Rubber-Sand Mixtures in Geotechnical Applications

Rubber-sand mixtures have emerged as a sustainable and cost-effective solution in geotechnical engineering, combining granular sands with recycled rubber particles to enhance mechanical performance, reduce environmental impact and mitigate seismic hazards. By incorporating end-of-life tyre rubber into sand, engineers can tailor stiffness, damping and strength characteristics to suit specific applications such as lightweight backfill, earthquake isolation layers and vibration-damping foundations. The deformable nature of rubber inclusions reduces peak accelerations transmitted through the soil, while the granular matrix maintains load-bearing capacity and permeability. Mixture behaviour is governed by the volume ratio and size distribution of rubber to sand, which together influence compaction properties, void ratio evolution under load and dynamic response. Practical implementations range from low-cost seismic isolation in developing countries to high-performance vibration control beneath heavy infrastructures, highlighting both the circular economy benefits of tyre recycling and the technical viability of rubber-sand composites in diverse soil-structure interaction contexts.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Rubber-Sand Mixtures in Geotechnical Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in rubber-sand mixtures in geotechnical applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Shear modulus: A measure of soil stiffness, defined as the ratio of shear stress to shear strain under elastic deformation.

Damping ratio: A dimensionless parameter quantifying the energy dissipated per cycle of loading relative to the energy stored.

Void ratio: The ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of solids in a granular mixture, indicating porosity and compressibility.

Liquefaction potential: The susceptibility of a saturated granular material to lose strength and stiffness under cyclic loading due to buildup of pore-water pressure.

Cyclic triaxial test: An experimental procedure applying repeated axial stress cycles to a cylindrical soil specimen to measure dynamic deformation and strength parameters.

References

1. A sand-rubber deformable granular layer as a low-cost seismic isolation strategy in developing countries: Experimental investigation. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (2019).
2. Experimental Investigation on Shear Strength and Liquefaction Potential of Rubber‐Sand Mixtures. Advances in Civil Engineering (2019).
3. Dynamic Shear Modulus and Damping Ratio of Sand–Rubber Mixtures under Large Strain Range. Materials (2020).
4. Physical and Mechanical Properties of Granulated Rubber Mixed with Granular Soils—A Literature Review. Sustainability (2021).