Efficient utilization of tire chip reinforced sand under footings subjected to purely inclined loads—an experimental and life cycle investigation

Abstract

The proper disposal of large stockpiles of tire wastes has become a major challenge today. Through this study, an attempt was made to effectively utilize the large chunk of tire wastes as a reinforcement for improving the bearing capacity of shallow foundations subjected to purely inclined loads. The study was accomplished in two phases. In the first phase, the tests were conducted on reinforced beds by varying the quantity of tire chips, the thickness of the reinforced zone, the inclination of loading, and the equivalent relative density of the reinforced zone. The bearing capacity ratio (BCR) was used as a factor to quantify the gains. It was observed that the optimum quantity and thickness of the reinforced zone were 20% by weight and 1B, respectively, where B is the width of the footing. Improvements were found significant at both loose and dense equivalent relative densities. The BCR values under inclined loads were higher than in central vertical loading conditions indicating that the technique is more useful in the latter. The study also compares the environmental impacts generated from tire chip and geogrid foundations in terms of various midpoint and endpoint impact categories using cradle-to-gate LCA. Midpoint environmental impacts have been shown in climate change, freshwater ecotoxicity, fossil depletion, ozone depletion, and water depletion, and endpoint impacts are represented in terms of damage to ecosystem quality, damage to human health, and damage to resources. The study found that foundation prepared with waste tire chips is less polluting to the environment compared to geogrid foundation. In addition to this, landfill of waste tires will be reduced by this technology which will further help in the reduction of the total environmental impact of the system. Henceforth, by adopting the current technology into construction practices, the large stockpiles of discarded tires can be disposed of in a sustainable way.