Influence of tire crumbs on mechanical properties of sand-fine soil mixtures

Abstract

Population increases everyday which yields to usage of more vehicles for transportation of people and goods which causes increased amount of produced and scrap tires. Storage of scrap tires requires large areas which can be a problem. Scrap tires can also damage environmental, susceptible to fire and may cause health problems for people. Civil engineering applications such as construction of embankments and retaining walls can be a good option for using scrap tires in an environmental friendly way. Mixing some amount of scrap tire with soil to construct embankment and retaining wall can serve as a safe deposition of scrap tires and meet deformation requirements. Therefore, strength properties of scrap tires and soil mixtures should be investigated and determined. In this study, tire crumbs are mixed with sand, fine soil and sand-fine soil's various mixtures. Mixtures are prepared by adding 10%, 20% and 30% tire crumbs by weight of mixtures. Maximum unit weight and optimum water content are determined. Direct shear test is conducted to determine shear strength properties, shear modulus and dilatancy behaviour of mixtures. Tire crumbs decreases unit weight of soil, increases angle of friction of soil. Optimum amount of tire crumb is found 20% of the soil.