Infrastructure protection by scrap tyre-soil mixtures
RIS ID
35568
Abstract
The recent earthquakes in China (2008) and Haiti (2010) once again reminded us the devastating power of earthquakes, particularly in impoverished countries where fragile buildings and infrastructures prevail. The tyre disposal has been a significant environmental problem. Every year, 800 million waste tyres are disposed of worldwide. It has been a hot topic amongst the engineering community to look for long-term viable options to the recycling and reuse of the huge stockpile. This paper proposes a new method of utilizing tyres for infrastructure protection against earthquakes. The method involves mixing scrap tyres with soil materials and placing the mixtures around building foundations for seismic isolation. The inexpensive nature of the proposed method can be of great benefits to impoverished countries where there are affordability issues employing expensive technology for infrastructure protection. The potential effectiveness of the proposed has been demonstrated by both numerical simulations and shaking table tests.
Publication Details
Tsang, H., Xiong, W., Yaghmaei-Sabegh, S., Sheikh, M. and Lam, N. (2011). Infrastructure protection by scrap tyre-soil mixtures. In S. Fragomeni, S. Venkatesan, N. Lam and S. Setunge (Eds.), Incorporating Sustainable Practice in Mechanics of Structures and Materials (pp. 389-393). Netherlands: CRC Press.