USE OF COIR FIBRS IN SOIL AS A

SUSTAINABLE METHOD OF
IMPROVEMENT
Presented By:
AMRITHA N B
S7 CE
Roll No:47
Guided By:
Ms. RENU N
Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

LBS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, KASARAGOD
 CONTENTS
• Introduction
• What is soil stabilization
• Needs of soil stabilization
• Advantage of soil stabilization
• Black cotton soil
• Effects of black cotton soils
• Coir fibers
• Making of coir fibers
• Coir fiber treatment
• Preparation of coir fibers for the test
• Experimental study
• Effect of fibers on deviator stress/major principle stress at failure
• Effect of fibers on compressibility
• Conclusion
• Reference
 INTRODUCTION

• Expansive soil which undergo significant volume changes

with moisture variation poses a substantial challenges to
the construction ,agriculture and infrastructure
development.
• Coir fibers derived from the husk of coconut fruit.
• This seminar will examine the key attributes of coir
fibers ,their effectiveness in soil stabilization and their
contribution to the sustainable development.
 SOIL STABILIZATION

• Process of improving engineering properties .

• Improvement of the stability or bearing power of the
soil .
• Alteration of soil to enhance their physical properties.
 NEED FOR STABILISATION

• Strength improvement .
• Control of shrink-swell properties of a soil.
• Improving the load bearing capacity of a sub grade
and foundation soil to support pavements and
structures.
• Lowering the compressibility of soil and therefore
reduce the settlement when structure are built on it.
• Increase in durability.
• Soil waterproofing.
METHODS OF SOIL STABILIZATION

• Mechanical Stabilization.
• Chemical stabilization.
 ADVANTAGES OF STABILISATION
• Improve the strength of sub-bases and surface case courses.
• Economy in cost of road.
• Make use of inferior quality of locally available soils.
• Improve certain undesired properties of soils, such as excessive swelling or
shrinkage, high plasticity, difficulty in compacting etc.
• To reduced compressibility and thereby settlements.
• To improve permeability characteristics.

• To facilitate compaction and increase load bearing capacity.

 BLACK COTTON SOIL
• Black cotton soils are weak soil exhibiting high swell and
shrinkage characteristics.
• When it exposed to changes in moisture content and
have been found to the most trouble from engineering
considerations.
• Black cotton soil is one of the major soil deposits in India
• Therefore it is necessary to improve the properties of
black cotton soil to avoid damage in the structure.
CONT..

• In the field, expansive clay soil can be easily recognized

in dry season by deep crack, roughly polygonal patterns,
in the ground surface.

Fig.3 Black cotton soil

 EFFECTS OF BLACK COTTON SOIL

• Black cotton soil cause damage in the form of cracking,

undulation, differential settlements, etc. in the structures
constructed over it.
• The most obvious way in which black cotton soils
damage foundations is by uplift as they swell with
increase in moisture , swelling soils uplift and cause
differential movement of the foundation ,which result in
distortion of floor slab and also cause distress in framing.
CONT..

Fig.1 Distorted floor slab Fig.2 Cracked pattern in black cotton soil
PROPERTIES OF BLACK COTTON SOIL
SI
Laboratory test Result Relevant IS codes
no:
Gravel -3.27%
1 Grain size Distribution Sand -24.03% IS 2720 part 4
Silt and clay- 72.7%
2 Specific Gravity(G) 2.7 IS 2720 Part3
3 Water Content(w) 8.668% IS 2720 Part 2
4 Liquid Limit (WL) 71% IS 2720 Part 5
5 Plastic Limit (WP) 35.98% IS 2720 Part 5
6 Plasticity Index (IP or P. I) 35.02 % IS 2720 Part 5
7 Shrinkage Limit 82% IS 2720 Part 6
 COIR FIBERS

• Coir fibers are a natural biodegradable organic fiber

material containing cellulose of 54% and lignin 46%.
• The rate of decomposition of coir fibers is known to be
less than that of compared any other natural fibers such
as jute, cotton etc.
 ADVANTAGES OF COIR FIBERS

• It’s a renewable resource and CO2 has natural materials.

• The fibers is abundant, non- toxic in nature.
• Low density and very cheap.
• The fibers has high degree of retaining water.
 PROPERTIES OF COIR FIBERS

SI
Property Value
No:
1 Length 3cm to 6cm
2 Diameter 0.1mm to5mm
3 Specific gravity 1.40
4 Fibers type Single
 MAKING OF COIR FIBERS

Coir fibers are extracted from coconut husk. The

process to extract the coconut husk are given below.
Steps:-
1. Coconut husk were soaked in tape water for 5 month.
This process is called retting.
CONT..

2. After retting, this coconut husk were beaten with

hammer and fibers are removed from the shell.
CONT..

3. After this process, we will get coconut fibers. But this

extract fibers have very high level of bio degradable
properties. So we have to reduce the Biodegradability
property of the soil. So, we treat it with an alkali
solution to solve this problem.
• (Note: This treatment helps improve the biodegradability
and to increase the strength.)
CONT..

4. Coir fibers treatment:

• This process is known as alkali treatment. In this process
coir fibers were treated in NaOH solution at room
temperature for ten days.
• Then it is washed with water to remove the excess NaOH
solution sticking to the fibers.
• After that it is then dried in hot air.
CONT..

Preparation of coir fibers for the test:

Length : 15 cm
Average diameter : 0.25 to 0.35
 EXPERIMENAL STUDY

• Water Content.
• Specific Gravity.
• Grain size Analysis.
• Atterberg Limits
• Proctor test.
• Unconfined compression test.
• Free swell index test.
EFFECT OF FIBERS ON DEVIATOR
STRESS
 EFFECT OF COIR FIBERS ON
SWELLING

Percentage swell after 24

SI no: Fibers Percentage reduction in swell
hours
0
1 6.2 NA

2 0.5 4.4 2.9

3 1 4.0 35.0
4 1.5 3.5 44.0
 EFFECT OF FIBERS ON
COMPRESSIBILITY

• Type
• Orientation
• Concentration
 CONCLUSION

• When Cohesion increases fibers content also increases.

• When Friction angle increases fiber content also
increases.
• Coir fibers helps in reducing the swell potential of black
cotton soil.
• When deviator stress at failure increases fiber content
also increases.
 REFERENCE

1. Mukesh kumar (2023). clay stabilization by utilizing

secondary lime and tire powder.
2. R. Sridhar (2022) .Influence of treated coir fiber on
durability properties of black cotton soil.
3. K Balan ( 2016) Expansive soil stabilized with coir
waste.
4. S.C Boobalan, M. Sivakami Devi (2022) .Investigational
study on the influence of lime and coir fibers in the
stabilization of expansive soil.
5. Arun W .Dhawalea (2023). Laterite soil stabilization
using cellulose bioplymers.
THANK YOU