Protecting low-to-medium-rise buildings by scrap tyre-soil mixtures

The stockpiling of scrap tyres is a significant threat to our environment and has been a

hot topic amongst the engineering community which has been looking for long term

viable solutions to the recycling and reuse of rubber. This paper proposes a new method

of utilizing scrap tyres for applications in infrastructure protection forming part of the

solution strategy. The method involves mixing scrap tyres with soil materials and

placing the mixtures around building foundations, for vibration absorption. The

potential of the proposed method will be demonstrated by numerical modelling to show

its effectiveness and robustness as a means of protecting low-to-medium-rise buildings

in an earthquake.