The Stabilization of Compacted Clay by Hemp Fibers

Abstract

Hemp has received a lot of attention in Thailand after the government announced that it can be produce, import, export, sell or have in possession on January 29, 2021. With the many benefits from all parts of hemp, it has the potential to become a new economic crop in Thailand. Currently, hemp is cultivated and processed into various types of industrial products in northern Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai. In this research was to study the mechanical properties of hemp core and fiber mixed with clay to be used as a bio-building material. Hemp cores and fibers were processed until they were 0.5 and 2 cm long, mixed with clay from Phitsanulok province. The basic properties of the materials were tested and the mixing ratio was designed by determining the mixing ratio of 0.5% and 1% per weight of clay. Then, the efficiency of compression was tested by unconfined compression test and triaxial compression test. The test results showed that when hemp core was added to the mixing ratio, the shear strength decreased, but when adding hemp fibers, the shear strength will be higher. It was shown that processing, sizing and quantification of hemp affected the yield performance of hemp mixed with clay.