Investigation of fiber effect on the mechanical behavior of municipal solid waste by different shearing test apparatuses

This paper embraces the results of a study on the mechanical behavior of municipal solid waste, MSW, and the effect of shearing mechanism on its mechanical response. Totally, 9 drained direct shear tests and 9 drained triaxial tests have been performed on fresh MSW samples with fiber contents of 0, 6 and 12%. Each apparatus represents a different shearing mechanism. The composition and compaction condition for MSW samples in each fiber content, employed in both shearing test devices, were the same. In triaxial tests, since the shear plane was cutting through the fibers, with increase in the fiber content, an increasing trend of strength was observed; on the contrary, this trend was decreasing in direct shear tests because fiber alignment was parallel to the shear plane. Test results show that the effect of fibers in the triaxial tests depends on the level of imposed axial strain on the samples as well as the confining stress. Based on the findings of this paper, hardening behavior of MSW is attributed to reinforcement action of fibers and particle compressibility.