An Investigation of the Mechanics of Decomposed Granite-Rubber Chip Composite Materials

Description

The disposal of waste tyres is a major problem with over 500 million being created per annum in the USA alone. One solution is to use them in various civil engineering applications of which mixing shreds and chips of tyres in soil to create a lightweight fill is a popular option. The addition of the rubber may have some beneficial effects on the properties of the fill while improving sustainability within the civil engineering industry. The existing literature shows that most work so far carried out has been on poorly graded sands that may be less relevant to Hong Kong and that there may be an opportunity to apply a critical state type of framework to derive a more complete model of the behaviour of these materials. This would require modifications to the types of tests conducted and so it is also proposed to assemble a suitable triaxial testing system.