HARSHA SATHYANATH (STM17CE021)
NIVED P (STM17CE033)
PAVIZHAM P (STM17CE034)
SUHANA KP (STM17CE048)

Coir is a natural fibre obtained from husk of coconut. Coir is reasonably available in India.Therefore, use of coir fibre for improvement of soil will be economical. Piping is a kind of seepage failure mode that commonly occurs under the influence of seepage force in soil. Piping failures are generally observed in irrigation and drainage projects such as river levees, bunds, temporary canal diversion works, temporary check dams and geotechnical structures. In order to reduce piping, the downstream side of embankment is reinforced with randomly distributed Coir fibres. To check piping behaviour of such fibre reinforced embankments, one dimensional piping test is carried out. This test also helps in determining the seepage velocity, hydraulic gradient and piping resistance of sand. Sand sample is mixed randomly with different dosages and lengths of coir fibres and hence effective length and dosage of fibre can be determined. Seepage velocity of water through sand sample is calculated and compared with unreinforced sand sample. From various researches it has been found that coir fibre reduces water permeability, hence increases piping resistance.