Laboratory Investigations on the Shear Behaviour of Sand-Tyre Derived Aggregate Mixtures

Abstract

A significant amount of research has been carried out in recent years to investigate possible options on the reuse of scrap tyres in civil engineering applications. One of the sustainable options is to utilise scrap tyre as tyre shreds/tyre chips (generally called as Tyre Derived Aggregate, TDA) and sand mixture as a lightweight fill material in the construction of infrastructure. Utilising TDA in infrastructure projects has multiple benefits including environmentally sustainable recycling and reuse of the scrap tyre thereby easing the consumption of natural fills, reduced material costs and enhanced geotechnical properties of the soil. Understanding the shear and volume change behaviours of TDA and sand mixture is critical before recommending the mixture as a suitable lightweight-reinforcing structural fill. In this study, the effect of the addition of TDA on the shear behaviour of sand was investigated using large scale direct shear and triaxial apparatus. It has been observed that TDA has significant influence on the shear and volume change behaviours of sand. Also, overall improvements in the soil characteristics, such as enhanced shear strength, can be achieved by the addition of TDA in sand.