PI: Radoslaw L. Michalowski Institution: Johns Hopkins University "Fiber Reinforcement for Soils and Stability of Fiber-Reinforced Soil Structures"
Soil reinforcement with short inclusions, such as fibers, has been tried recently in geotechnical construction. This technique is not used routinely because of the absence of well-documented evidence of its effectiveness, and because of a current lack of ability to predict the properties (strength in particular) of fiber-reinforced soils. It is proposed that research toward a better understanding and quantitative description of the behavior of such composites be undertaken.
The objectives of this research are to: (a) develop better understanding of fiber reinforcement mechanisms, (b) achieve a reasonable (useful in design) quantitative description of such composites (models), (c) collect experimental evidence for validation of the modeling effort, and (d) develop rational analyses of fiber-reinforced structures.
The focus in the theoretical investigation will be on the micromechanics and homogenization, and laboratory testing will be used to validate the models developed. Micromechanics investigation will include soil-fiber interaction and response of a single fiber to deformation of the matrix. The homogenization will include description of the macroscopic behavior of the fiber-reinforced soil as a result of extending single-fiber cell behavior to a composite system with fibers distributed in an arbitrary fashion.
The significance of this research will be in development of rational description of fiber-reinforced soils so that reliable methods for design with such composites can be developed. Presenting reasonable methods of analysis of fiber-reinforced soil structures is expected to have a direct impact on engineering practice.
