Sand Rubber Mixtures under Oedometric Loading: Sand-like vs. Rubber-like Behavior

Each year, the number of scrap tires disposed in huge piles across world continuously increases. Consequently, new recycling solutions for these materials have to be proposed. Among them, one possibility consists shredding and mixing obtained tire chips with sand, which can used as alternative soils various geotechnical applications, such backfilling retaining structures, slope highway embankment stabilization, road constructions, soil erosion prevention, seismic isolation foundations. Such types mixtures are highly heterogeneous due important difference elasticity deformability between two constituents, leads complex mechanical behavior. In this article, one-dimensional loading/unloading behavior sand-rubber is investigated by laboratory strain-controlled experiments performed different packing densities, particle sizes, rubber contents, sand/rubber size ratios. After a global analysis increase deformation fraction stress level, novel criterion classify mixture sand-like or rubber-like was proposed, based on concavity void ratio—log vertical curve. The increased level fraction, up limits where saturation voids their filling induces A simplified phase diagram, limited range study, confined stiffness swelling were also analyzed.