Experimental study of polypropylene fibre-reinforced clay soil mixed with municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash

Abstract

In this study, the effects of polypropylene fibre content and length on the mechanical properties of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom-ash-mixed (BA-mixed) clay soil were investigated through triaxial tests. By varying the fibre length and content, the stress-strain relationship and strength characteristics of polypropylene fibre-reinforced soil were analysed under different confining pressures. The main stress difference and shear resistance of polypropylene fibre-reinforced BA-mixed soil were discussed. The law of strength variation was used to analyse the reinforcing mechanism of fibres during the process of soil shearing. The results demonstrate that the strength and deformation resistance of polypropylene fibre-reinforced soil are significantly enhanced when compared with the original soil and pure BA-mixed soil. With the fibre content increases, the internal friction angle of the reinforced soil increases slightly, whereas the cohesion of the reinforced soil increases significantly. The sample can reach the maximum strength and have the best reinforcement effect when the control polypropylene fibre length is 2.5 cm, and fibre content is 0.3%.

Keywords:

• Municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash
• bottom-ash-mixed soil
• fibre reinforcement
• triaxial compression test

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

We are grateful for the financial support given by the Hubei Central Special Fund for Local Science and Technology Development (2019ZYYD053, 2018ZYYD005), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51678224, 51778217), the Hubei Provincial Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 2018CFA063) and National Program on Key Research Project of China (No. 2016YFC0502208).