Tire Rubber Research Articles

Viability of Moniliophthora roreri on Cocoa Beans Under Microfermentation and Long-Term Survival on Carrier Materials.

The viability of Moniliophthora roreri inoculum was evaluated during the microfermentation process of diseased and healthy pulp-seed masses and on a range of carrier materials: aluminum, cloth, glass, paper, plastic, raffia, and rubber tire. Fungal survival was assessed before the microfermentation (0 h) and every 24 to 96 h by the growth of colonies in potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) and sporulation in seed shells. Colonies of M. roreri and sporulation on seed shells were observed from seeds not submitted to microfermentation. No growth was recovered from diseased cocoa beans after 48 h under the microfermentation. The viability of M. roreri spores recovered from carrier materials was evaluated at 7, 15, 30, 45, and 100 days after inoculation (DAI) by collecting spores and plating them on Sabouraud dextrose yeast extract agar amended with chloramphenicol (50 mg l1). The viability was determined by counting germinated and ungerminated spores under a light microscope (40×) after incubating in a moist chamber at 26 ± 2°C for 72 h. Spores maintained long-term viability on all tested carrier materials toward the end of the experiment (overall 26%) with significant differences (<0.05) among them. Maximum spore viability occurred at 7 and 15 DAI, with cloth and plastic carrier materials considered at high risk of acting as vehicles for the fungal spread. Mathematical models of spore viability over time were fit to the data using the Bayesian information criterion. Findings confirmed the importance of the fermentation process to hamper M. roreri growth and the potential of carrier materials for fungal dispersal.

Evaluation of self-compacting rubberized concrete properties: Experimental and machine learning approach

Diverse negative impacts of waste tire disposal have created a menace to a cleaner environment worldwide. Global awareness on the use of unconventional materials in concrete necessitated the use of solid waste in concrete. Towards sustainable construction and building materials, in this study, powdered waste rubber tires (PWRT) were incorporated into self-compacting concrete as a partial substitute for fine aggregate. The suitability of the self-compacting rubberized concrete (SCRC) was assessed by conducting workability tests (slump flow, T50, and L-box), mechanical tests (compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength tests), microstructural analysis, and durability tests. The results showed that an increasing percentage of PWRT had an adverse effect on the workability and flowability of SCRC. Mechanical strength at 3, 7, 21, 28, 56, and 90 days exhibited a reduction with an increasing PWRT content. Furthermore, the microstructural analysis showed weaker adhesion at the interfacial transition zone in the SCRC. A correlation matrix with empirical relationships was also developed. The effect of acid attack on SCRC was measured by immersion in HCL and Na2SO4, and a poor resistance was noticed. Machine learning regression algorithms were employed to predict the SCRC mechanical properties, including linear, ridge, lasso, decision tree, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, and support vector. In addition, evaluation metrics with statistical checks were also used to assess the model's performance. Ridge regression appeared best suited for predicting the compressive strength, while random forest regression best estimates the tensile and flexural strength.

Physicochemical investigation and thermogravimetric analysis of bamboo and poplar wood residues and tire rubber waste: Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses

This work conducted a physicochemical investigation of bamboo and poplar wood residues and tire rubber waste and their potential for conversion by pyrolysis from kinetic and thermodynamic aspects. The activation energies were obtained by means of a modified Friedman isoconversional method, with varying values of 133.0–248.4 kJ mol−1, 162.7–235.2 kJ mol−1, and 111.5–275.2 kJ mol−1 for the pyrolysis of bamboo and poplar wood residues and tire rubber waste, respectively. A combination of the kinetic compensation effect and a general empirical reaction model was used for the simultaneous determination of the frequency factors and empirical reaction models. The frequency factors of the pyrolysis of bamboo and poplar wood residues and tire rubber waste ranged from 1.5 × 109 to 4.7 × 1018 s−1, 1.2 × 1012 to 2.3 × 1018 s−1 and 1.3 × 107 to 3.4 × 1020 s−1, respectively. The effective thermodynamic parameters for the pyrolysis of bamboo and poplar wood residues and tire rubber waste were calculated, which indicated that these samples exhibited significant potential as raw materials for pyrolysis conversion.

Identification of patterns of strength formation of concrete using cement Portland Pozzolan (PPC) and waste tire powder in the condition of seawater curing

According to the national standard body in Indonesia, the compressive strength of 20 MPa concrete is medium quality concrete. Medium-strength concrete is usually used for floors, light construction, houses, warehouse factories, and sidewalks. The use of medium-strength concrete is very broad, it is necessary to continuously conduct research to produce new innovations. Previous research on the utilization of waste rubber tires has been carried out. Research on the development of concrete with the use of waste tire rubber powder is very interesting to do considering the waste of used tires that continues to increase along with the increase in the number of motorized vehicles in Indonesia. Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Pozzolan Cement (PPC) are the two types that will be used in this research to see its effect on concrete with waste rubber powder. These two cements also have different corrosion resistance. And seawater is one of the triggers of high concrete corrosion. Research on the development of concrete with the use of waste tire rubber powder is very interesting to do considering the waste of used tires that continues to increase along with the increase in the number of motorized vehicles in Indonesia. Portland Cement (OPC) and Portland Pozzolan Cement (PPC) are the two types that will be used in this research to see its effect on concrete with waste rubber powder. These two cements also have different corrosion resistance. And seawater is one of the triggers of high concrete corrosion. This study aims to analyze how the compressive strength of PPC concrete compares with OPC and the addition of used tire powder under seawater treatment conditions. Six concrete variants were made and then tested for compressive strength. The compressive strength values of variants 1 to 6 were obtained as 20.78 MPa, 18.26 MPa, 19.56 MPa, 16.58 MPa, 13.03 MPa. The results show that tile powder is not effective in increasing construction strength, but the use of PPC cement is more effective than the use of OPC in improving construction, especially for cement use in buildings close to sea water

Seismic performance of GFRP-rubberized concrete-steel hybrid solid columns

The application of structured rubberized concrete offers an effective solution for recycling rubber tires. This paper proposes a novel GFRP-rubberized concrete-steel hybrid solid columns (GRSRC), which combines rubberized concrete with circular FRP-concrete-steel double-skin tubular columns (DSTCs). Quasi-static tests were carried out on 7 GRSRC specimens to investigate the influence of rubber contents, steel tube diameters, and axial load ratios on their seismic performance. The test results indicate that the GRSRC has excellent ductility, lateral displacement capacity, and energy dissipation capacity. The GRSRC exhibits slow strength degradation at large lateral displacements due to the double-tube confinement effect. Using rubberized concrete with a rubber content of 20% as a replacement for ordinary concrete has little impact on the seismic performance of the specimens. When the rubber content reaches 40%, the seismic performance decreases significantly. Furthermore, its lateral load-bearing capacity, energy dissipation capacity, and deformation capacity are also reduced with the decreasing diameter of the steel tube, resulting in brittle damage. Increasing the axial load ratio enhances the stiffness, lateral load-bearing capacity, and energy dissipation capacity but may reduce ductility, deformation capacity, and hysteretic performance. Finally, a simplified model of GRSRC restoring force is established and validated, providing a theoretical basis for practical engineering applications.

Research on air pollutants and odour emissions from paving hot-mix asphalt with end-of-life tyre rubber

This article discusses different types of pollution from the paving process and the influence of using hot mix asphalt without and including end-of-life tyre rubber. This new composition type is one of the possible solutions to reduce the amount of used transport tyres and a new way to use less valuable raw materials. The research carried out involved analyzers applied under conditions of a mobile laboratory and handheld particle counters. Odour samples were taken using a vacuum chamber in Tedlar containers, and the level of odours was analyzed adopting the olfactometric method. Exposure to gaseous carbon, nitrogen and sulphur oxides and particulate matter up to 10 µm, fractions from 0.3 µm to 10 µm, as well as the odours emitted that cover the soil surface with the hot-mix asphalt-rubber mixture was examined. The average decrease in pollution using the asphalt-rubber mixture is about 3.8–4 % of nitrogen oxides, 10 % of particulate matter of 1.5–10, and an increase is approximately 9 % for particulate matter of 0.8–1 µm and 15 % for sulphur dioxide. The level of odour of compacted asphalt is around 2.8times lower than that in the case of level asphalt.

Penetration resistance and damage characteristics of cementitious mortar with partially replaced waste tire rubber as a filler against high-speed impact loading

Concrete, as the sole construction material, demonstrates an inadequate performance against high-speed impact loading. Resistance to such loading can be increased by adding rubber from the waste tire industry. In this study, the performances of cementitious mortar with the addition of waste tire rubber (WTR) powder were investigated against the strike of a high-speed projectile. By setting the target flow above 110 % and air content within a range of 5–7%, mortar with 30 % WTR was selected for high-speed impact test. Selected mortar specimens demonstrated significantly high resistance to damage and penetration against a high-speed projectile at impact speeds of 300 m/s and 420 m/s. Further, an experimental study revealed the contrasting behaviour of mortar specimens with WTR powder from that of conventional specimens, where typical compression occurred due to triaxial stress at the tunnel circumference formed by the intrusion of the projectile. Recommendation is made for composite mortar containing a less-stiff material such as rubber for new variables to be defined in the existing formulae, to quantify penetration in high-speed loading; given that the penetration resistance of specimens with 30 % WTR was larger than that of the control specimen, even with its lower compression strength.

A comprehensive review of the application of waste tire rubber in concrete/mortar as fine aggregate replacement

A comprehensive review of the application of waste tire rubber in concrete/mortar as fine aggregate replacement

Performance of rubberized reinforced concrete columns at ambient and high temperatures

The proliferation of discarded rubber tires is rapidly increasing at a concerning pace. Driven by the significant movement towards promoting environmental sustainability and mitigating the adverse environmental impact associated with non-biodegradable waste rubber tires, the objective of this study is to identify a viable and ecologically responsible resolution to the issue of discarded tires. This study experimentally focuses on the structural response and load-carrying capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) short columns containing crumb rubber as a partial replacement for fine aggregate after being exposed to temperatures of 27 °C, 300 °C, and 500 °C. Four concrete mixes were produced in which the natural fine aggregate (NFA) was partially replaced by CR with ratios of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 20% in volume. Twelve columns (three columns from each mix) were cast and tested under concentric loading. The experimental results showed that the workability and compressive strength of the concrete mixes decreased with increasing the CR replacement ratio. The residual failure load of columns decreased with increasing CR quantities and heating temperatures. The CR quantity had a more considerable impact on the decline of the column capacity than the heating temperatures. Analytical equations from international standards ACI 318–14, CSA A23.3, and previously existing equations were applied to study the validity of these equations in predicting the failure load of heated rubberized RC columns. Finally, a proposed equation for predicting the failure load of the columns is developed. The predicted failure loads obtained from the proposed equation were compared to the experimental results. The predictions from the proposed equation were in good agreement with the experimental data. Different statistical tests were done to compare the predictions from the proposed equation and previously existing equations for predicting the failure load of heated rubberized RC columns.

Review on the Role of Rubber on the Performance of Concrete

Due to the rapid development of the vehicle manufacturing industry, the hazards caused by scrap tire rubber have become one of the serious problems faced by people today. Rubber concrete is made of waste rubber into different particle sizes to replace the fine aggregate in ordinary concrete formed by a new type of composite material, for the disposal of waste tires and rubber opened up a new way, so that waste rubber can be reused. Rubber concrete compared to ordinary concrete has Light weight, good elasticity, high toughness, ductility, impact resistance, good damping, good frost resistance, but its strength is reduced. From the perspective of mechanical properties, durability and modification treatment, the article introduces the research progress of its compressive strength, frost resistance, carbonation resistance, modification treatment, etc., which provides a method for rubber concrete to be used in a wider range of practical projects.

Study the effect of adding vulcanized rubber powder on the mechanical properties and fire retardant of polyurethane Sealant.

The polyurethane Sealant (TRITOSIL H10 PU) mechanical and combustion characteristics were examined in this study as a function of the weight ratio of tire rubber powder (waste), with a particle volume of (150 μm). Elongation, tensile strength, Young's modulus, compressive strength, and rate of burning time were a few of the characteristics examined. The results showed that adding filler decreases the spaces between the chains of polymer, reflecting the polymer's high ability to withstand the stress imposed on it, that the degree of homogeneity between each of the fillers and polymers is high, and that increasing the percentage of fillers gives the prepared models a slight increase in hardness at a percentage increase (25%). Based on research into combustion resistance, The results of the experiments showed that increasing the amount of used filler has a positive impact on heat diffusion through the polymeric matrix and flame resistance. The use of filler as a filler has an impact on the properties of the polyurethane polymer, which has high mechanical properties. This increases tensile strength, which makes it appropriate to cover the flooring of indoor playgrounds, kids' playrooms, and other spaces.&#x0D;

Analyzing the behavior of graphene oxide on high-strength rubberized concrete properties using different optimization techniques

Applying rubber aggregates (RA) obtained from used rubber tires in concrete is an innovative method to substitute natural aggregate (NA) to perform sustainable construction practices. RA in concrete is not only helpful to remove the burden of used rubber tire heaps from the earth but may also give a better alternative to the fast-depleting NA. Graphene oxide (GO) was mixed in the RC to modify the physical and mechanical properties of rubberized concrete (RC). An experimental study was performed on the sixteen different concrete samples of GO-mixed RC with the help of workability, density, air content, compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength tests. The research findings indicated that GO had a beneficial impact by enhancing the density, compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength by counteracting the detrimental effects caused by RA on concrete. Increments up to 0.72 %, 16.23 %, 8.82 %, and 6.48 %, respectively, were reported in the density, compressive strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength of RC after the inclusion of GO. However, the incorporation of GO tended to reduce workability (up to 13.04 %) and air content (by 1.5 %) in the RC. Different optimization techniques like response surface methodology (RSM), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and heatmap correlation were applied to the experimental results. Coefficients of determination were higher than 92 % for each GO-mixed RC property, indicating a higher goodness of fit for the experimental results.

Ingestion of car tire crumb rubber and uptake of associated chemicals by lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)

Car tire rubber constitutes one of the largest fractions of microplastics emissions to the environment. The two main emission sources are tire wear particles (TWPs) formed through abrasion during driving and runoff of crumb rubber (CR) granulate produced from end-of-life tires that is used as infill on artificial sports fields. Both tire wear particles and crumb rubber contain a complex mixture of metal and organic chemical additives, and exposure to both the particulate forms and their leachates can cause adverse effects in aquatic species. An understanding of the exposure pathways and mechanisms of toxicity are, however, scarce. While the most abundant metals and organic chemicals in car tire rubber have multiple other applications, para-phenylenediamines (PDs) are primarily used as rubber antioxidants and were recently shown to cause negative effects in aquatic organisms. The present study investigated the responses of the marine lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) to crumb rubber exposure in a controlled feeding experiment. Juvenile fish were offered crumb rubber particles with their feed for 1 week, followed by 2 weeks of depuration. Crumb rubber particle ingestion occurred in &amp;gt;75% of exposed individuals, with a maximum of 84 particles observed in one specimen. Gastrointestinal tract retention times varied, with some organisms having no crumb rubber particles and others still containing up to 33 crumb rubber particles at the end of the experiment. Blood samples were analyzed for metals and organic chemicals, with ICP-MS analysis revealing there was no uptake of metals by the exposed fish. Interestingly, high resolution GC-MS analysis indicated that uptake of PDs into lumpfish blood was proportionate to the number of ingested CR particles. Three of the PDs found in blood were the same as those identified in the additive mixture Vulkanox3100. N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) was the most concentrated PD in both the crumb rubber and lumpfish blood. The transformation product 6PPD-quinone was detected in the rubber material, but not in the blood. This study demonstrates that PDs are specific and bioavailable chemicals in car tire rubber that have the potential to serve as biomarkers of recent exposure to tire chemicals, where simple blood samples could be used to assess recent tire chemical exposure in vertebrates, including humans.

Mechanical behaviour of composite materials including waste rubber chips: experimental and numerical investigations

ABSTRACT Converting scrap tires to a useful form is becoming an acceptable technique for a broad range of applications. This study focuses on the mechanical characterisation of composites containing a high amount of waste tire rubber which are reinforced with different content of aluminium powder. Therefore, a set of experimental test is performed to highlight the effect of metallic fillers reinforcement on the mechanical response of elaborated composites under static and quasi-static tests. Results of this study reveal the high improvement of material properties for the elastomeric matrix reinforced with metallic fillers. In fact, the ultimate strength of composite material has increased to 1.8 MPa for a high reinforcement content. In the second part, a modified visco-hyperelastic model is developed on the basis of experimental results which demonstrate the prominence of the strain-rate-dependent behaviour consideration. Coupled with the Prony’s series approximation, the Mooney Rivlin model is actually applied to refine the strain energy potential in order to examine the mechanical behaviour of the composite material under different loadings conditions. Finally, the good concurrence between the numerical and experimental results highlights the impressive efficacy of the proposed model in accurately predicting the mechanical characteristics of the materials under investigation.

Preparation and properties of rice husk ash silica filled natural rubber

AbstractRice husk ash silica obtained from the chemical purification of rice husk ash is a bio‐based silica. As a sustainable raw material, the bio‐based silica has attracted much attention in recent years. It can be used to replace traditional carbon black and silica in tire rubbers. Our experimental results show that the bio‐based silica can bring similar mechanical properties and higher wet grip to natural rubber in comparison with traditional silica. The wet mixing method is successfully used to disperse the bio‐based silica in natural rubber latex, obtaining a bio‐based silica/natural rubber composite with higher abrasion resistance and lower rolling resistance than the composite prepared by traditional dry mixing. The mechanical properties of bio‐based silica/natural rubber composites depend on the silica loading and mixing methods. Mixing natural rubber and bio‐based silica through wet‐mixing method is a green and sustainable approach to the tread rubbers with excellent mechanical properties, low rolling resistance, high abrasion resistance, and wet grip.

Comparative fracture resistance assessment of rubber-modified asphalt mortar based on meso-and macro-mechanical analysis

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of ground tire rubber (GTR) on the cracking resistance of asphalt mortar from different analysis scales. Furthermore, the effectiveness of different fracture test methods was compared for GTR-modified asphalt mortar, including the indirect tensile cracking test (IDEAL-CT), disk-shaped compact tension test (DCT) and Illinois flexibility index test (I-FIT). To achieve this, a mesoscopic fracture test based on the SEM-Servo Plus device was proposed firstly to obtain the micro-parameters of constitutive models in discrete-element modelling (DEM). A unified fracture modelling procedure that can avoid any interference factors was carried out for comparative fracture analysis. Results from the tests and simulations show that rubber filler plays a positive role in enhancing the fracture properties of the asphalt mortar. The fracture energy measured by IDEAL-CT is almost 5–6 times of the DC(T) test and 1.5–2 times of the I-FIT test. It is not an inherent attribute of material and can only be regarded as a relative index for fracture resistance evaluation. The FI and CTindex obtained from the I-FIT and IDEAL-CT test show a weak correlation of fracture resistance, especially when comparatively evaluating the GTR-modified asphalt mortar with minor difference in filler content.

Microstructure, thermal conductivity and carbonation resistance properties of sustainable structural lightweight concrete incorporating 100% coarser rubber particles

An all-encompassing effort has been performed to utilize waste tire rubber particles for replacing binders and conventional aggregates in concrete, and very little work has been found in the current literature on structural lightweight concrete (SLWC) for the complete replacement of traditional aggregates by waste tire rubber. Notably, there is no available study addressing the microstructure, thermal performance, and carbonation resistance of SLWC with 100 % waste coarser rubber content. Therefore, this study investigated the thermal conductivity, carbonation, X-ray CT scan, and extensive microstructural properties of novel structural lightweight concrete (SLWC) with 100 % waste rubber to substitute conventional aggregate for the first time. Different variables, such as large and smaller rubber particles, normal and compressed samples, and steel fibers, were introduced. Maximum compressive strength of 18 MPa with a density of 2115 kg/m3 satisfied the prerequisite for SLWC prescribed by ACI 213R. Non-destructive tests, including electrical resistivity and ultra-pulse velocity tests, were conducted to identify the soundness of concrete. The microstructural properties, i.e., energy dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray CT scan, were evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the novel casting method. The thermal conductivity of 0.29 W/m.k indicated excellent thermal insulation performance of SLWC, denoted by ASTM C332. Carbonation resistance was also considerably improved. The results show that the SLWC in this study has excellent potential for both structural and non-structural applications.

Flexural behavior of steel fiber reinforced concrete beams comprising coarse and fine rubber and strengthened by CFRP sheets

Despite having many advantages, using rubber to produce reinforced concrete members like beams is still restricted. When there is more waste tire rubber in concrete structures, rubber concrete's flexural and compressive strengths gradually decrease. However, this study used steel fibers to improve compressive strength and externally bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to increase flexural strength. Four groups of three reinforced concrete beams each were established for the study's use. The first and third groups of concrete beams used a volumetric replacement of fine and coarse aggregates with 5% and 10% waste tire rubber. However, steel fibers were added to the second and third groups at a rate of 1.25% of the concrete volume. Waste tire rubber and steel fibers were not replaced or added to the fourth group, the main reference group. The dimensions of each beam were 2.1×0.2×0.3 m. A concrete beam's first member is always free of external reinforcement, followed by its second member, which has one layer, and its third member, which has two layers of CFRP sheet. ABAQUS, a finite element analysis program, was used numerically to represent the third strengthening layer. The results showed that strengthening the reinforced rubberized concrete beams with a single layer of CFRP sheets increased the load at first crack and failure by 8.57% and 17.64%, respectively, compared to the unreinforced reference beam, compensating for the loss caused by the production of rubberized concrete and adding additional flexural strength. These loads increased by 31.43% and 26.45%, respectively, due to the steel fibers added to the beams containing these waste tire rubber. Strengthening with two layers of CFRP sheets increased the load at first crack and failure by 17.14 and 34.27, respectively. The steel fibers added to the beams that contained these amounts of waste tire rubber, on the other hand, caused these loads to increase by 42.86 and 49.23%, respectively. Strengthening with three layers numerically results in an exponential increase in load at the first crack and the failure by 8.03 and 52.88%, respectively. On the other hand, the loads on the beams that contained these quantities of waste tire rubber increased by 50.49% and 104.47%, respectively, when steel fibers were added to them.

Effects of Tire Crumb Rubber and Steel Fiber on Punching Shear Behavior of Two-way Alkali-activated Concrete Flat Slabs

As a result of the rapid increase in the demand for transportation vehicles recently, the accumulation of waste tires causes environmental problems. One of the methods that can contribute to the reduction of this environmental problem is the recycling of waste tires as a construction material in aggregate form. This research investigated the impacts of waste tire crumb rubber with/out steel fiber (SF) on the two-way punching-shear behavior alkali-activated concrete (AAC) flat slabs and performed center point load tests. In the study, one-type of SF and two kinds of scrap tire waste i.e., crumb rubber (CR) and tire particles, were used on the producing of rubberized AAC slabs obtained by 100% as binder made of ground-granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Also, while both fine crumb rubber (FCR) and coarse crumb rubber (CCR) were used together in the AAC slabs, tire crumb rubber (TCR) was used alone at the same proportion. Additionally, the fine aggregate was substituted with 10% and 15% FCR and CCR, and coarse aggregate was substituted with TCR in the same proportions. Additionally, AAC slabs with recycled tire rubber (RTR) were produced as fibrous and non-fibrous using 1% by volume hook-end SF. In total, nine AAC slabs with sizes of 50 x 50 x 6 cm3 were manufactured for the study. Experimental data showed that the inclusion of RTR only slightly reduced the punching shear strength of AAC slabs and the punching shear strength of the slabs increased when SF was added to the mixtures containing RTR.

Use of recycled tyre segments to enhance the stability of ballasted track by increased confinement

The most common railway ballast is produced by quarrying, and its mechanical characteristics are crucial for both stability and drainage for safer and faster rail operations. Ballasted tracks have certain drawbacks, primarily because ballast starts to degrade over time. In this regard, reducing the rate of ballast degradation is vital to enhance track longevity and minimise maintenance costs. This study demonstrates how segments of huge waste rubber tyres (e.g., 3 m in diameter) from the mining industry can be used to improve the stability of tracks, while contributing to reduced ballast deformation and degradation. By placing arched segments cut from these tyres along the track shoulders beyond the edge of sleepers (i.e., the plan view gives a schematic impression of a caterpillar), the in-situ lateral confining pressure can be increased from 20–25 (standard track) to 40–50 kPa. This novel idea of confined-caterpillar track (CCT) was tested at a prototype physical model (1:1 scale) at the National Facility for the Heavy-haul Railroad Testing, and the experimental outcomes were compared with the performance of a conventional track. Apart from constributing to at least 25% saving of quarried aggregates, the test results prove that the CCT concept can curtail the lateral displacement and settlement of the ballast layer, while reducing particle breakage and affecting significant stress reduction in the underlying substructure layers.