Effect of variation of strain rate on the tensile properties of Coconut leaf midrib - A sustainable material for ground improvement

This paper aims at introducing a new natural fibers used as ground improvement material, which enables to improve the engineering properties of poor soil in an economical and sustainable manner. An investigation of extraction procedure of coconut leaf midrib has been undertaken. The study of tensile behavior of ground improvement material with different strain rate is very significant since, the small strain rate study simulates long term loading and large strain rate study simulates impact loading condition.  The strain rate chosen for the present study were in terms of percentage of gauge length of specimen per minute. Moreover, the optimum strain rate and characteristic tensile strength of coconut leaf midrib was established by using Weibull parameters.