Abstract
Objectives: To determine the strength and swelling behavior of black cotton soil (expansive soil) using a shredded rubber tyre as an additive. Methods: Series of unconfined compressive strength and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) tests were carried out on black cotton soil mixed with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% of shredded rubber tyres, and the results were compared with untreated soil samples. The study also investigated the influence of shredded rubber on swelling characteristics of black cotton soil by performing the swelling pressure test. Findings: From the experimental results, it is inferred that the optimum addition of a 10% shredded rubber tyre can effectively improve the strength behavior of black cotton soil. The unconfined compressive strength and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of soil stabilized with 10% of shredded rubber tyre increased by 32 % and 49.3% respectively as compared to the untreated soil. An illustration presented shows the effect of increased CBR in terms of the reduction of 18% pavement thickness. This may reduce the total cost of the project. The present study also investigated the swelling potential of Black cotton soil and it is found to be decreased by 33.33% for the addition of 15% shredded rubber soil as compared to untreated soil. Novelty: The use of shredded rubber in expansive soil increased its CBR value, leading to a reduction in 18% of pavement thickness. Hence, it may lead to a further reduction in the total cost of the project. Also, the disposal problem of waste rubber tyres is resolved up to a certain extent. Keywords: Shredded Rubber Tyre; Black Cotton Soil; Unconfined Compressive Strength; California Bearing Ratio; Soil Stabilization
Highlights
In India, almost 20% of the land is covered by Black cotton soil
The effectiveness of shredded rubber soil has been demonstrated through a reduction in flexible pavement thickness by using the Indian Road Congress (IRC)37-2001 [44]
The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value is 4.74% and traffic is 7.2 msa Total pavement thickness = 620 mm For subgrade soil stabilized with shredded rubber, the CBR value is 9.61 % and traffic is 7.2 msa Total pavement thickness= 508 mm reduction in total pavement thickness is = 620-508 =112 mm the reduction of pavement thickness is 18%
Summary
In India, almost 20% of the land is covered by Black cotton soil (expansive soil). The special characteristics of this soil is its swelling and shrinkage behavior. Researchers studied the capability of these additives in expansive soil and observed the improvement in the engineering properties of expansive soil. Studied the compaction characteristics of the clayey soil with addition of waste rubber tyres and found it to decrease with the increment of rubber content, whereas few researchers [25,26,27] reported no change in optimum moisture content with the inclusion of rubber content in clayey soil. Many researchers [20,22,30,31] observed increment in unconfined compressive strength of clayey soil while few investigators [23,32,33] reported a reduction in unconfined compressive strength of clay with addition of rubber particles. Based on the above literature, it is clearly observed that further investigation is still required regarding the inclusion of waste rubber tyres on the strength behavior of clayey soil. The present study aims to examine the effect of shredded rubber tyres on the strength as well as swelling behavior of locally available black cotton soils
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