Abstract

This paper aims to identify the effect of cycling loading on the behaviour of a soft soil chemically stabilised reinforced (SSRF) and unreinforced (SSCS) with polypropylene fibres. The soil under study is a Portuguese soft soil collected in Baixo Mondego area. The laboratory work is based on the following tests: (i) monotonic Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) test (reference values); (ii) cyclic UCS test performed in different number of cycles (1.000; 2.500; 5.000; 10.000), and (iii) monotonic UCS tests developed after the cyclic loading stage (UCSpc). The analysis is complemented with the study of the accumulated permanent axial strain developed during the cyclic stage. The results show the accumulated permanent axial strain increases with the number of cycles, as well as the strength and stiffness after cycling loading stage.