Shear behavior of mixtures involving tropical soils and tire shreds

Several times the use of materials with adequate mechanical properties can lead to increases in construction costs. In areas such as the Central-West region of Brazil, where the predominantly fine lateritic soils often require improvement, the investigation of mixtures between the local soil and alternative materials such as Tire Derived Aggregates (TDÁ s) is required. Despite many investigations involving soils and rubber wastes over the years, there is a lack of publication regarding lateritic soils and TDA’s. This paper investigated the use of a fine lateritic soil mixed with TDÁs as an alternative composite for light traffic roads and retaining structures. Experiments were conducted in terms of materials characterization, compaction and shear strength properties, quantified using medium-scale direct shear tests. The direct shear tests were based on the compaction tests which showed that the best rubber content was 5%. The results showed that the shear strength highly depends on the level of displacement allowed, which is an important issue once the investigated soil is composed in its majority of fine particles and the occurrence of cracks can limit their use. Finally, the soil studied mixed with TDA’s showed potential usage for some civil engineering constructions