Coir is a natural product which is available in India abundantly at low costs. Many products of geotechnical interest can be manufactured from coir fibres. This paper describes some laboratory tests carried out to test the durability of coir buried within clay soils. The tests were performed by exposing the coir samples to soils mixed with. various chemicals. The wide width tensile strength of samples after the exposure was used to characterise the effect of chemicals on the durability of coir samples. Some durability tests were perfom1ed after coating the coir samples with polymer to examine if its life can be improved with such treatments. Some pre-treatment techniques were also examined to enhance the effectiveness of polymer coating. The chemical test configuration was designed rationally using BoxHunter technique. By performing regression analysis of test data, simple equations were developed to predict the tensile strength of coir samples as a function of time.
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