Development of coated kenaf mat for slope stabilization

The aims of this study are to assess tensile strength of coated kenaf and ability of coated kenaf to act as reinforced to laterite soil in slope stabilization. This paper presents four types of different samples which are Uncoated Kenaf Mat, Coated Kenaf Mat with (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) ABS and Kenaf Mat Coated with Epoxy Resin using two different solutions. All samples were tested using Universal Testing Machine (UTM) to obtain maximum stress while direct shear test are used to determine the cohesion (c) and frictional angle (Ø). As the result from tensile test, the maximum stress for Kenaf Mat Coated with ABS and Kenaf Mat Coated with Epoxy Resin using two different solutions are 47.50N/mm2, 95N/mm2 and 96.20N/mm2 respectively. It was higher than uncoated kenaf that only able to produce 5.6 N/mm2 of maximum stress. The cohesion (c) value results for reinforced soil using Coated Kenaf Mat with ABS and Kenaf Mat Coated with Epoxy Resin using two different solutions are 9.31, 12.76 & 7.01 respectively. From the results, coated kenaf mat was able to yield maximum stress higher than uncoated kenaf mat. Meanwhile, coated kenaf has improved soil shear strength compared to unreinforced soil. As the conclusion, by coating kenaf with ABS and Epoxy resin it can improve the physical and mechanical properties of kenaf as well as shear strength for the soil. As such, coated kenaf mat has the potential to be used for slope stabilization to improve its stability.