Effect of Waste Tire Reinforcement with and without Cement Additives on Peat Strength Improvement

Abstract

This paper presents the peat ground improvement techniques using waste-tire as a fibre reinforced material. In this study, two sizes of the waste-tire are chosen, which are 0.05 mm and 1-3 mm, respectively. The collected peat is classified as Sapric peat with the degree of decomposition of H7 based on von Post classification with high moisture content of 400% was recorded. The Sapric peat is treated with the waste-tire at designated percentages of 5%, 10% and 15% with the addition of 5% of cement acting as a binder. The untreated and treated peat without and with cement content are compacted at the optimum moisture content for both the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) test and Direct Shear Box Test. The specimens were air-cured for 7, 28, 56, and 90 days. Hypothetically, higher percentages of rubber improve the shear stress value of the treated peat. According to the results the finer size (0.05mm) of the tire produces a higher shear stress, which may due the finer sizes of the waste-tire filled the void between the soil particles. Further, from the 90 days of curing UCS results, there is a significant increase in compressive strength with the increase percentage of the waste-tire peat mixed samples. In summary, soil stabilized by the scrap-tire is believed to decrease the optimum moisture content and the maximum dry densities, but it helps in increasing the unconfined compressive strength value. Stabilizing by using the tire wastes not only increasing the strength of the soil, but it also helps in reducing the disposal problems.