Use of Taguchi Method to Evaluate the Hydraulic Conductivity of Lignocellulosic Fibers-Reinforced Soil

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Faculty of civil engineering, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran

2 Department of civil engineering, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran

3 Wood and Paper Engineering Faculty, University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

Abstract

Population growth and the subsequent need for the development of infrastructures along with lack of lands with appropriate geotechnical properties have made soil improvement more common. This is while the use of traditional materials in civil engineering projects has raised questions over their environmental impacts. Lignocellulosic fibers, considered as an eco-friendly and renewable source, can be suitable materials to replace traditional additives. In this investigation, three types of lignocellulosic fibers including softwoods bleached pulp (S.W.), old containers pulp (O.C.), and wheat straw soda high yield pulp (W.S.) were used as reinforcement materials. Moreover, Taguchi’s design of experiment (DOE) was used to determine the optimum conditions corresponding to three curing times. The Taguchi analyses indicated 2 percent of 1 mm-long S.W. fibers would lead to the lowest hydraulic conductivity while 1 percent of 1.5 mm-long O.C. fibers and 1 percent of 0.5 mm-long W.S. fibers would contribute to the lowest hydraulic conductivity coefficients among 7 and 14 days-cured specimens, respectively. Furthermore, according to the analysis of variance (ANOVA), fiber content was the most effective parameter on the hydraulic conductivity coefficients of 1 and 14 days-cured specimens. This is while fiber length was the most influential one on the hydraulic conductivity of 7 days-cured specimens. The results of this paper indicated the high potential applications of such statistical methods in geotechnical engineering.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Gowthaman, K. Nakashima, S. Kawasaki, A State- of- the- Art Review on Soil Reinforcement Technology Using Natural Plant Fiber Materials: Past Findings, Present Trends and Future Directions, Journal of Materials, 11(4) (2018) 1-23.
  2. G. Nicholson, Soil Improvement and Ground Modification Methods, Elsevier, Waltham, 2015.
  3. Omotosho, O.J. Eze-Uzomaka, Optimal stabilization of deltaic laterite, Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, 50(2) (2008) 10-17.
  4. Chegenizadeh, H. Nikraz, Permeability Test on Reinforced Clay Sand, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 78 (2011) 130-133.
  5. Chang, J. Im, G.-C. Cho, Introduction of microbial biopolymers in soil treatment for future environmentally-friendly and sustainable geotechnical engineering, sustainability, 8(251) (2016) 1-23.
  6. Latifi, S. Horpibulsuk, C.L. Meehan, M.Z.A. Majid, M.M. Tahir, E.T. Mohamad, Improvement of problematic soils with biopolymer—an environmentally friendly soil stabilizer, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 29(2) (2017).
  7. Dehghan, A. Tabarsa, N. Latifi, Y. Bagheri, Use of Xanthan and Guar Gums in Soil Strengthening, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 21(1) (2018) 155-165.
  8. Sharma, S. Sharma, A. Kumar, A.a.H. Al-Muhtaseb, M. Naushad, A.A. Ghfar, G.T. Mola, F.J. Stadler, Guar gum and its composites as potential materials for diverse applications: A review, Carbohydrate Polymers, 199 (2018) 534-545.
  9. Chang, G. Cho, Shear strength behavior and parameters of microbial gellan gum-treated soils: from sand to clay, Acta Geotechnica, 14(2) (2018) 361-375.
  10. K. Ayeldeen, A.M. Negm, M.A.E. Sawwaf, Evaluating the physical characteristics of biopolymer/soil mixtures, Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 9(371) (2016).
  11. Thakur, B. Sharma, A. Verma, J. Chaudhary, S. Tamulevicius, V.K. Thakur, Recent progress in sodium alginate based sustainable hydrogels for environmental applications Journal of Cleaner Production, 198 (2018) 143-159.
  12. Hataf, P. Ghadir, N. Ranjbar, Investigation of soil stabilization using chitosan biopolymer, Journal of Cleaner Production, 170 (2018) 1493-1500.
  13. M. Rowell, B.A. Cleary, J.S. Rowell, C. Clemons, R.A. Young, Results of chemical modification of lignocellulosic fibers for use in composites, in: Proceedings of 1st Wood Fiber-Plastic Composite Conference, LA Madison, 1993.
  14. Gharehkhani, E. Sadeghinezhad, S.N. Kazi, H. Yarmand, A. Badarudin, M.R. Safaei, M.N.M. Zubir, Basic Effects of pulp refining on fiber properties - A review, Carbohydrate Polymers, 115 (2015) 785-803.
  15. F. Cabalar, M. Wiszniewski, Z. Skutnik, Effects of xanthan gum on the permeability, odometer, unconfined compressive and triaxial shear behavior of sand, Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 54(5) (2017) 356-361.
  16. Chang, J. Im, G.-C. Cho, Soil- hydraulic conductivity control via a biopolymer treatment-induced bio-clogging effect, in: Geotechnical and Structural Engineering 2016, pp. 1006-1015.
  17. Bouazza, W.P. Gates, P.G. Ranjith, Hydraulic conductivity of biopolymer- treated silty sand, Géotechnique, 59(1) (2009) 71-72.
  18. P. Singh, R. Das, Geo-engineering properties of expansive soil treated with xanthan gum biopolymer, Geomechanics and Geoengineering (2019).
  19. Khachatoorian, I.G. Petrisor, C.-C. Kwan, T.F. Yen, Biopolymer plugging effect: laboratory pressurized pumping flow studies, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 38 (2003) 13-21.
  20. -M. Ham, I. Chang, D.-H. Noh, T.-H. Kwon, B. Muhunthan, Improvement of surface erosion resistance of sand by microbial biopolymer formation, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 144(7) (2018).
  21. T.C. Goh, S.H. Goh, Support vector machines: Their use in geotechnical engineering as illustrated using seismic liquefaction data, Computers and Geotechnics, 34 (2007) 410-421.
  22. Kolivand, R. Rahmannejad, Estimation of geotechnical parameters using Taguchi's design of experiments (DOE) and back analysis methods based on field measurement data, Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment, 77 (2017) 1763-1779.
  23. Antony, D. Perry, C. Wang, M. Kumar, An application of Taguchi method of experimental design for new product design and development process, Assembly Automation, 26(1) (2006) 18-24.
  24. D. Algoo, T. Akhlaghi, M. Ranjbarnia, The engineering properties of clayey soil stabilized with alkali-activated slag, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Ground Improvement, (2019).
  25. Toufigh, M.B. Dehaji, K. Jafari, Experimental investigation of stabilization of soils with Taftan pozzolan, European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, (2018).
  26. S. Zaimoglu, O. Tan, R.K. Akbulut, Optimization of Consistency Limits and Plasticity Index of Fine-Grained Soils Modified with Polypropylene Fibers and Additive Materials, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 20 (2) (2015) 1-8.
  27. Kumar, D.K. Soni, Effect of calcium and chloride based stabilizer on plastic properties of fine grained soil, International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology, 12 (2019) 537-545.
  28. S. Zaimoglu, Optimization of Unconfined Compressive Strength of Fine-Grained Soils Modified with Polypropylene Fibers and Additive Materials, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineers, 19(3) (2015) 578-582.
  29. Kumar, D.K. Soni, Strength and microstructural characterization of plastic soil under freeze and thaw cycles, Indian Geotechnical Journal, (2019).
  30. Aghajani, H. Katebi, S.D. Algoo, Effect of crude oil spill on geotechnical properties of silty sand soil by using Taguchi method, Advance Researches in Civil Engineering, 2(2) (2020) 1-14.
  31. R. Sotoudehfar, M.M. Sadeghi, E. Mokhtari, F. Shafiei, Assessment of the parameters influencing microbially calcite precipitation in injection experiments using Taguchi methodology, Geomicrobiology Journal, (2015).
  32. ASTM, Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (Unified Soil Classification System), in: ASTM D 2487-17, 2017.
  33. ASTM, Standard test methods for specific gravity of soil solids by water pycnometer, in: ASTM D 854-14, 2014.
  34. ASTM, Standard test methods for laboratory compaction characteristics of soil using standard effort (12400 ft-lbf/ft3 (600 kN-m/m3)), in: ASTM D 698-12, 2012.
  35. ASTM, Standard test methods for measurement of hydraulic conductivity of saturated porous materials using a flexible wall permeameter, in: ASTM D5084-16a, 2016.
  36. Kurschner, A. Hoffer, A new quantitative cellulose determination, Chem. Zeit, 55 (1931).
  37. TAPPI, Acid- insoluble lignin in wood and pulp, in: TAPPI T 222 om-02, 2002.
  38. TAPPI, Solvent extractives of wood and pulp, in: TAPPI T 204 cm-97, 1997.
  39. TAPPI, Solvent extractives of wood and pulp, in: TAPPI T 204 cm-97, 1997.
  40. Unal, E.B. Dean, Taguchi approach to design optimization for quality and cost: An overview, in: Annual Conference of the International Society of Parametric Analysts, 1991.
  41. S. Rao, C.G. Kumar, R.S. Prakasham, P.J. Hobbs, The Taguchi methodology as a statistical tool for biotechnological applications: a critical appraisal, Biotechnology Journal, 3 (2008) 510-523.
  42. Niu, Q. Li, X. Wei, Estimation of the surface uplift due to fluid injection into a reservoir with a clayey interbed, Computers and Geotechnics, 87 (2017) 198-211.
  43. V. Uday, J.N.V. Prathyusha, D.N. Singh, P.R. Apte, Application of the Taguchi method in establishing criticality of parameters that influence cracking characteristics of fine-grained soils, Drying Technology: An International Journal, 33(9) (2015) 1138-1149.
  44. B. Dittenber, H.V.S. GangaRao, Critical review of recent publications on use of natural composites in infrastructure, Composites: Part A, 43 (2012) 1419-1429.
  45. Saha, S. Chowdhury, D. Roy, B. Adhikari, J.K. Kim, S. Thomas, A brief review on the chemical modifications of lignocellulosic fibers for durable engineering composites, polymer Bulletin, (2015).
AUT Journal of Civil Engineering
Volume 5, Issue 2
June 2021
Pages 2-2

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics