Natural Fibre for Geotechnical Applications: Concepts, Achievements and Challenges

Nguyen, TT; Indraratna, B

Natural Fibre for Geotechnical Applications: Concepts, Achievements and Challenges

Nguyen, TT Indraratna, B

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Publisher:: MDPI
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sustainability (Switzerland), 2023, 15, (11)
Issue Date:: 2023-06-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Nguyen, TT
dc.contributor.author	Indraratna, B https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9057-1514
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-18T01:23:32Z
dc.date.available	2024-03-18T01:23:32Z
dc.date.issued	2023-06-01
dc.identifier.citation	Sustainability (Switzerland), 2023, 15, (11)
dc.identifier.issn	2071-1050
dc.identifier.issn	2071-1050
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176843
dc.description.abstract	Enhancing the use of natural fibre for geotechnical purposes has attracted greater attention in the past decade, mainly because of the tangible benefits that this green approach would bring to our sustainable infrastructure developments. While this topic has been subjected to often sceptical review or discussions, they usually focus on narrow aspects such as soil reinforcement, resulting in a lack of thorough assessment over different aspects and applications. The current paper hence aims to not only provide a more balanced review between theoretical concepts and practical perspectives, but also to link different functions of natural fibre that would facilitate design effectiveness. Three major geotechnical purposes of natural fibre in terms of the practice are identified and discussed, i.e., (i) soil reinforcement; (ii) enhanced drainage for soil consolidation; and (iii) filtration, separation and erosion controls. In these distinct applications, natural fibres, despite being used in different forms such as geotextiles, drains and individual fibres, often give significant contributions to improving soil structures, resulting in greater stabilization of the entire system. The key unique feature of natural fibres is their ability to generate biological bonding with soil media (i.e., biodegradation associated with reinforcement), while substantially improving the tensile strength of the soil structure, thus providing larger resistance to mud pumping, liquefaction, internal instability and erosion. Apart from successful findings and applications in practice, main challenges that are currently hampering the wider application of natural fibres will be addressed in this paper.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	MDPI
dc.relation.ispartof	Sustainability (Switzerland)
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/su15118603
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	12 Built Environment and Design
dc.title	Natural Fibre for Geotechnical Applications: Concepts, Achievements and Challenges
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	15
utslib.for	12 Built Environment and Design
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-03-18T01:23:29Z
pubs.issue	11
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	15
utslib.citation.issue	11

Abstract:

Enhancing the use of natural fibre for geotechnical purposes has attracted greater attention in the past decade, mainly because of the tangible benefits that this green approach would bring to our sustainable infrastructure developments. While this topic has been subjected to often sceptical review or discussions, they usually focus on narrow aspects such as soil reinforcement, resulting in a lack of thorough assessment over different aspects and applications. The current paper hence aims to not only provide a more balanced review between theoretical concepts and practical perspectives, but also to link different functions of natural fibre that would facilitate design effectiveness. Three major geotechnical purposes of natural fibre in terms of the practice are identified and discussed, i.e., (i) soil reinforcement; (ii) enhanced drainage for soil consolidation; and (iii) filtration, separation and erosion controls. In these distinct applications, natural fibres, despite being used in different forms such as geotextiles, drains and individual fibres, often give significant contributions to improving soil structures, resulting in greater stabilization of the entire system. The key unique feature of natural fibres is their ability to generate biological bonding with soil media (i.e., biodegradation associated with reinforcement), while substantially improving the tensile strength of the soil structure, thus providing larger resistance to mud pumping, liquefaction, internal instability and erosion. Apart from successful findings and applications in practice, main challenges that are currently hampering the wider application of natural fibres will be addressed in this paper.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176843