Abstract:
Use of recycled waste materials for geotechnical and civil engineering
applications can provide an attractive way to reduce the waste to be disposed of and it
may help in improving engineering properties of soil. Scrap tyres are one of such waste
material which has many properties that can be effectively utilized for geotechnical and
civil engineering applications. In this study a recycled waste product crumb rubber was
used as an additive with clayey soil to analyze the effect of additive on soil properties.
Statically compacted soil specimens have been prepared at optimum moisture content and
maximum dry density by adding 3%, 5%, 7%, 10% and 15% by weight of crumb rubber
powder to the parent soil. It has been observed that there is a decrease in maximum dry
density (MDD) due to an increase in percentage of crumb rubber powder. Lower specific
gravity of crumb rubber may have caused the decrement in MDD values and also it was
observed that due to increase in percentage of crumb rubber powder, CBR strength value
of the soil increase but after 7% of crumb rubber CBR values decreased. California
bearing ratio (CBR) tests were carried out on soil and crumb rubber mix to study the
effect of crumb rubber in strengthening the soil. Results have shown increase in CBR
values up to 7% of crumb rubber. Therefore, it is suggested that the waste crumbed tyres
can be mixed with soil, and the soil can be used safely in the sub grade and others
purposes.
