Shear and Compression Characteristics of Recycled Glass-Tire Mixtures

Tire particles in the form of shreds, chips, or crumbs, are normally mixed with sand to make suitable alternative backfill or embankment materials. This mixture of soft (tire) and rigid (sand) particles in their optimum ratio has been shown to provide reasonable engineering performance in terms of strength, permeability, durability, and compressibility. In this study, mixtures of fine recycled glass (FRG) and tire crumbs (TC) were evaluated through isotropic compression tests, as well as consolidated drained triaxial tests under five confinement levels. Four proportions of mixtures with gravimetric TC contents of 10-40% were evaluated in terms of shear and compression response. Results show that, increasing the TC content decreases the shear strength parameters and Young's modulus, and increases the compressibility of the mixture. Gravimetric TC content corresponding to the transition mixture in high and low confinements were between 10 and 20%, and 20 to 30%, respectively. In mixtures with a TC content less or greater than that of a transition mixture, a FRG or TC skeleton was found to govern the behavior of the mixture. The outcomes of this research study were compared with results of investigations carried out on sand-rubber mixtures, and possible applications of this fully recycled product are discussed. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.