Micromechanical analysis of loop-formed fiber-reinforced soil composite

In this research, loop-formed fiber is introduced as a novel reinforcement method of soil composites instead of using ordinary fibers. In order to investigate the materials' mechanical properties, the shear behavior of both fiber and looped-fiber-reinforced soil composites was analyzed by micromechanical method (finite element method) and a set of direct shear tests. The results indicate that the looped-fiber soil composite exhibits greater failure strain energy compared with fiber-reinforced soil composite at the same fiber orientation in the substrate. Furthermore, the proposed model demonstrated two major reinforcing components: “the fiber effect” and “the loop effect.” The latter effect is the key benefit and the main advantage of using looped fibers over ordinary fibers in soil reinforcement. Altogether, there is a close agreement between finite element method outputs and experimental results, suggestive of a novel technical textile material that could potentially be used in geotechnical engineering.