1.School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
2.Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Ecological Restoration of Rivers and Lakes, Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Objective The application of lime soil in engineering is further enhanced through the introduction of new materials for improvement and optimization. Coconut fiber, a natural high-molecular material with superior mechanical properties, presents a promising solution. Utilizing coconut fiber to improve lime soil not only reduces construction costs but also increases soil strength and stability while mitigating resource waste and environmental pollution. Therefore, this study aims to enhance the mechanical properties of lime soil by employing coconut fiber as a reinforcing material and to examine its macroscopic mechanical behavior and microstructural characteristics. Methods The study analyzed the effects of different curing ages (7, 14, 28, and 60 days), coconut fiber content (0, 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, and 1.00%), dry and wet cycles (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 times), and compaction degrees (90%, 93%, 96%, and 99%) on the mechanical properties of lime soil by conducting the unconfined compressive strength test, dry and wet cycle test, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) test, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) test. These tests were performed to reveal the internal mechanism behind the improvement of the mechanical behavior of coconut fiber reinforced lime soil. Results and Discussions 1) For soils of the same age, the addition of coconut fiber significantly increased soil strength compared to soils without coconut fiber. As the amount of coconut fiber increased, the strength of the soil showed a tendency to first increase and then decrease, while the destructive strain of the soil gradually increased, changing the soil behavior from brittle to plastic. This occurred because the random distribution of coconut fiber formed a spatial mesh structure that restrained soil deformation and particle movement, improving soil integrity. However, fiber doping exceeding 0.75% created weak planes, reducing strength. Under different maintenance ages, the compressive strength gradually increased, and the destructive strain became smaller, showing brittle damage. This was mainly due to ion exchange, volcanic ash reaction, and carbonation reaction of lime, generating cementitious substances that reinforced the soil. 2) Under the action of dry and wet cycles, the soil surface produced cracks and shedding, and its quality was obviously reduced. However, the mass loss of lime soil mixed with coconut fiber was significantly less, proving that coconut fiber inhibited crack formation and reduced surface detachment. When the compaction degree was the same, with the increase in the number of cycles, the soil mass showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing, reaching the maximum after the first cycle. This initial increase was attributed to the ongoing reactions of unreacted lime requiring moisture and the volcanic ash reaction during drying, generating gelling substances that filled pores and increased strength. However, with further cycles, the lime was consumed, cementitious material and quality gradually reduced, leading to a decrease in compressive strength. When the cycle times were the same, an increased compaction degree led to greater soil compressive strength. A higher compaction degree resulted in smaller soil pores and a larger contact area between coconut fiber and soil, producing greater interface friction and higher soil strength. This indicated that the addition of coconut fiber and increased compaction degree enabled the soil to effectively resist the effects of wet and dry cycles. 3) The microscopic test showed that the pore space of the soil exhibited a tendency to decrease and then increase with the number of wet and dry cycles, reaching the maximum and having the least cementitious material in the sixth cycle. The addition of fiber caused the pore space in the lime soil to increase significantly. Fiber guided the distribution of hydrate, producing more gelling material that bonded the fiber and soil together. The rough fiber surface generated greater friction with the soil, limiting soil deformation. Conclusions Coconut fiber-lime-treated soil shows strong potential for application in road and slope engineering projects. The research findings provide valuable insights for practical implementation. The study demonstrates that incorporating coconut fiber effectively enhances the mechanical properties and durability of lime-treated soil, increases its strength, alters its failure mode from brittle to more plastic behavior, and improves its resistance to damaging wet-dry cycles.
WangHao.Analysis of influencing factors and microscopic mechanism of unconfined compressive strength of lime soil[D].Beijing:China University of Mining and Te-chnology,2021.
[4]
王浩.石灰土无侧限抗压强度影响因素分析及微观机理研究[D].北京:中国矿业大学,2021.
[5]
ZhouBaochun, KongLingwei, GuoAiguo.Stress‒strain‒strength behaviour and constitutive description of lime-treated expansive soil[J].Rock and Soil Mechanics,2012,33(4):999‒1005.
PuShaoyun, ZhuZhiduo, WangHairong,et al.Mechanical characteristics and water stability of silt solidified by incorporating lime,lime and cement mixture,and SEU-2 binder[J].Construction and Building Materials,2019,214:111‒120. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.04.103
[8]
LiLihua, ShiAnning, ZhangLei,et al.Experimental investigations on the mechanically stabilised earth wall under static load conditions[J].European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering,2021,25(4):575‒598. doi:10.1080/19648189.2018.1537898
[9]
LiLihua, LiZijian, XiaoHenglin,et al.Cyclic shear test of geogrid reinforced construction waste soil[J].Journal of Jilin University(Engineering and Technology Edition),2024,54(6):1612‒1623.
LiLihua, CuiFeilong, XiaoHenglin,et al.Research on performance and bearing capacity of reinforced embankment with tyres and lattice chambers[J].Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,2017,39(1):81‒88.
LiLihua, ZangTianbao, LiuYongli,et al.Cyclic shear performance of fiber bottom ash mixed soils[J].Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering,2021,40(1):196‒205.
RongDezheng, TangChaosheng, ZengHao,et al.Evaporation process and tensile behavior of fiber-reinforced ra-mmed earth[J].Chinese Journal of Geotechnical Engineering,2021,43(4):670‒678.
ValipourM, ShourijehP T, MohammadiniaA.Application of recycled tire polymer fibers and glass fibers for clay reinforcement[J].Transportation Geotechnics,2021,27:100474. doi:10.1016/j.trgeo.2020.100474
[18]
ChenLei, ZhangFuhai, LiZhipeng.Experimental study on expansive soil stabilized with lime and fibers[J].Advanced Engineering Sciences,2014,46(Supp2):65‒69.
JahandariS, MojtahediS F, ZivariF,et al.The impact of long-term curing period on the mechanical features of lime-geogrid treated soils[J].Geomechanics and Geoengineering,2022,17(1):269‒281. doi:10.1080/17486025.2020.1739753
[21]
JiangPing, ZhouLin, ZhangWeiqing,et al.Unconfined compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of lime soil modified by nano clay and polypropylene fiber[J].Crystals,2022,12(2):285. doi:10.3390/cryst12020285
[22]
RuanBo, PengXuexian, MaChao,et al.Experimental study on unconfined compressive strength of glass fiber reinforced lime soil[J].Journal of Railway Science and Engineering,2018,15(9):2246‒2251.
WeiLi, ChaiShouxi, ZhangHuyuan,et al.Mechanical pr-operties of soil reinforced with both lime and four kinds of fiber[J].Construction and Building Materials,2018,172:300‒308. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.248
[25]
LiXinming, LuGuangyuan, ZhangHaoyang,et al.Strength characteristics and micro-mechanism of lime-metakaolin modified silty soil[J].Journal of Building Materials,2021,24(3):648‒655.
XueYanhua, GaoMingxing, YuanFeilong,et al.Effect of polyacrylamide on early strength and failure form of lime stabilized soil[J].Acta Materiae Compositae Sinica,2021,38(4):1283‒1291.
LiLihua, YueYuwei, LiWentao,et al.Mechanical properties and microstructure of heavy metal contaminated soil solidified by rice husk ash[J].Journal of Railway Science and Engineering,2022,19(11):3275‒3282.
RajabiA M, GhorashiS M S, YeganehM M.The effect of polypropylene and glass fibers on strength and failure behavior of clayey sand soil[J].Arabian Journal of Geosciences,2022,16(1):6. doi:10.1007/s12517-022-11111-4
[32]
RuanBo, RuanChenxi, DengLinfei,et al.Experimental st-udy on unconfined compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of polypropylene fiber reinforced cement mixing soil[J].Journal of Railway Science and Engineering,2021,18(1):95‒103.
YadavJ S, TiwariS K.Behaviour of cement stabilized treated coir fibre-reinforced clay-pond ash mixtures[J].Journal of Building Engineering,2016,8:131‒140. doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2016.10.006
[35]
HamidiA, HooresfandM.Effect of fiber reinforcement on triaxial shear behavior of cement treated sand[J].Geotextiles and Geomembranes,2013,36:1‒9. doi:10.1016/j.geotexmem.2012.10.005
[36]
RuanBo, ZhuYanzhang, ZhangXiangjing,et al.Influence of fiber content on unconfined compressive strength and pore size distribution of cemented aeolian sand reinforced with fiber[J].Journal of Railway Science and Engineering,2023,20(6):2131‒2138.
BiDongmin, KongGangqiang, ChenGeng,et al.Strength characteristics and failure mode of solidified soil reinforced by waste masks[J].Journal of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Engineering,2022,42(5):993‒998.
RenXiaofeng.Experimental study on durability of SH and lime reinforced loess[D].Lanzhou:Lanzhou University,2017.
[41]
任晓峰.SH及石灰加固黄土耐久性试验研究[D].兰州:兰州大学,2017.
[42]
JalaliJ, NoorzadR.Discrete fiber reinforcement efficiency in the mechanical properties and wet‒dry performance of fat clay treated with industrial sewage sludge ash[J].Construction and Building Materials,2021,284:122739. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.122739
[43]
WangDongxing, WangHongwei, ZouWeilie,et al.Study of durability of dredged sludge solidified with reactive MgO-fly ash[J].Rock and Soil Mechanics,2019,40(12):4675‒4684.
LiTianguo, KongLingwei, WangJuntao,et al.Trimodal pore structure evolution characteristics and mechanical effects of expansive soil in seasonally frozen areas based on NMR test[J].Rock and Soil Mechanics,2021,42(10):2741‒2754.
ZhangR J, LuY T, TanT S,et al.Long-term effect of curing temperature on the strength behavior of cement-stabilized clay[J].Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,2014,140(8):04014045. doi:10.1061/(asce)gt.1943-5606.0001144
[48]
YeWanjun, WuYuntao, YangGengshe,et al.Study on microstructure and macro-mechanical properties of paleosol under dry‒wet cycles[J].Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics and Engineering,2019,38(10):2126‒2137.
LiLihua, HuangChang, LiWentao,et al.Study on mechanical and microscopic characterization of expansive soil solidified by rice husk ash-granulated blast furnace slag[J].Rock and Soil Mechanics,2023,44(10):2821‒2832.
JiHui, ZhangTao, LiuJiankang.Experimental study on sh-ear mechanical properties of composite improved loess under dry wet cycles[J].Journal of the Yangtze River Ac-ademy of Sciences,2021,38(8):120-126.