VOL. 13, NO. 1, JANUARY 2018 ISSN 1819-6608 ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences ©2006-2018 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved. www.arpnjournals.com 52 POTENTIAL OF BAMBOO PILE AS REINFORCEMENT OF PEAT SOIL UNDER EMBANKMENT Maulana, Azwar, Rika Deni Susanti and Aazokhi Waruwu Department of Civil Engineering, Institut Teknologi Medan, Indonesia E-Mail: maulana_sipil_itm@ymail.com ABSTRACT Implementation of preloading and reinforcing of bamboo grids on peat is expected to reduce compression and increase and bearing capacity of peat soils. Preloading can be applied by using a embankment material that can speed up compression, while to increase the bearingcapacity due to embankment load can use a combination of reinforcement of bamboo grids and piles. Modeling wasconducted in the laboratory by using peat soil media. The preloading model wasconducted with embankment model using iron scrap on peat soil, which were supported by bamboo grid and pile with diameter of 2 cm with length of 20 cm, and spacing of 20 cm and 10 cm. The increase of bearing capacity due to reinforcement can be seen from the settlement and deflection behavior of both peat with bamboo piles and without piles will be discussed in this paper. Keywords: peat, preloading, bamboo pile, settlement, deflection, emulsion asphalt, erosion rate, rain simulation, sandy clay, stabilization. 1. INTRODUCTION According to Mesri and Ajlouni [1], preloading and surcharging are effective methods of peat soil improvement. Ref. [2] using a combination of electroosmosis and vacuum-overlying water preloading methods to prevent deficiencies, increase bearing capacity and reduce compression on soil, making design more effective. While Ref. [3], using the vacuum preloading method to estimate the degree of consolidation on the ground. The behavior of soft soil deposits is improved by vertical drainage and preloading [4]. Preloading can be applied with embankments on peat soil. Ref. [5] applies preloading with fill of silty were compacted as high as 3 m above clay peaty soil. Between soft soil and embankment deposited geotextiles and sand as reinforcement and drainage. As a result of preloading, SPT values and compressive strength increased, indicating that preloading is effective in improving soft peat soils. Ref [6] states by preloading the form of sand deposits on peat soils, the bearing capacity may increase by 101-242% with a height of 13 cm fill. For small-scale test models in the laboratory can use a model of embankment of iron scrap [7]. The load test of this model shows a significant decrease for the laboratory scale model test. In order for the embankment to remain stable above the peat soil surface, a reinforcement system is required. Ref. [8] suggest that the failure of embankment on peat soil is generally caused by excessive shear deformation of the fill rather than a particular surface shift. Reinforced can contribute to increase the stability of the pile, where reinforcement and shear strength of peat soil will withstand lateral forces. Various types of reinforcement are commonly used as reinforced. Bamboo is better than geotextiles as a soil reinforcement, this can be seen from the research of [9], soft clay soil reinforced with a combination of bamboo and geotextiles as a separator between soft soil with embankment material, has a much better final settlement than reinforced with geotextiles, even from high tensile geotextiles. Square bamboo takes the load from the accumulation of matter, thus reducing the settlement much better than other models that do not use bamboo. On the other hand, square bamboo shapes form an interlock to resist horizontal shear stress and increase bamboo stiffness, hence the vertical spread of pressure is evenly distributed. As a result, lateral movement is observed low. Another factor is due to the void part of the bamboo, where air trapped inside the bamboo can provide a buoyant effect and because it distributes small embankment loads to soft soil soft layers. A review by Anusha and Kindo [10] states that the use of bamboo as a soil reinforcement can increase the value of unconfined compressive strength, due to the friction between the ground and the rough surface of the bamboo. In addition to the increased compressive strength value, reduced decrease and non-uniform decrease. The use of bamboo grids on peat soils shows an increase in bearing capacity. The bamboo grid has been used as a reinforcement on a shallow foundation [11 and 12]. The bearing capacity of shallow foundations can be increased by the use of bamboo grids. The use of bamboo grids as a reinforcement can be combined with bamboo piles. The bamboo pile with bamboo pile raft system (known as "cerucuk") has been proven to provide advantages for increased soil bearing capacity such as peat and can reduce the decline of pile [13]. Construction stages and controls are needed for embankment over peat, as the addition of rapid deposits can lead to large deformations along with tension cracks and heave [14]. Major deformations disrupt the stability of embankments on peat soils. To keep the embankment in a stable state, peat soil reinforcement is required. The reinforcement used in this study is a combination of bamboo grids with bamboo piles. This research is expected to reduce the settlement and deflection of bamboo grid due to the load of embankment and in the end can increase the bearing capacity of peat soil.