| It is estimated that over 300 million used automobile and truck tires are discarded annually in North America. Until recently, scrap tires have generally been disposed of in landfills and stockpiles; approximately 2 billion remain, making them a significant solid waste management and disposal problem. An enormous potential exists in recycling these scrap tires into crumbed tire rubber and potentially using them in geotechnical engineering applications. To investigate this potential, it was necessary to first understand the general behaviour and engineering properties. Therefore, the first goal of this research was to conduct a thorough literature review. Special focus was also given to material property testing and analysis. The findings from the literature review later provided a basis to proceed with laboratory testing. Therefore, the second objective was primarily to focus on characterizing the geotechnical properties including particle size and gradation, specific gravity, compaction characteristics, compressibility, shear strength behaviour, thermal properties and dynamic properties. The geotechnical properties were then compared to that of conventional construction materials including sands and gravels. The geotechnical properties of crumbed tire rubber can be summarized as uniformly graded, lightweight, highly compressible, high strength, free draining, a good thermal insulator, and an excellent vibration dampener. |
