Strength Analysis of Geotextile-Reinforced Subgrade

Abstract

Subgrade’s poor strength is a common challenge in many road projects. Several materials are used as admixtures to reinforce the subgrade. However, geotextiles are one of the best solutions for reinforcement in the soil. In this work, an investigation of the strengths of subgrades reinforced with jute textile and polypropylene (PP) geotextile is the topic of a comparative study. On both reinforced and non-reinforced soil, tests called the direct shear test (DST) and California bearing ratio (CBR) are conducted. This geotextile’s positioning demonstrates how crucial it is to the subgrade’s overall strength. According to the test results, jute textile (natural fibre) increased the soil sample’s shear strength. Contrarily, the soil’s shear strength decreased when it was reinforced with polypropylene geotextile (synthetic fibre). Selecting D/2, D/3, and D/4 as the placement depths from the top surface for the geotextile, a single, double, and triple layer of geotextile is used to reinforce soil samples for the CBR test. The double-layer reinforcement at depths D/3 and D/4 shows optimum strength. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2024.