 2K1S represents the
grading 2, from Fig. 1 (consisting of 15% gravel, 65%
sand, and 20% finer materials) in which the finer parts are
composed of kaolinite materials with 1% steel fibres added
to it.
2.2 Testing Method
Using the three gradations and mix designs, the experi-
ments were carried out on the grading samples from Fig. 1.
Compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths and com-
paction tests were conducted on the soil–cement material in
three general states: (1) reinforced with fine-grained
materials including silts, (2) reinforced with fine-grained
materials including kaolinite, and (3) reinforced with fine-
grained materials including bentonite. For comparison
purposes, the experiments were also done on control
samples (unreinforced) from the same gradations.
2.2.1 Moisture Content–Dry Density
Since the most important properties of the soil–cement
mixture, including its strength, permeability, and mixture
durability are controlled by its compaction level, this fea-
ture maybe the most important characteristic of this mix-
ture. According to ASTM D 698, a soil compaction test
(also known as a proctor test) is performed on soil mate-
rials to obtain the maximum dry density and optimum
moisture content of the soil. This test is based on the theory
that adding water to the soil improves the compaction
procedure; this improvement, however, has a limit and
thereafter a reduction in the density is observed. The
optimum moisture content is the moisture content at which
the maximum dry density is obtained. In this test, soil
containing a specific amount of water compacted in three
layers and the outcomes are drawn as density–moisture
content points. Each layer is compacted with 56 strikes of a
metal hammer weighing 24.4 N, falling free from a height
of 30 cm. This experiment is repeated at least for five times

Table 4 Characteristics of the experimented fibres

Fibre type Diameter (lm) Specific gravity (gr/cm3) Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) Elasticity modulus (MPa)

Jute 20 1.45 480 20,500

Polypropylene 30 0.9 300 3200
Steel 300 7.8 1100 210,000

123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
and the increase of moisture content at different levels
should include the moisture percentages lower than and
greater than the optimum moisture content. According to
ASTM D 558T, the maximum dry density and optimum
moisture for a soil–cement mixture should also be deter-
mined. Accordingly, in this experiment, soil and cement
were homogeneously mixed and then water was added to
this mixture. The mixture was compacted in three layers
and each layer was compacted further by 25 strikes of a
2.5-kg hammer. This method can also be applied to obtain
the soil–cement–fibre matrix parameters.
2.2.2 UCS
Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is one of the most
important properties of soil–cement mixtures, which is
obtained according to ASTM D 1633. This test demon-
strates the degree and hardening rate of the water–soil–
cement mixture. Compressive strength is a criterion in
determining the minimum amount of cement required for
proportioning the soil–cement. It has a direct relationship
with density and in a similar procedure affects the density
according to the degree of compaction and the quantity of
water. For this purpose, the samples were initially pro-
duced and cured in moulds with a diameter of 71 mm and a
height of 142 mm, according to ASTM D 1632. For curing
purposes, the samples were kept in the steam room for
12 h. Since the samples needed to be prevented from
sweating and water dropping, they were kept in a nylon
seal. Using a hydraulic compressive strength device, an
unconfined compressive strength test was then performed
on the samples with curing dates of 3, 7, 28, and 90 days.
This procedure was carried out by loading the samples with
a rate of 140 kPa/s and then the stress–strain curve of the
samples is drawn. It should be recalled that the ultimate
strength of the samples is derived as follows:
q u ¼ Pu ; ð1Þ
A
where Pu represents the ultimate load on the samples
(bearing capacity) in N, and A represents the cross-sec-
tional area of the samples in mm2.
2.2.3 ITS
For this test, cylindrical samples were produced according
to ASTM D 1632; these samples were subjected to the
indirect tensile test (ITS) according to ASTM D 6931. This
method includes subjecting a compressive diagonal force
with a rate of 50 mm/min on the cylindrical samples lon-
gitudinally, which in turn leads to the tensile stresses in the
loading plate and compressive stresses (comparatively
high) in the vicinity of the load being applied. Nonetheless,
357
the tensile fracture occurs prior to the compressive fracture,
since the loading plates are in a triaxial stress state; thus,
they can withstand compressive stresses much greater than
the results out of the uniaxial compressive strength. This
test has the capability of modelling the acceleration or
deceleration of automobiles, and it can approximate the
forces leading to rutting and fraction [14, 15].
This same procedure was also performed on the samples
with curing dates of 7, 28, and 90 days and its outcomes
were drawn according to the stress–strain diagrams. The
ultimate indirect tensile strength can be obtained from the
following equation:
2F u
St ¼ ; ð2Þ
pðhdÞ
where Fu denotes the ultimate vertical load applied to the
sample (bearing capacity) in N, h denotes the height of the
sample, and d represents the diameter of the sample in mm.
2.2.4 Flexural Strength
According to ASTM D 1635, this test is carried out on a
beam with dimensions of 76 9 76 9 290 mm, and its aim
is obtaining the flexural strength of the soil–cement mate-
rial using a three-pointed loading system. The base on
which these dimensions are chosen is that the length of the
rectangular beam which should at least be 51 mm longer
than its depth three times.
To produce the sample, the mould was held in a hori-
zontal state and the soil–cement mixture was divided into
three equal parts; after casting every layer, it was uniformly
compressed via the strokes of a metal bar with a diameter
of 12.7 mm so that no further compaction is possible. Thus,
the surface of the mixture was compacted by approxi-
mately 90 strikes, and then smoothed by hand. The same
procedure was repeated for the second and third layers.
Finally, the samples were taken out of the mould, and cured
inside the steam room. The samples were tested directly
out of the steam room. It is noteworthy that the samples
had to be protected from moisture during the curing pro-
cess, after taking them out of the moulds they were rotated
to the other side and then tested. Then, a continuous and
consistent load of 690 kPa/s was applied to the sample and
the modulus of rupture was calculated from the following
relationship:
3PL
R¼ ; ð3Þ
2bd2
where R denotes the modulus of rupture in kPa, P is the
maximum load of the device in N, b and d represent the
average width and length of the sample in mm, and L rep-
resents the length of the span in mm. This test models the
bending test considering the generation of compressive
123
358 Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370

stresses in the upper part of the pavement and tensile
stresses in the lower part of the pavement due to the loads
of the wheels of the automobiles [16].
3 Discussion and Analyses of the Results
3.1 Overall Procedure of the Experiments
All of the experiments including density of the materials,
compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of the speci-
mens, except four subsections including the influence of
the plasticity index and sand equivalent of the soil, influ-
ence of the fibre type and fibre content will be discussed
separately in the corresponding section. To compare the
outcomes, the gradations and mixtures will be considered
equal in all of the subsections.
Considering the different gradations in the fine-grained
and sandy (passing through sieve No. 4 and remaining on
sieve No. 200) parts, two well-known tests of the sand
equivalent and Atterberg limits, which are applicable both
in producing cement-based materials and in the base of
pavements [17, 18], were performed on the 9 gradations.
The results are displayed in Table 5. It is noteworthy that
these factors affect the mechanical characteristics of the
soil–cement materials and, therefore, their effects are
investigated considering the reinforcement of these
materials.
The plasticity index is obtained through determination
of the liquid limit and plastic limit of the soil. The liquid
limit is the moisture content of the soil where the soil
transforms from a plastic state to a liquid state, and plastic
limit is referred to as the moisture content where the semi-
solid soil transforms into a plastic state. Determining these
two values, the plasticity index is defined as follows:
PI ¼ LL  PL: ð4Þ
Moreover, the sand equivalent test is also utilized to
determine the finer materials’ purity; it demonstrates the
net sand percentage with respect to clay and colloidal
Table 5 Results of sand
Sample code SE (%) PI (%)
equivalent and plasticity index
of various gradations 1M 63 7 moisture content 1.5% more than that of the latter. The
2M 79 2 reason for this phenomenon lies in the fact that compared
3M 95 1 to silt particles, bentonite particles have more agglomera-
1K 59 17
2K 77 9 results in a reduction in the density of the materials [22].
3K 93 3
1B 50 27
2B 72 18
3B 91 7 Three gradations of 1M2P, 2M2P, and 3M2P were
materials. According to ASTM D 2419, this experiment
was also performed on the nine gradations. It should be
mentioned that this parameter is vital in executive works
and according to code, the sand equivalent is recommended
to be 75–85% for concrete faces and greater than 25% for
pavement sub-base soil materials [19].
The role of each factor (sand equivalent, plasticity
index, quantity and type of the fibres, and curing time) on
the mechanical and behavioural properties of the soil–ce-
ment–fibre materials (compressive, tensile, and bending
strengths and compaction) will be discussed in the fol-
lowing sections.
3.2 Compaction Tests
3.2.1 Effects of the Soil Plasticity Index
Samples of a particular gradation with a specific percentage
of fibres having different minerals in the finer part were
utilized to investigate the effects of the plasticity index on
the dry density–moisture of the soil–cement–fibre matrix.
For this purpose, the density of three samples, 2M2P,
2K2P, and 2B2P, were tested to obtain the maximum dry
density (MDD) and the optimum moisture content (OMC).
For an initial estimation of the mixture, the USACE
institute recommends 7 ± 2% cement (according to the dry
weight of the soil) for the above gradations, and any per-
centage of cement giving the maximum dry density will be
considered as the optimum mixture [20]. The results of the
optimum cement quantity are shown in Fig. 2, and as can
be seen, specimens 2M2P and 2K2P reached a maximum
dry density at 7% cement, while for 2B2P this quantity
equalled 8% cement. The reason more cement is required
for this sample is the high plasticity of the bentonite, since
this clay mineral has a wider specific surface area com-
pared to the other two minerals. The wider specific surface
area absorbs more water to reach higher compaction levels,
and thus, more cement is required to fill in the void spaces
produced by the water [21].
Figure 3 demonstrates the compaction parameters of the
three samples mixed with 7% cement. As this figure sug-
gests, sample 2B2P has a maximum dry density 4.5% less
than that of sample 2M2P, while it enjoys an optimum
tion when mixed with cement and water, which in turn
3.2.2 Effects of Sand Equivalent of the Soil
employed to carry out a standard density test in the soil–

123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370 359

1.9 2
2M2P 1M2P
1.95 2M2P
2K2P
3M2P
1.9
2B2P
1.85
Maximum Dry Density (gr/cm3)

Dry Density (gr/cm3)

1.85

1.8

1.8 1.75

1.7

1.65
1.75
1.6

1.55

1.7 1.5
4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Cement Content (%) Water Content (%)

Fig. 2 Effects of cement content on the dry density of the materials Fig. 4 Effects of sand equivalent on dry density and optimum
with various plasticity indexes moisture content

1.9
4) as compared to the materials in the other two sample
2M2P

1.85 2K2P compaction diagrams.

2B2P

1.8 3.2.3 Effects of the Jute Fibre Type

Dry Density (gr/cm3)

1.75
1.7
1.65
1.6
1.55
5 7 9 11
Water Content (%)
Fig. 3 Effects of plasticity on dry density and optimum moisture
content
cement–fibre matrix; the results are shown in Fig. 4. These
gradations had major differences in their sand equivalents;
however, the minerals [which form the finer part (silt)] and
fibres utilized [which are equal in type and polypropylene
percentages (2% polypropylene)] were the same. The
experimental results demonstrate that density tends to
increase as the sand equivalent of the materials increased,
which is in accordance with previous studies [23–25]. This
is because a high sand equivalent indicates two things: first,
the materials have a higher amount of coarse grains; sec-
ond, the finer part is composed of non-colloidal materials,
which indicate the use of high-quality fine particles as filler
in the mixture.
Considering Figs. 3 and 4, one can perceive that the
effect of the sand equivalent is greater on density than on
soil plasticity. This is due to a smaller variation in the
maximum dry density and optimum moisture content in the
gradation compaction diagram of sample 2M2P (in Figs. 3,
To explore the effects of the fibre type on compaction of
the various materials, one has to study the effects of vari-
ous types of equal contents of the fibres on a particular
gradation. For this purpose, density experiments were
carried out on three mixtures, 2M2P, 2M2J, and 2M2S, and
a control non-reinforced soil–cement 2M; the results are
shown in Fig. 5. In agreement with previous studies
13 15 17 19 21 [26, 27], there was a significant reduction in the maximum
dry density of the reinforced material compared to the
control samples; however, a growth in the optimum
moisture can also be perceived. These two outcomes are in
accordance with previous studies [28–31]. This is due to
the lower density of the fibres compared to the granular
materials, since the void spaces are filled with these fibres
instead of fillers.
Since jute fibres are natural and because of the capillary
rise, they absorb a portion of the water required for com-
paction; thus, they have more optimum moisture content
compared to the other two fibres, which are artificial and
sealed. This is an advantage of artificial fibres because it
provides more durability against chlorides and alkalis,
which have extremely destructive effects on cement-based
materials. Thus, sealing the natural fibres via materials like
resins is recommended.
3.2.4 Effects of the Polypropylene Fibre Content
To investigate the effects of the fibre content, various
quantities of a particular fibre were used in a gradation.
Therefore, the three mixtures, 2M1P, 2M2P, and 2M3P,

123
360 Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370

Fig. 5 Effects of the fibre type 2

on dry density and optimum 2M2P
moisture content 1.95 2M2J
2M2S
1.9 2M

1.85

Dry Density (gr/cm3)

1.8

1.75

1.7

1.65

1.6

1.55

1.5
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

Water Content (%)

along with the control non-reinforced material 2M were
subjected to compaction.
The effects of adding various percentages of
polypropylene to the soil–cement mixture are illustrated in
Fig. 6. As can be seen, adding fibres causes a disruption in
the process of compaction and leads to a reduction in the
maximum dry density and an increase in the optimum
moisture of the soil–cement–fibre mixture. This is a result
of the partial bonding and interaction of the soil–cement
materials with the fibres compared to the self-intercon-
nectedness of the soil–cement materials, which causes an
inappropriate penetration of the materials into each other.
By comparing Figs. 5 and 6, one notices that the type of
fibre, compared to its quantity, has more effect on the
2
1.95
1.9
density of the soil–cement materials. This is because of the
differences between the adherence of plain soil–cement
materials and that of the soil–cement materials with fibres.
Considering the importance of the density tests, as well
as the direct relationship between the density of the soil–
cement–fibre mixture and its strength, we have decided to
determine the optimum percentage of the fibres in the
mixture through compaction tests. For this purpose,
simultaneous effects of the quantity and type of the fibres
on the maximum dry density and optimum moisture of the
steel and jute fibres were determined in Fig. 7. According
to the outcomes of this figure, the maximum density is
achievable if steel fibres, similar to 2% of the polypropy-
lene fibres and 1% of the jute fibres are placed in the
mentioned matrix [31].
2M1P
2M2P 3.3 Unconfined Compressive Strength Test
2M3P of the Samples
2M

1.85
3.3.1 Effects of Soil Plasticity
1.8
Dry Density (gr/cm3)

1.75 According to the road construction code of several coun-

tries, the 7-day compressive strength must satisfy certain
1.7
minimum requirements [32–34]. Moreover, ASTM and
1.65
AASHTO have determined a minimum amount of 3–5%
1.6 cement for the mixture of the base materials, which
1.55 demonstrates the vital role of the compressive strength of
this layer in road construction design [35, 36].
1.5
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 A conceptual review of engineering literature shows that
Water Content (%) previous researchers have focused on the effects of fibres
on the strength parameters of base soil materials improved
Fig. 6 Effects of the fibre content on dry density and optimum with cement. For instance, Khattak and Rashidi [10] did
moisture content

123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370 361

2
2M1S
this reaction is a preliminary to the pozzolanic reaction, it
1.95 2M2S automatically accelerates this, too. It should be mentioned
2M3S that the procedure of the pozzolanic reactions in soils con-
1.9 2M
taining clay is such that the combination of calcium oxide of
1.85
cement and hydroxide of water with the aluminate of the
Dry Density (gr/cm3)

1.8 kaolinite and silicate of the bentonite takes time to complete.

1.75 After this reaction, the adhesive bond of C–S–H (calcium
silicate hydrate) gets bentonite and C–A–H (calcium alu-
1.7
minate hydrate) gets kaolinite, which in turn leads to a
1.65
growth in the materials’ strength. Moreover, microstructure
1.6 tests in various studies have confirmed fibres setting occurs
1.55
within these adhesive gels in soils containing clay [37]. It
should be mentioned that the pozzolanic reaction occurs
1.5
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 according to the following relationships:
Water Content (%)
Ca2þ þ 2ðOHÞ þ SiO2 ! CaO SiO2 þ H2 O ðCSHÞ
(a)
2 Ca2þ þ 2ðOHÞ þ Al2 O3 ! CaO Al2 O3 þ H2 O ðCAHÞ:
2M1J
1.95 ð5Þ
2M2J
2M3J
1.9
2M
Since a major portion of the pozzolanic reactions in the
Dry Density (gr/cm3)

1.85 bentonite mixture occurred in the first 7 days of curing,

1.8
further growth in strength during the 28 days of curing is
unlikely to occur. However, the mixture containing silt,
1.75
which enjoys a lower specific surface area and energy
1.7
level, also played role in increasing strength; according to
1.65 the reasons mentioned above, this is justifiable and con-
1.6 sistent with the results of other researchers [38–41].
1.55
3.3.2 Effects of the Sand Equivalent of the Soil
1.5
4 9 14 19 24

Water Content (%) As mentioned in Sect. 3.1, sand equivalent has a direct
relationship with the sand content of a mixture; whereas, it
(b)
has an indirect relationship with the finer particle content.
Fig. 7 Effects of the various fibre contents on dry density and The three mixtures 1M2P, 2M2P, and 3M2P were again
optimum moisture content. a Steel fibre, b jute employed to find a relationship between the sand equiva-
lents of the materials reinforced with fibres and their
experiments on clay bases stabilized with cement and
fibres; they demonstrated major differences in soil–cement 8000
2B2P
materials made of sand materials. In addition to consider- 7000 2K2P
2M2P
ing sand materials as the main constituent of soil–cement
6000
materials, the role of the clay mix, as an integral element of
most soil mixtures in nature, is investigated in this paper. 5000
For this purpose, compressive strength tests were per-
UCS (KPa)

4000
formed on three mixtures, 2M2P, 2K2P, and 2B2P, to
determine the role of the plasticity index as an important 3000

parameter of clay soils, the results are shown in Fig. 8.

2000
Time factor plays an important role here and because of
the wider specific surface area of bentonite compared to the 1000

other minerals, the growth in the compressive strength of the 0

bentonite mixture during the 7-day curing time was higher
than that of the other mixtures. This is because its higher
specific surface area leads to a higher energy level of the
materials, and this accelerates the hydration reaction. Since
7 28
Curing Time (Day)
Fig. 8 Unconfined compressive strength of the soil–cement materials
as a function of the curing time and type of the fine materials utilized

123
362
compressive strengths. The results of these experiments are
shown in Fig. 9.
According to Fig. 9, the materials with higher sand
equivalents demonstrated a higher compressive strength
during either the 7 or 28 days of curing. This is because of
the higher amount of sand and lower amount of the finer
particles in sample 3M2P, which in turn leads to a growth
in density of this particular mixture.
Similar to compaction, a notable point was found in the
compressive tests. Sensitivity of the mixtures’ compressive
strength to the sand equivalents is related to their plasticity
index. Tang et al. [11] demonstrated that this might be due
to the wider interlocking surface of the sandy material with
fibres compared to the interlocking surface of the clay
materials with fibres. In other words, his micromechanical
investigation clearly shows the sand particles have fric-
tional interactions with the fibres, whilst the interaction of
clay with fibres is cohesive. In practice, however, it is
better to employ materials with a higher sand equivalent in
pavements with fibres.
3.3.3 Effects of the Fibre Type
The type of fibre in the soil–cement–fibre mixture affects the
bearing capacity of the mixture, as well as its ductility, the
ductility of this mixture, particularly in cyclic loadings, is
more important than its strength [14]. Considering this level
of importance, in addition to relationship 1 in the material’s
ultimate compressive strength, the following relationship
has been proposed to account for the effect of ductility [42]:
Dfiber
D¼ : ð6Þ
Dnofiber
In relationship 6, D, Dfibre, and Dno-fibre demonstrate the
ductility index, axial strain at peak when the soil–cement is
reinforced with fibres, and axial strain at peak when the
10000
9000 1M2P
2M2P
8000
3M2P
7000
6000
UCS (KPa)
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
7 28
Curing Time (Day)
Fig. 9 Unconfined compressive strength of the soil–cement materials
as a function of the curing time and consumed sand
123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
soil–cement is not reinforced (control), respectively. This
definition is illustrated in Fig. 10. It should be mentioned
that this definition is true in mixtures with an invariant
cement percentage, so in this experiment 7% cement was
used in the mixture. This index plays an advantageous role
in selecting the appropriate fibre for a mixture. A higher
index value denotes higher ductility of the fibres used in the
mixture and, therefore, a more efficient dissipation in
energy of the subjected loads.
According to the introductory definitions above, samples
2M2P, 2M2J, and 2M2S were subjected to unconfined
compressive tests to discover the effects of the fibre type on
the strength and ductility parameters of the soil–cement
mixture reinforced with fibres. The stress–strain diagram of
the reinforced samples, as well as the non-reinforced
(control) specimens, is illustrated in Fig. 11.
As can be seen, steel fibres have a satisfactory level of
performance well above that of the other two fibres. The
level of strain in the ultimate bearing capacity rose to
approximately 6.5% in the steel fibres and 4.2 and 1.5% in
the jute and polypropylene fibres, respectively.
Ductility indices of all three fibres are shown in Table 6.
It is noteworthy that one cannot construct a control speci-
men to compare the plasticity index and sand, so it is not
possible to compare its ductility index.
3.3.4 Effects of the Fibre Content
The three mixtures 2M1P, 2M2P, and 2M3P were utilized
to juxtapose the effects of the fibre content on the com-
pressive strength and ductility. The results together with
that of the control sample are shown in Fig. 12. It is
interesting to note that the compressive strength of mixture
2M2P is well above the other two, which is a result of the
direct relationship between the compressive strength and
Fig. 10 Finding the ductility index from unconfined compressive
strength test [41]
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370 363

14000 8000
2M2P
2M1P
2M2S 7000
12000 2M2P
2M2J
2M 2M3P
6000
10000 2M
5000

UCS (KPa)
UCS (KPa)

8000
4000

6000 3000

4000 2000

1000
2000

0
0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 2 4 6 8 10
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
AXIAL STRAIN (%)
Fig. 12 Stress–strain diagram for various fibre contents
Fig. 11 Stress–strain diagram for various fibre types

every 0.1 s, and the indirect tensile strength of the soil–

Table 6 Results of the compressive strength tests on various fibre
cement–fibre mixture was then calculated from relationship
type and content
2. The corresponding strain of this stress can be achieved
Specimen code qu (kPa) Dfibre (%) D from the equation below:
2M1P 6459 1.44 2.88 et ¼ 0:0205ðHt Þ; ð7Þ
2M2P 7011 1.53 3.06
where Ht represents the horizontal displacement of the
2M3P 6758 1.48 2.96
ultimate bearing capacity in mm.
2M2J 9798 4.18 8.41
The three mixtures, 2M2P, 2K2P, and 2B2P, were
2M2S 12,055 6.49 12.78
employed in producing the samples to investigate the effects
2M 5961 – 1
of the plasticity index on the tensile bearing capacity of the
samples. An indirect tensile test was performed on these
materials density. The reason for this is that the samples. Tensile strengths of these three specimens for
polypropylene fibres reach the optimum content at 2%, and curing times of 7 and 28 days are demonstrated in Fig. 13.
they also have the greatest maximum dry density. Similar to the results of the unconfined compressive test,
According to Figs. 11, 12 and Table 6, the fibre type has the outcomes of the experiment indicate that the plasticity
a greater effect than the fibre concentration in the soil– index of the materials had some effect on the tensile bearing
cement–fibre matrix. The matrix is dependent on several capacity of the samples. These results can be attributed to the
physical factors, such as the internal friction of the fibres analyses in Sect. 3.3.1 of the present paper. From a quanti-
with soil–cement and mechanical factors such as the tative aspect, the difference between the variations of the
modulus of elasticity of the fibres, which vary with a tensile strength, with respect to the compressive strength, lies
change in the fibres and, therefore, affect the tensile in a narrower variation interval, so that the difference of the
strength of the materials [3]. minimum and maximum compressive strengths of the mix-
tures (between 2M2P and 2B2P) is roughly 71%. However,
3.4 Tensile Strength Test of the Samples this difference is approximately 32% in tension, since the
tensile strength of cement-based materials is low.
3.4.1 Effects of the Soil Plasticity Index The values of strain at maximum strength are illustrated
in Table 7. An interesting point is that the strain value of
Direct tensile tests are rarely used because the samples are the samples containing bentonite is well above that of the
subjected to secondary stresses through the holding jaws other samples, which is the result of the higher ductility of
and thus produce imprecise results. Instead, indirect tensile this mineral due to its greater plasticity index.
and flexural beam tests are employed to determine the
tensile strength. 3.4.2 Effects of the Sand Equivalent Type
As a result, in this study an indirect tensile test was
employed on the cement-based mixtures. The results of The outcomes of the tensile strength test for 1M2P, 2M2P,
these tests were recorded as a load–displacement diagram and 3M2P with curing times of 7 and 28 days are given in

123
364 Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370

1800 2500
2B2P
1600 2K2P 1M2P
2M2P 2M2P
2000
1400
3M2P

1200

ITS (KPa)
1500
ITS (KPa)

1000

800
1000
600

400
500

200

0 0
7 28 7 28
Curing Time (Day) Curing Time (Day)

Fig. 13 Values of the indirect tensile strengths of the specimens with Fig. 14 Values of the indirect tensile strengths of the specimens with
a various plasticity index a various sand equivalents

Table 7 Results of the indirect tensile test on the samples 3000

2M2P
2M2S
Sample code ITS (kPa) et (%) 2M2J
2500 2M
1M2P 957 0.012
2M2P 1674 0.016 2000
ITS (KPa)

3M2P 2183 0.019

2B2P 1102 0.017 1500

2K2P 1317 0.014

1000

Fig. 14 and Table 6. Compared to the previous case where

we investigated the influence of plasticity, the tensile
strength of the materials is higher due to suitable inter-
locking. Moreover, the coarser grains of this mixture delay
the mechanism of fracture propagation, which illustrates
the undeniable role of the coarse grains in the mixture [44].
The interesting point, however, is the proximity of the
strains corresponding with the peak point, which is prob-
ably a result of the low ductility of the granular materials,
which leads the aggregates of most cement-based materials
to a brittle fracture. This fact justifies the application of
fibres in these materials.
3.4.3 Effects of the Fibre Type
Tang et al. [37] defined the fibres as a bridge which pre-
vents the development and propagation of cracks in tensile
stresses. Due to this vital role of the fibres in the mixture, it
is necessary to identify the role of various fibres when
encountering the tensile stresses applied on the soil–ce-
ment–fibre matrix.
A stress–strain diagram for three mixtures, 2M2P,
2M2J, and 2M2S, together with the control sample of these
materials are illustrated in Fig. 15. Drawing the stress–
strain diagram of the reinforced soil–cement materials we
500
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Strain (%)
Fig. 15 Stress–strain diagram of the indirect tensile strength test for
the materials with various fibre types
see a change in the behaviour of these materials from a
brittle state to a ductile state which is the first indicator
distinguishing the behaviour of these materials from the
non-reinforced ones. In other words, the materials
demonstrate a post-peak behaviour, which means a trans-
formation of the brittle behaviour to a ductile behaviour.
According to this figure, strain tends to increase to the peak
stress which is called the indirect tensile strength. Then, the
sample suffers a fracture. As can be seen in the figure,
however, the materials reinforced with the fibres can resist
tensile stresses well above that of the control materials.
In fact, the fibres lead to a post-peak behaviour in the
materials, the efficiency of which can be determined by the
following equation:
A  Ap
TI ¼ ; ð8Þ
e  ep

123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
where TI is the toughness index, A total area under the
stress–strain diagram (up to the ultimate strain e), Ap total
area under the stress–strain diagram (up to the peak strain
ep), e strain at the ultimate point, and ep strain corre-
sponding to the peak stress.
This index denotes the energy of the material’s failure
surface, and when a diagram does not reach a peak point its
value equals zero, which represents brittle behaviour in the
material. Thus, a higher factor means a higher ductility of
the material.
Table 8 illustrates the toughness index for various
samples. It is noteworthy that the fibres play a considerable
role in increasing the toughness index, since they prevent
crack propagation in the materials and this leads to a higher
level of energy absorption in the materials. According to
the results of this section’s experiments, adding steel fibres
led to a considerable increase in the toughness index and
the indirect tensile stress, compared to the other two fibres.
The reason is the higher tensile strength and modulus of
elasticity of the steel fibres in this case [3].
3.4.4 Effects of the Fibre Content
In this section, three mixtures, 2M1P, 2M2P, and 2M3P,
were subjected to indirect tensile tests. The results are
shown in Fig. 16 and Table 8 as a stress–strain diagram
and toughness index, respectively. As it can be seen, in
matrix 2M2P, the values of the indirect tensile stress and
toughness index are a bit more than the values of the other
mixtures. This can be attributed to a direct relationship
between the optimum content of the fibres in the mixture
derived from the density tests. Although the higher fibre
content does not lead to a reduction of the mixture’s cracks
produced by tension, it does generate void spaces in the
soil–cement–fibre matrix and eliminate the disruption in
the materials’ compaction procedure. This in turn leads to a
reduction in the interaction of the materials, crack propa-
gation, and the material’s energy absorption level. This is
consistent with previous research in this area [10], and
according to the experiments the same results were
Table 8 Results of the indirect tensile strength experiments for
various types and contents of the fibres
Sample code ITS (kPa) TI
2M1P 1393 0.578
2M2P 1674 0.612
2M3P 1489 0.589
2M2J 1974 0.823
2M2S 2411 1.224
2M 1011 – Fig. 16 The stress–strain diagram of the indirect tensile strength test
365
obtained for various contents of the other samples includ-
ing the steel and jute fibres. Thus, it can be concluded that
it is better to use the optimum content of these fibres in a
soil–cement mixture reinforced with the fibres.
3.5 Flexural Strength Test of the Samples
3.5.1 Effects of the Soil Plasticity Type
Because of the imprecision of the direct tension test, sim-
ilar experiments are employed to find the tensile strength of
the cement-based materials. The flexural beam test is a
popular test because it has high precision and can appro-
priately model the conditions of the pavement layer. Since
the stress concentration affects the strength, the outcomes
of this experiment differ from that of the indirect tensile
experiment.
The three mixtures 2M2P, 2K2P, and 2B2P were
employed in producing the specimens to investigate the
effects of the plasticity index on the flexural strength of the
samples, and the results of the bending strengths for the
samples with curing times of 7 and 28 days are demon-
strated in Fig. 17.
Regarding the fact that the modulus of rupture is
dependent on the mechanical (force) and geometrical (di-
mensions) parameters, the geometrical parameter can be
neutralized by equalizing the dimensions of the flexural
beam. Thus, the only remaining variability in the materials
is the fracture load. As it can be seen, the modulus of
rupture for materials containing bentonite is approximately
8 and 26% lower than that of materials containing kaolinite
and silt, respectively, for 28 days of curing. However, there
was no significant difference in the modulus of rupture for
7 days of curing.
1800
2M1P
1600 2M2P
2M3P
2M
1400
1200
ITS (KPa)
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Strain (%)
for the materials with various fibre contents
123
366 Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370

1800 3000
2B2P 2M2P
1600 2K2P 2M2S
2M2P 2500 2M2J
1400 2M

Flexural Stress (KPa)

1200 2000
MOR (KPa)

1000
1500
800

600 1000

400
500
200

0 0
7 28 0 5 10 15 20 25
Curing Time (Day) Displacement (mm)

Fig. 17 Value of the modulus of rupture for the materials with Fig. 19 Comparison of the flexural behaviour of the materials
various plasticity indices reinforced with various fibre types

3.5.3 Effects of the Fibre Type

2500

1M2P According to the codes of some countries, the flexural

2M2P strength of the materials should satisfy certain limitations
2000
3M2P [28, 43, 44]. In Iran, for instance, base materials should
have a flexural strength of 250 kPa, as legislated in code
MOR(KPa)

1500
1000
500
0
7 28
Curing Time (Day)
Fig. 18 Value of the modulus of rupture for the materials with
various sand equivalents
3.5.2 Effects of the Sand Equivalent Type
In Fig. 18, the modulus of rupture is shown for the
three mixtures 1M2P, 2M2P, and 3M2P. Here, materials
with coarse grains demonstrate a better flexural fracture
mechanism performance. This is due to better interac-
tion of the granular materials with the fibres as com-
pared to the interaction of the finer materials with the
fibres, and the crack propagation is frictional as shown
by the indirect tension. Moreover, the required friction
of the fibres and grains leads to more energy absorption
by the materials. In addition, considering the fact that
the fibres get involved after the development of the first
cracks, more energy production occurs in the fibre–grain
interface, which causes an increase in the rupture
modulus.
101 [45]. Because soil–cement materials generally do not
meet code requirements in tension and bending, it was
necessary to conduct three bending point tests for the
control soil–cement mixture 2M, as well as the soil–ce-
ment–fibre mixtures 2M2P, 2M2J, and 2M2S. These flex-
ural stress–displacement diagrams are shown in Fig. 19. As
can be seen, the control sample demonstrates brittle
behaviour followed by an immediate fracture. However,
the reinforced samples tended to show more ductile beha-
viour. A significant difference in the bearing capacity and
ductility, in particular, is perceivable. The reinforced
samples were able to bear more elongation of the length
and, therefore, demonstrated gradual failure, which denotes
a reduction in the stiffness and an increase in the toughness
of the material.
Here again, the steel fibres demonstrated a better per-
formance as a result of their higher modulus of elasticity
and tensile stresses. The main point, however, lies in the
fact that jute fibres, despite having mechanical behaviours
approximately the same as steel fibres, did not demonstrate
the expected level of flexural strength. The rationale behind
this point lies in two reasons: first, in density tests, the
optimum content of these fibres is roughly 1%; however, to
make a comparison content of 2% was assigned to all of the
fibres in this paper. Second, due to the loss of water during
curing time, the existing jute in the samples suffered
microscopic contraction, which led to a significant reduc-
tion in the friction of these fibres with the surrounding
materials. This phenomenon disabled the material’s ability

123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370 367

Table 9 Results of the flexural strength experiments for various in Fig. 20 and Table 9 for comparison. In flexural tests, the
types and contents of the fibres optimum content of the fibres, derived from the density
Specimen code MOR (kPa) FT (kJ/m2) tests, demonstrated slightly better strength compared to the
other samples. It is interesting to note that even with an
2M1P 1523 0.127
increase in the fibre content, the flexural beams demon-
2M2P 1596 0.144 strated more elongation.
2M3P 1547 0.139 From a theoretical point of view, two methods of stress
2M2J 2875 0.154 analyses and energy release rates were developed for the
2M2S 3489 0.168 segregation of the fibre and base materials. According to
2M 524 – the stress criterion, the segregation of the fibres from the
matrix occurred when the maximum shear stress reached
to counter crack propagation, which is a huge disadvantage its critical value in their interface. But according to the
of natural fibres in reinforcement. energy release rate, segregation occurred when the current
Similar to Eq. (8), the flexural toughness parameter, energy exceeded the special resistant energy in the inter-
which is obtained through the outcomes of the bending test, face. Thus, according to the former theory, since the
can be defined as follows: optimum mixture is utilized, the materials possess less void
spaces; therefore, they experienced higher values of shear
Absorbed energy during flexural test
FT ¼ ; ð9Þ stresses between the fibre and the material’s interface.
Area of the broken section
where the numerator denotes the energy absorbed under the
load–displacement diagram. This parameter is comparable 4 SEM Background
with the toughness index since it has theoretical content. It
should be mentioned that this coefficient demonstrates the SEM test results are highly useful for understanding the
strength of the materials when subjected to static, dynamic, materials behaviour, since they give information on the
and impact loads. The parameter values for various sam- microstructure of mortar–fibre matrix, which can also be
ples are shown in Table 9. used for interpreting the macro behaviour of the mixtures
[46–51]. As can be seen in Fig. 21, researchers [52, 53]
3.5.4 Effects of the Fibre Content have found that, in case of using synthetic fibres
(polypropylene and steel) in concrete, a dense ITZ is
A flexural strength test was also conducted on samples formed between the mortar matrix and fibres, leading to the
2M1P, 2M2P, and 2M3P. The results of this test are shown increase of tensile and flexural strength of concrete

Fig. 20 Comparison of the 2000

flexural behaviour of the 2M1P
reinforced materials with 1800 2M2P
various fibre contents
2M3P
1600
2M
1400
Flexural Stress (KPa)

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 5 10 15 20 25

Displacement (mm)

123
368 Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370

specimens; however, for the mixture reinforced by natural

fibre (jute), this bonding does not exist, resulting in easier
fracture in tension. This is attributed to the higher moisture
absorption of natural fibres, compared with the synthetic
fibres, as seen in Table 10 [53] which results in the
shrinkage of the natural fibres in the mixture leading to a
weaker bonding effect between mortar and fibre. As can be
seen in Table 10 the moisture absorption of jute fibre is
1200 times higher than that of the synthetic fibre of
polypropylene.

5 Conclusions

In this paper, the effects of three natural and synthetic

fibres and various aggregations on the physical and
mechanical characteristics of soil–cement materials were
investigated through compaction, unconfined compressive
strength, indirect tensile strength, and flexural strength
tests. The results of the aforementioned tests are as follows:
• The optimum percentage of fibres in the matrix depends
on the fibre and aggregation type (specially the finer
parts) of the material. Natural fibres and finer aggre-
gations containing plastic finer parts require more
moisture content to reach the optimum compaction,
compared to synthetic fibres and non-plastic finer parts.
Moreover, the maximum dry density of the soil tends to
decrease as the fibre content increases. The reason for
this can be traced to the partial interaction and bonding
strength of the fibres with the soil–cement material,
which in turn leads to disorder in the compaction of the
soil.
• The outcomes of compressive strength tests on the soil–
cement–fibre materials suggest that compared to the
fibre concentration, the effects of the fibre type on the
compressive strength and the corresponding strain are
more noticeable. So, compared to the other fibres the
steel fibres had a better performance and a higher
ductility index.
• Due to the role of time in the pozzolanic reactions, the
materials containing finer parts with a higher specific
area (bentonite) had a greater growth rate of compres-
sive strength in the first seven days. The reason for this
is the higher energy level of this material’s reaction.
• Drawing the tensile stress–strain diagram, one notices
that all of the fibres lead to a post-peak behaviour in the
materials. This parameter can be demonstrated in the
toughness index. The toughness index of the materials
Fig. 21 Comparison of the bonding between three types of fibre used containing steel, polypropylene, and jute fibres
in this research. a Poly propylene, b steel, c jute [52, 53] decreases, respectively, which demonstrates the energy

123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
Table 10 Fibre absorption
Synthetic fibres
assessment [53]
Moisture absorption (%)
Natural fibres
Moisture absorption (%)
Natural fibres
Moisture absorption (%)
level reduction in the materials containing these fibres.
Moreover, the fibres that produce higher energy lead to
an increase in the elongation of the materials.
• The flexural toughness and modulus of rupture param-
eters were derived from flexural beam experiments on
the soil–cement–fibre matrix. Both of these parameters
demonstrate the incomparable capability of the steel
fibres in absorbing the external energies (dynamic and
static loads) imposed on the flexural beam.
• In practice, soil–cement material is used as the base
layer of pavement. Thus, it is better to use the optimum
content of each fibre, derived from the compaction
tests, in the mix design. In addition, we recommend
using steel fibres in the mixture due to their better
bending performance (which undergo a combination of
compression and tension).
Compliance with ethical standards
Funding There is no funding for this research.
References
1. Adaska WS (2006) State of the art report on soil cement. ACI
Committe 230. 24 p
2. Hansen KD (1996) Soil cement for embankment dams. Volume
54 of bulletin
3. Tajdini M, Nabizadeh A, Taherkhani H, Zartaj H (2016) Effect of
added waste rubber on the properties and failure mode of
kaolinite clay. Int J Civ Eng 1–10. doi:10.1007/s40999-016-
0057-7
4. Kaniraj SR, Havanagi VG (2001) Behaviour of cement-stabilized
fibre reinforced fly ash–soil mixtures. Geotech Geoenviron Eng
127(7):574–584
5. Consoli C, Vendruscolo A, Fonini A, Rosa D (2009) Fibre
reinforcement effects on sand considering a wide cementation
range. Geotext Geomembr 27:196–203
6. Consoli C, Montardo P, Donato M (2004) Effect of material
properties on the behavior of sand–cement–fibre composites.
Ground Improv 8:77–90
7. Maher H, Ho C (1993) Behavior of fibre-reinforced cemented
sand under static and cyclic loads. Geotech Test J 16:330–338
8. Park S (2009) Effect of fibre reinforcement and distribution on
unconfined compressive strength of fibre-reinforced cemented
sand. Geotext Geomembr 27:162–166
9. Park S, Kim Y, Choi S, Shin E (2004) Unconfined compressive
strength of cemented sand reinforced with short fibres. J Korean
Soc Civ Eng 28:213–220
369
E-glass Polypropylene Polyester Polyamide
– 0.01 0.4 6
Hemp Jute Ramie Coir
8 12 12–17 10
Sisal Flax Cotton Wool
11 7 8–25 10–28
10. Khattak J, Alrashidi M (2006) Durability and mechanistic char-
acteristics of fibre reinforced soil–cement mixtures. Int I Pave-
ment Eng 7:53–62
11. Tang C, Shi B, Gao W, Chen F, Cai Y (2007) Strength and
mechanical behavior of short poly propylene fibre reinforced and
cement stabilized clayey soil. Geotext Geomembr 25:194–202
12. Chakroborty S, Kundu SP, Roy A, Adhikari B, Majmudar SB
(2013) Polymer modified jute fibre as reinforcing agent control-
ling the physical and mechanical characteristics of cement mor-
tar. Constr Build Mater 49:214–222
13. Sukontasukkul P, Jamsawang P (2012) Use of steel and
polypropylene fibres to improve flexural performance of deep
soil–cement column. Constr Build Mater 29:201–205
14. Tajdini M, Mahinroosta R, Taherkhani H (2014) An investigation
on the mechanical properties of granular materials in interface
with asphaltic concrete. Constr Build Mater 62:85–95
15. Mariana R, Andrew C, Nicholas H (2006) Properties of asphalt
concrete layer interfaces. ASCE 18:467–471
16. Mariana R, Andrew C, Nicholas H (2005) effect of bond condi-
tion on flexible pavement performance. ASCE 11:880–888
17. Arman A, Barclay RT, Casias TJ, Crocker DA, Adaska WS, De
Graffenreid RL, Hess JR, Kuhlman RH, Mueller PE, Roof HC,
Super DW (1990) State-of-the-art report on soil-cement. ACI
Mater J 87(4):395–417
18. Tajdini M, Hajialiluebonab M, Hasanzadeh M (2016) An inves-
tigation on the effective parameters of compressive and flexural
strength of soil cement material with numerical modelling on the
coffer dam of Bakhtiarie’s dam as a case study. Sharif J Sci
Technol (in Persian)
19. ASTM D2419-14 (2004) Standard Test Method for sand equiv-
alent method American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM). West Conshohocken PA, USA
20. Portland Cement Association (PCA) (1986) Soil-cement for
facing slopes and lining channels, reservoir and lagoons. Publi-
cation IS126.05W, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, 8 p
21. Bahmani SH, Huat B, Asadi A, Farzadnia N (2014) Stabilization
of residual soil using SiO2 nanoparticles and cement. Constr
Build Mater 64:350–359
22. Ferkel H, Hellmig R (1999) Effect of nano powder deagglom-
eration on the densities of nano crystalline ceramic green bodies
and their sintering behaviour. Nano Struct Mater 11(5):617–622
23. Chauhan S, Mittal S, Mohanty B (2008) Performance evaluation
of silty sand subgrade reinforced with fly ash and fibre. Geotext
Geomembr 26:429–435
24. Sobhan K, Mashnad M (2002) Tensile strength and toughness of
soil–cement–fly ash composite reinforced with recycled high
density polyethylene strips. J Mater Civil Eng ASCE 14:177–184
25. Prabakara J, Sridhar R (2002) Effect of random inclusion of sisal
fibre on strength behaviour of soil. Constr Build Mater
16:123–131
26. Miller J, Rifai S (2004) Fibre reinforcement for waste contain-
ment soil liners. ASCE J Environ Eng 130:891–896
27. Mattone R (2005) Sisal fibre reinforced soil with cement or
cactus pulp in bahareque technique. Cem Concr Compos
27:611–616
123
370
28. Segetin M, Jayaraman K, Xu X (2007) Harakeke reinforcement
of soil–cement building materials. Build Environ 42:3066–3079
29. Medjo R, Riskowski G (1994) Effects of fibres and cement on the
mechanical behaviour of soil–cement reinforced with sugar cane
bagasse. Hous Sci 18:79–89
30. Ghavami K, Filho R, Barbosa P (1999) ‘‘Behaviour of composite
soil reinforced with natural fibres. Cem Concr Compos 21:39–48
31. Gümüşer C, Şenol A (2014) Effect of fly ash and different lengths
of polypropylene fibres content on the soft soils. Int J Civ Eng
12(2):134–145
32. Ma H, Li Z (2013) Microstructures and mechanical properties of
polymer modified mortars under distinct mechanisms. Constr
Build Mater 47:579–587
33. Monteny J, De Belie N, Vincke E, Verstraete W, Taerwe L
(2001) Chemical and microbiological tests to simulate sulfuric
acid corrosion of polymer-modified concrete. Cem Concr Res
31(9):1359–1365
34. Li G, zhao X, Rong C, Wang z (2010) Properties of polymer
modified steel fibre-reinforced cement concretes. Constr Build
Mater 24(7):1201–1206
35. Shaker FA, El-Dieb AS, Reda MM (1997) Durability of styrene-
Butadiene latex modified concrete. Cem Concr Res
27(5):711–720
36. Wang R, Wang PM, Li XG (2005) physical and mechanical
properties of styrene-butadiene rubber emulsion modified cement
mortars. Cem Concr Res 35(5):900–906
37. Tang C, Shi B, Zhao L (2010) Interfacial shear strength of fibre
reinforced soil. Geotext Geomembr 28:54–62
38. Chew S, Kamruzzaman A, Lee F (2004) Physicochemical and
engineering behavior of cement treated clays. Geotech Geoen-
viron Eng 2004 130(7):696–706
39. Al-Rawas AA, Hago A, Al-Sarmi H (2005) Effect of lime,
cement and sarooj (artificial pozzolan) on the swelling potential
of an expansive soil from oman. Build Environ 40(5):681–687
40. Mir B (2015) Some studies on the effect of fly ash and lime on
physical and mechanical properties of expansive clay. Int J Civ
Eng 13(3 and 4B):203–212
123
Int J Civ Eng (2018) 16:353–370
41. Felt EJ (1955) Factors influencing physical properties of soil-
cement mixtures. Highw Res Board Bull 108:138–162
42. Park SS (2011) Unconfined compressive strength and ductility of
fibre-reinforced cemented sand. Constr Build Mater 25:1134–1138
43. Bouhicha M, Aouissi F, Kenai S (2005) Performance of com-
posite soil reinforced with barely straw. Cem concr Compos
27:617–621
44. Chakraborty S, Kundu S, Roy A, Basak R, Adhikari B, Majumder
SB (2013) Improvement of the mechanical properties of jute fibre
reinforced cement mortar. Constr Build Mater 38:776–784
45. Vice presidency for strategic planning and supervision (2013)
Road general technical specification. Code 101, Islamic Republic
of Iran
46. ŠtimacGrandić I, Grandić D, Bjelanović A (2015) Evaluation of
torsional stiffness in beam and slab bridge decks based on load
testing. Int J Civ Eng 15:255–266
47. Chen DP, Miao CW, Liu JP, Tang MS (2015) Advances in multi-
scale simulation of hygro-thermo- mechanical deformation
behavior of structural concrete. Int J Civ Eng 15:267–277
48. Mojezi M, Jafari MK, Biglari M (2015) Effects of mean net stress
and cyclic deviatoric stress on the cyclic behavior of normally
consolidated unsaturated kaolin. Int J Civ Eng 15:175–184
49. Alibolandi M, ZiaieMoayed R (2015) Liquefaction potential of
reinforced silty sands. Int J Civ Eng 15:195–202
50. Allahvedi A, Hashemi H (2015) Investigating the resistance of
alkali-activated slag mortar exposed to magnesium sulfate attack.
Int J Civ Eng 15:379–387
51. Kamal MM, Safan MA, Etman ZA, Abd-elbaki MA (2015) Effect
of steel fibres on the properties of recycled self-compacting
concrete in fresh and hardened state. IJCE 15:400–410
52. Mobini MH, Khaloo A, Hosseini P, Esrafili A (2015) Mechanical
properties of fiber-reinforced high-performance concrete incor-
porating pyrogenic nanosilica with different surface areas. Constr
Build Mater 101:130–140
53. Rivera-Gómez C, Galán-Marı́n C, Bradley F (2014) Analysis of
the influence of the fibre type in polymer matrix/fibre bond using
natural organic polymer stabilizer. Polymers 6:977–994