Experimental study of base stabilization with fibrillated fiber

Potential benefits in applying polypropylene fiber to stabilize expansive soils and cement treated bases is already been reported in previous studies. So a critical need exists to incorporate the use of fiber into the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT’s) Guidelines for Modification and Stabilization of Soils and Base for Use in Pavement Structures. The present paper discusses the results collected from the first experimental test section on FM897 in the TxDOT Paris District. Three 500-ft (152.4m) test sections were constructed with 2 percent cement on FM897 in February 2020 in the north bound lane loaded truck direction which includes a new sandstone base, full depth reclamation (FDR), and control. However, only the new sandstone base and FDR sections were built with fiber. In this project, two types of fibers were used —(a) fibrillated fiber Fibermesh300, and (b) macro-synthetic fiber Enduro 600. The surface and base layers from the new sandstone base section were removed and used for the edge widening area of the FDR and control sections. Based on the laboratory tests, the optimum fiber contents were found to be 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent for a new sandstone base and FDR, respectively. The laboratory Unconfine Compression Strength (UCS) results showed significant improvements (