The effect of glass fiber admixture on the strength, permeability and consolidation properties of soil in high plasticity clay soils

High plasticity clay soils swell noticeably when in contact with water and shrink when dry. Due to this swelling and shrinkage behavior of the soil, damage occurs in different civil engineering structures installed on it. Therefore, stabilization is very important for such soils. High plasticity clays are often used in mine production and waste fields, solid waste tanks, water retention structures to ensure impermeability. When the water content of high plasticity clays increases, the bearing capacity decreases and the sitting potential increases. The main additives used in the chemical stabilization of clayey soils are lime, cement and fly ash. However, these applications generally increase the bearing capacity of the high plasticity clay while decreasing the sitting potential and increasing its permeability. In cases where impermeability is important, it cannot perform its essential functions. Today, increasing the bearing capacity of the high plasticity clay soil by using glass fiber is a new method. In this study, the effect of glass fiber additive on the strength, permeability and consolidation properties of the soil was investigated in high plasticity clay soils. The geotechnical properties of the clay soils were determined and the physical properties of the glass fiber were defined. Glass fiber of 12 mm length was used in this study. The glass fiber ratio in the samples was chosen as a certain percentage of the clay soil (in the ratio of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25 and 1.50), the clay was randomly mixed with the soil and the mixture samples were prepared using the optimum water content. The bearing strength, consolidation and permeability experiments have been carried out in with and without additive water saturated samples , and the effect of glass fiber additive on the bearing capacity, seating and permeability of clay soil was investigated. In addition, the optimum contribution rate of glass fiber that provides the strength, permeability and consolidation properties of the soil is determined in high plasticity clay soils.