A study of the bearing characteristics of slopes reinforced with waste tire strips based on TDA composite soil.

The recycling and utilization of waste tires has attracted widespread attention in recent years. To solve the problems related to the land occupation and pollution of waste tires, this study proposed a method of combining tire strips and the tire-derived aggregate (TDA) reinforcements used in embankments. The goal was to explore the impacts of composite reinforcements on the bearing capacities of embankments. In this study, the bearing characteristics and influencing factors of reinforced embankments with or without TDA filler and tire strips were examined in indoor tests using particle image velocimetry technology. The model test results showed that when compared with the unreinforced condition, the addition of TDA and mesh tire strips increased the bearing capacities of the embankments by 25% and 65%, respectively. The composite reinforcement composed of TDA and mesh tire strips had the most significant effect on improving the bearing capacity, which was 1.81 times that of the unreinforced condition. It was found that the displacements of the embankment slopes became smaller and more uniform under the conditions of combined reinforcements. Furthermore, this study utilized numerical simulations to examine the effects of the tire strip layers, soil strength, TDA reinforcement thicknesses, and slope gradients on the bearing performances of embankments. The numerical simulation results indicated that TDA filler and tire strip reinforcements had greatly improved the bearing capacities of the examined embankments. Therefore, the results of this study verified the feasibility of tire strip and TDA composite reinforcement methods and provided a basis for further research and engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]