A Study into Aspect Ratio and the Influence of Platen Restraint on the Compressive Strength of Jute Fibre-Reinforced Compressed Earth Composites

This study investigates the behaviour of Compressed Earth Cylinders (CECs) and Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) during direct compression tests and examines the influence of aspect ratio and the effects of platen restraint. The experimental investigation utilises two soil types and examines the impact of jute fibre reinforcement on the failure mechanism of CECs with aspect ratios ranging from 0.50 to 2.00. Through experimental analysis and numerical modelling, the effects of platen restraint are examined, and a novel hypothesis of intersecting cones is presented. The results show that specimens with a lower aspect ratio exhibited higher compressive strength due to confinement caused by platen restraint. Moreover, this research has derived new aspect ratio correction factors that enable conversion from Apparent Compressive Strength (ACS) to Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) of unstabilised and fibre-reinforced CECs. The experimental results indicate that the derived conversion factor of 0.861 allows for the prediction of CEB strength from CEC specimens with an accuracy of 2.7%. Furthermore, the addition of jute fibres at a 0.25% dosage increased the Apparent Compressive Strength across all aspect ratios. The outcome of this research recommends a standard approach to the application of aspect ratio correction factors when interpreting and reporting the compressive strength of CECs and CEBs.