Accepted Manuscript

Reuse of waste tire textile fibers as soil reinforcement

Mohsen Abbaspour, Esmail Aflaki, Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad

PII: S0959-6526(18)32992-5

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.09.253

Reference: JCLP 14388

To appear in: Journal of Cleaner Production

Received Date: 03 June 2018

Accepted Date: 28 September 2018

Please cite this article as: Mohsen Abbaspour, Esmail Aflaki, Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad, Reuse of
waste tire textile fibers as soil reinforcement, Journal of Cleaner Production (2018), doi: 10.1016/j.
jclepro.2018.09.253

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Reuse of waste tire textile fibers as soil reinforcement

Mohsen Abbaspour1, Esmail Aflaki*2, Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad3

1. PhD candidate, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University

of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

E-mail: [email protected].

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8314-5966.

2. Associate Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir

University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

(Corresponding author)

E-mail: [email protected].

Tel.: +982165543025

Fax: +982166414213

3. Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of

Technology, Tehran, Iran.

E-mail: [email protected].

General information
Word count: 8136
Figure count: 17
Table count: 5
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1 Reuse of waste tire textile fibers as soil reinforcement

2 ABSTRACT

3 In recent decades, many geotechnical engineering researchers have used End of Life Tires (ELT) in

4 different shapes for the purpose of soil reinforcement. One of the sub-products that are generated during

5 the treatment of ELT are Waste Tire Textile Fibers (WTTF). These fibers are classified as special and

6 hazardous wastes. Contrary to international laws, these wastes are burnt or buried, leading to several

7 environmental problems. As an innovative research, reuse of the WTTF to reinforce soils is evaluated

8 through design and performance of a set of laboratory tests. To that end, all mixtures are analyzed under

9 compaction, direct shear, Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), California Bearing Ratio (CBR), and

10 Split Tensile Strength (STS) tests after adding 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4% of WTTF on two types of

11 clayey and sandy soils. WTTF are properly capable of improving all strength and ductility parameters of

12 sandy soil. However in clayey soil, in spite of reduction in UCS and CBR, ductility and tensile strength

13 are increased. As a result, instead of burying or burning these wastes, they may be well used for

14 enhancing the mechanical properties of various types of soils. Different behavior of WTTF in clay and

15 sandy soils are investigated by employing fundamental studies performed through optical microscope.

16 Keywords:

17 Waste tire textile fibers, Soil reinforcement, Soil and fiber interaction, Optical microscope.

18 1. Introduction

19 Population increase and increasing need for vehicles have led to annual production of a large number of

20 tires all around the world. About 17 Million tons of tires per annum reach their end of life cycle, all

21 around the world (Mucsi et al., 2018). It is predicted that till 2030, using tires will be increased by about

22 20%, i.e. production of 1200 Million of the End of Life Tires (ELT), annually (Yadav and Tiwari, 2017a,

23 2017b). These tires are disposed as wastes after end of their lives. Therefore, increasing volume of tire

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24 production has resulted in worldwide concerns about negative effects of these wastes on the environment

25 and humans’ health. Researchers in all scientific fields are trying to use these huge resources of energy. In

26 general, there are four options to handle ELT: reuse (5-23%); recycling (3-15%); sending to landfill (20-

27 30%); and, energy recovery (25-60%) (Forrest, 2014).

28 Generally, three main materials are produced from ELT, namely, rubber, steel wires and textile fibers

29 (approximately 10% by weight of ELT) (Landi et al., 2018a). Granule is the main material resulted from

30 the treatment process of ELT. These materials are then used as a basis in manufacturing new materials,

31 such as different kinds of tires, plastic parts, concrete, asphalt, etc. (Fornai et al., 2016). In this process,

32 textile fibers and reinforcement wires in tires are separated as discard. Separated steel wires are generally

33 simply used by steel production factories in manufacturing new virgin steel (ERTMA, 2015). The

34 possible use of these fibers as a spread reinforcement in cementitious composites has been recently

35 investigated (Caggiano et al., 2017). Moreover, some researchers such as Mucsi et al., (2018) used these

36 wires to reinforce the soil. On the other hand, WTTF separated during treatment process are classified as

37 special wastes (EWC code 19.12.08) which have to be burnt or buried (Landi et al., 2018a). In recent

38 years, some researchers have tried to reuse these wastes and prevent them from being burnt or buried

39 (Landi et al., 2018b, 2016; Marconi et al., 2018; Mittal and Gill, 2018).

40 In ELT treatment center of Yazd rubber industry complex, located in central part of Iran, 5 to 8 tons of

41 WTTF are buried daily. Packages of WTTF are transferred to landfill as are shown In Fig. 1. Burial of

42 these fibers will be followed by some hazards as accumulation of rodents and harmful animals, gas

43 collection, pollution of soil and underground waters, and wildfire, in addition to huge parts of valuable

44 urban lands to be filled with these wastes (Yadav and Tiwari, 2017a).

45 1.1. Literature review

46
47 Trouzine et al., (2012) performed a series of laboratory swell-consolidation tests on two clay soils, which

48 were mixed with different percentages of scrap tire rubber. Jafari and Esna-ashari (2012) conducted some

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49 unconfined compressive tests on tire cord fiber reinforced lime stabilized clayey soil under freeze–thaw

50 condition. Chan, (2012a and 2012b) used a mixture of cement and recycled rubber shreds to improve the

51 mechanical properties of clayey sand. Neaz Sheikh et al., (2013) observed that shear strength of the sand–

52 tire crumb mixtures decreased with increasing tire content. Kalkan, (2013) studied the properties of the

53 clayey soils mixed with silica fume and scrap tire rubber fiber. Several laboratory tests, including UCS,

54 elastic wave testing, and CBR testing were conducted on a combination of clayey soil and cement with

55 crumb rubber and bottom ash by Kim and Kang, (2013). The effect of scrap rubber content on the

56 geotechnical characteristics of dredged sediment was studied by Sellaf et al., (2014). Dunham-Friel and

57 Carraro, (2014) evaluated the compressive strength of expansive clayey soil after adding two different

58 sizes of granulated rubber and a type of crumbling glass. Srivastava et al., (2014) used fine and coarse tire

59 waste aggregates in order to reduce the swelling pressure of expansive clayey soil. The effect of the tire

60 crumbles as an admixture on compaction and CBR characteristics of kaolinite clay and fly ash was

61 studied by Priyadarshee et al., (2018, 2015). Wei et al., (2015) designed and manufactured a freeze–thaw

62 testing apparatus to control stress, strain and temperature conditions for analyzing the effect of fly ash and

63 crumb rubber on the laboratory modulus of silty clay subgrade for various factors such as freeze–thaw

64 cycles. Compressive strength test results on rubberized cement-clayey soil was conducted by Wang and

65 Song, (2015). The results of their study confirmed that compressive strength decreased with increasing

66 crumb content. The consolidated drained and unconsolidated triaxial and CBR tests on kaolinite clay

67 reinforced by two different types of crumb rubber were conducted by Tajdini et al., (2016). Mukherjee

68 and Mishra, (2017) conducted a series of triaxial consolidation and UCS tests on mixtures of sand and

69 bentonite (90% sand and 10% bentonite) reinforced with 5, 10 and 15% waste tire chips. Mashiri et al.,

70 (2017) carried out bender element tests and cyclic triaxial tests on sand–tire chip mixtures at different

71 initial confining pressures with varying proportions of tire chips. Compaction parameters, UCS, STS,

72 toughness index, CBR values and swelling pressure of rubberized uncemented/cemented clayey soil were

73 investigated by Yadav and Tiwari, (2017 a,b,c). The results of their study showed that the UCS, CBR,

74 swelling pressure, maximum dry density (MDD), optimum moisture content (OMC) and STS were

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75 reduced by increasing the crumb rubber content; whereas the axial, and diametral strain were increased.

76 In rubberized uncemented clayey soil, UCS, CBR and STS were increased up to 5% rubber content and

77 then reduced.

78

79 1.2. Objectives

80 Much time and energy is needed to produce ELT additive materials and turn them into sizes considered as

81 suitable for soil reinforcement in previous research cases. This may diminish soil improvement option by

82 these materials. In this research, WTTF separated in ELT treatment process and sent to landfill as discards

83 are evaluated in soil improvement. Using these wastes as soil reinforcement needs no time and cost, as

84 well as it prevents burial of the materials and its ensuing environmental problems. Cylindrical specimens

85 are used in tests to study macroscopic effectiveness of fibers in soil. Commonly used molds for making

86 cylindrical specimens have weaknesses, such as lack of accurate density control and uniform density,

87 disturbance during specimen extraction and capping needed on end surfaces. In this research, to overcome

88 the aforementioned deficiencies, a specific cylindrical mold is designed and fabricated. Moreover, SEM

89 images are employed conventionally to analyze micro-structural effectiveness of fibers. However, this

90 technology also has some limitations in terms of size, condition of specimen under examination and

91 excessive time and cost required. In the present research, optical microscope technology with no

92 limitations of such kind is used to evaluate soil-WTTF interaction in terms of microstructure.

93 2. Material Properties

94 2.1. Soil

95 To study the effect of WTTF on mechanical properties of soils, two different types of soils are collected

96 from Shahr-e Kord in Southwest of Iran. Soil samples were acquired by hand digging from depth of about

97 one meter in sufficient quantity. Samples were then transferred to laboratory. The particle size

98 distribution curve of clay and sand are presented in Fig. 2. Geotechnical properties of the soils can be

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99 found in Table 1. XRD and XRF tests were performed to specify chemical and mineralogical

100 compositions. The results are presented in Fig. 3 and Table 2, respectively.

101

102 2.2. WTTF

103 In this study, WTTF obtained from ELT treatment division in Yazd Tire factory were used as

104 reinforcement element of soil. Input to this division of factory includes various types of heavy vehicles'

105 tires. Due to this reason, WTTF are of various lengths, diameters and mechanical properties. Fig. 4 shows

106 some of fibers existing in the WTTF. These fibers are shredded on their two ends because of tire

107 recycling procedure. Pieces of rubber are adhered along their length resulting in lack of uniformity. The

108 essence of WTTF is nylon and frequently nylon 6.6 type. Microscopic image of a nylon thread is shown

109 in Fig. 4(c). Pieces of rubber are adhered to the fibers in some parts of them, leading to 3D or dendritic

110 structure of fibers as shown in Fig. 4(d). Existence of these pieces of rubber and twisted fibers result in

111 creation of grooves and bumps on the surface of fibers which may increase interaction between soil and

112 fibers (Gupta et al., 2016; Yadav and Tiwari, 2017a). To study changes imposed on WTTF through time,

113 two samples of wastes were prepared with a 6 month gap and were distinguished visually in terms of

114 length and diameter. The results are presented in Table 3. Accordingly, a maximum change of 6.4% was

115 discerned in wastes during such time interval.

116 In Table 4, average mechanical characteristics of the WTTF are provided. The results were obtained

117 based on tests performed on WTTF in Yazd Tire technical division. To determine chemical composition

118 of WTTF, two specimens achieved before and after a 6 months interval were tested via energy dispersive

119 X-ray analyzer (EDAX) and the average results are presented in Table 5.

120 2.3. Preparation of Mixtures

121 Primarily, several initial specimens were prepared in this research with WTTF content of various

122 percentages up to 10%. According to the observations, producing uniform mixtures in specimens

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123 containing more than 4% of WTTF was very difficult and would not be feasible in practical projects due

124 to high volume of fibers. In addition, obtaining intact specimens while extraction from the mold was not

125 possible. Accordingly, WTTF with = 0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% (i.e. ratio of WTTF weight to dry

126 soil weight) were tested.

127 Soil was initially air dried after transference to laboratory until reaching a stable state. Initial moisture of

128 specimen was determined based on ASTM D2216-10, (2010) standard to set and control accurate

129 quantities of water required for each test. Various mixing methods were tested to achieve the visually

130 most uniform mixture. The results showed that best mixture was obtained through initial addition of about

131 40-50% of intended amount of water to the soil. Adhesion induced in soil by this initial water prevents

132 from fiber accumulation. Then, WTTF and remaining water were added step by step, while WTTF and

133 soil were hand mixed till a homogeneous mixture was achieved almost similar to the method used by

134 Yilmaz, (2015).

135 For better representation of each mixture, clayey and sandy specimens are specified by CF and SF,

136 respectively. Index  shows ratio of WTTF weight to dry soil weight. For instance, CF3 shows a mixture

137 of 3% WTTF and 97% dry clay.

138 3. Experimental Methodologies

139 To evaluate the effect of WTTF on mechanical properties of soils, a set of compaction, direct shear,

140 Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS), California Bearing Ratio (CBR), and Split Tensile Strength

141 (STS) tests were used. Optical microscope images were used for better identification of interaction

142 between soil grains and WTTF. To study repeatability of results, all tests were repeated in two turns on

143 wastes received from the factory, with a 6 months gap of time. The results show that maximum standard

144 deviation is 10.2%. Average results are reported as final for each test. A brief explanation is provided as

145 follows of standards used, and each test method of performance.

146 3.1. Compaction Tests

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147 Standard compaction test was performed in accordance with ASTM D698 – 07, (2007) on all of the

148 mixtures to obtain OMC (optimum moisture content) and MDD (maximum dry density) of the soil.

149 Water, fibers and air dried soil were mixed according to the method discussed in section 2.3. To prevent

150 moisture evaporation, mixtures were poured into waterproof containers. Then, they were poured into the

151 compaction mold, in three layers of total 945 cm3. Each layer was compacted with a 2.5kg hammer in 25

152 blows (fall height of 30.5cm). OMC and MDD conditions determined from this test were used for

153 preparation of other specimens.

154 3.2. Direct Shear Tests

155 Shear strength parameters of soils were evaluated by a fully automatic direct shear test machine with a

156 shear box dimensions of 10 x 10 x 2.77cm, based on ASTM D3080-04, (2011). Sufficient quantities of

157 pre-prepared soil, water and WTTF mixture was selected to obtain the real moisture content. After

158 making sure of moisture content (OMC±0.5%), required amount of the mixture was computed and poured

159 into the shear box and was compacted untill reaching the intended height. Direct shear test for each

160 mixture was performed under normal stresses of 100, 200, and 300kPa (total number of 36 tests were

161 performed) with strain rate of 1mm/min. Tests were continued untill reaching strain level of 15%.

162 3.3. UCS Tests

163 UCS tests were performed on all of the pre-prepared specimens based on ASTM D2166-06, (2007). In

164 making lab specimens, moisture content (OMC±0.5%) and desired density (MDD±1%) are important as a

165 matter of acceptance of the test. Due to uncontrollable final surface in conventional molds, it is difficult to

166 precisely reach the designated density. Also at the end of compaction and extraction of the specimen from

167 the mold, attainment of a completely smooth, balanced final surface and an intact condition may not be

168 possible. Moreover specimens may be remolded or broken in case of capping. The problem might become

169 even more severe in soils with low cohesion and at the presence of fibers (Yadav and Tiwari, 2017a). In

170 this research, cylindrical mold defined by AASHTO-T307 (2007), was developed in a way that a

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171 specimen with fully controlled density may be obtained with completely smooth and balanced end

172 surfaces; and, the specimen would be taken out of the mold with minimum disturbance.

173 To eliminate the effects of the size of fibers on mechanical behavior of soil, specimen has to be at least

174 70mm in diameter; and, ratio of length to diameter of 2 (Abou Diab et al., 2018; Jamei et al., 2013).

175 Moreover, ratio of specimen diameter to the largest grain of soil has to be larger than 6 (ASTM D2166-

176 06, 2007). Accordingly, split cylindrical mold with 142mm in length and 71mm in diameter was made of

177 highly resisting, abrasion resistant, and rust proof steel. Image of the mold and its accessories are

178 presented in Fig. 5. Step by step stages of making the specimen are described in more details as follows:

179 1. After mixing soil and fiber with optimum moisture content, the mixture was kept in a fully sealed

180 bag and sample was taken to determine the water content. The water content was determined after

181 24 hours, and the moisture acceptance criterion (OMC±0.5%) was investigated and corrected if

182 necessary.

183 2. Considering the mold volume and MDD conditions, the required mixture weight was calculated

184 and divided into five parts, and was kept in five sealed containers.

185 3. The inner surface of the mold was slightly lubricated; this results in less disturbance during

186 specimen extraction.

187 4. Mold was assembled and specimen preparation was performed in five stages, according to Fig. 5.

188 About 90-95% energy required to obtain MDD was imposed on each layer via hammer drop and

189 blow, in each stage. Final compaction was achieved by fastening the screws on both sides of the

190 mold simultaneously. This resulted in a final smooth and balanced surface. Before adding each

191 layer, upper bound of previous layer had to become scarified, with 3 to 5mm in depth. This helps

192 proper placement of fibers between the two layers, resulting in a homogeneous specimen.

193 5. Finally, after removing the two end rings, the two halves of the mold were separated from each

194 other and the specimen was taken out of the mold. In order to remain moisture content constant

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195 until test performance, specimen was kept in fully sealed plastic bag (relative moisture of more

196 than 70%). The test was conducted at a strain rate of 1.27mm/min.

197 In case that the end sides of specimen are not completely uniform and balanced, boundary condition

198 created results in stress concentration and additional shear stress in the specimen that affects the results.

199 The results from initial tests conducted by conventional molds show that UCS may change even up to

200 34%.

201 3.4. STS Tests

202 Occurrence of tensile cracks in some of soil structures such as dams, hydraulic barriers, slopes, runway

203 subgrades, river banks, highway and railway embankments is possible (Tang et al., 2015). Tensile

204 strength of soil is one of the most important parameters which prevents creation and expansion of tension

205 cracks. To study the effect of fibers on this parameter, STS test was performed on all of the mixtures,

206 based on ASTM C496-96, (2011). To perform the test, cylindrical specimens with size and method

207 mentioned in section 3.3 were prepared and placed diametrically between loading plates of the

208 compression device. To apply uniform linear load on the specimen, two steel strips with machined

209 surfaces (150 x 25 x 8mm) were placed between loading plates and the specimen. Strain rate of

210 1.27mm/min was imposed on the specimen.

211 3.5. CBR Tests

212 To measure CBR of soil and WTTF mixture, ASTM D1883-07, (2009) was used. All of the specimens

213 were built under OMC and MDD conditions. Mixture was prepared according to section 2.3. Soil was

214 then compacted within the CBR mold, in three layers. Three steel plugs with various heights were

215 provided for CBR mold and specimens were compacted based on the method provided in section 3.3 to

216 achieve uniform density.

217 3.6. Microscopic Evaluation

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218 Optical microscopes may be used to study form, size, particles texture, and arrangement of soil grains

219 (Mitchell and Soga, 2005). This technology was used by Lecompte et al., (2015) to study interaction

220 between soil grains and coconut fibers. In this research, two types of optical microscopes were used to

221 study interaction between soil grains and WTTF. After performance of direct shear, UCS and/or STS

222 tests, specimen was removed from sheared surface. Shear zone was evaluated by stereo zoom microscope

223 (KRUSS- MSZ 5400) with 45x magnification. To study with higher precision, biological microscope

224 (hund- S 200) has been used with maximum magnification of 500x.

225 4. Results and Discussion

226 4.1. Compaction

227 The results from standard compaction test on clayey and sandy soils with various percentages of WTTF

228 are presented in Fig. 6. As it is clear, MDD is reduced by increase of WTTF in both types of soils. This

229 may be resulted from soil grains being replaced by fibers of lower specific weight. More to the point,

230 elastic property of fibers may reduce the compaction energy absorbed by soil skeleton (Priyadarshee et

231 al., 2018b; Yadav and Tiwari, 2017a). OMC is increased with WTTF percentage in both soils which can

232 be caused due to the following reasons: fiber water absorption (Shukla, 2017), increasing contact surface

233 between soil and WTTF, and reduction of the energy absorption by soil skeleton due to the presence of

234 WTTF which entails increase of soil porosity (Gelder and Fowmes, 2016). Whereas, OMC has often

235 decreased by increasing fiber content in many studies using ELTs fibers as soil reinforcement (Kalkan,

236 2013; Yadav and Tiwari, 2017b). OMC changes resulted from increase of WTTF content in clay is more

237 dramatic than that of granular soil, i.e. 4% increase of WTTF results in 3% and only 0.5% increase of

238 OMC in clay and granular soil, respectively. Accordingly, it may be concluded that increase of contact

239 surface between soil and WTTF is more effective on OMC changes compared to the two other factors. In

240 such case, compaction energy results in clay minerals becoming more dispersed and contact surface of

241 clay minerals with fibers to be increased (Sowers and Sowers, 1979). Considering tendency of clay

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242 minerals to absorb water, OMC is increased. Meanwhile, in granular soil, there is less tendency for water

243 accumulation between soil and fiber interface.

244 4.2. Direct Shear

245 Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, show the shear stress-displacement curves for various percentages of WTTF and

246 normal stresses for CF and SF mixtures, respectively. As it is clear in Fig. 7, deviator stress peak in clay

247 is decreased by increasing WTTF content but strain level required to reach deviator stress peak is

248 increased. Moreover, the presence of WTTF causes the soil to exhibit hardening behavior and the peak

249 deviator stress is not clearly observed. In such case, soil behavior changes from brittle to ductile even by a

250 mere increase of fibers. Initial shear stiffness in 0.5% strain is shown in Fig. 9 for various ρ and normal

251 stress. As it is observed, initial shear stiffness of clay vaguely decreases i.e. in 200kPa normal stress,

252 initial stiffness of specimen drops about 62.5%, by a 3% increase of WTTF. This decrease may be

253 resulted from changes induced in soil fabric due to the presence of flexible fibers (Michalowski and

254 Čermák, 2003; Wang et al., 2017). With increasing WTTF up to 1% in SF mixtures, the peak deviator

255 stress increases and then decreases again. Maximum increase of 17.5% in shear strength is observed

256 under normal stress of 200kPa at presence of 1% WTTF. According to the results presented in Fig. 9,

257 initial shear stiffness of the specimen under 100kPa normal stresses is increased by increasing WTTF i.e.

258 initial stiffness increases by 40% after adding 2% WTTF. By increasing the normal stress, the impact of

259 the WTTF on the initial shear stiffness decreases, so that in a normal stress of 200 kPa, the increase of

260 WTTF up to 2% slightly improves the initial shear stiffness, and then deteriorates. However, for normal

261 stress of 300kPa, stiffness for all ρ values is reduced. For both types of soils, increase of WTTF up to 2%

262 has no significant effect on ductility of soil; however, ductility shows much increase in cases of ρ = 3%

263 and 4%.

264 Based on Mohr–Coulomb criterion, shear strength of soil and stone materials are controlled by two

265 cohesion and internal friction angle features (Lin et al., 2013). In Fig. 10, changes induced in these two

266 parameters are shown against various WTTF contents. As clearly shown in this figure, by increase of

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267 WTTF in clay, small inconsistent changes are observed in cohesion. Internal friction angle shows a

268 downward trend about 10.5˚, up to 𝜌 = 3% and slightly increases again. In sandy soil cohesion decreases

269 by 1% increase of WTTF, and then increases with a steep slope. Meanwhile, internal friction angle

270 increases about 4.5˚ by an increase of WTTF from 0 to 1% and then reduces to about its initial value.

271 4.3. UCS

272 The results from axial stress-strain from UCS test for both types of soils with various contents of fibers

273 are presented in Fig. 11. Fig. 11(a) shows that adding WTTF to clay transforms its quite brittle behavior

274 into a fully ductile behavior. In CF0 up to 3.5% strain, UCS is quickly increased, reaching to 504.3kPa.

275 Then, failure occurs and strength drops significantly. Where ρ= 0.5% and 1%, failure strain increases to

276 11.3% and 15.5%; while, peak strength is reduced to 264.6kPa and 249kPa, respectively. However,

277 significance of post peak strength reduction is decreased. For more than 1% WTTF, the behavior of

278 mixture is completely hardening and peak deviator stress is not clearly observed. For fiber contents of

279 2%, 3% and 4%, UCS increases again, reaching 348kPa, 378.3kPa, and 437.3kPa, respectively. In Fig.

280 12, initial axial stiffness evolution of the specimen is shown for CF and SF mixtures at 0.5% strain. Fig.

281 12 shows a markedly drop in initial axial stiffness in a way that by addition of 1% WTTF, stiffness

282 reaches 1/8 its initial value, then, it remains almost stable. Contradictorily, research performed by Akbulut

283 et al., (2007) has shown that adding rubber fibers with 5, 10, and 15mm in length to three types of high

284 plasticity clay may increase UCS up to optimum percentage of 2.

285 For SF mixture, there is a completely different condition, i.e. when WTTF is added, soil behavior

286 changes from brittle to quite flexible and UCS increases significantly. The stress-strain results for the

287 mixtures are shown in Fig. 11(b). Note by adding 0.5% and 1% of WTTF to sandy soil causes increase of

288 failure strain from 6.4% to 9.76% and 6.5%, respectively. Post peak decrease of strength shows a

289 significant reduction. A quite hardening behavior is perceived when ρ= 2%, 3% and 4%. UCS also shows

290 14.7%, 57.6%, 143.5%, 296% and 363% increase by an increase of 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% in WTTF,

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291 respectively. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 12, when ρ=0.5%, initial axial stiffness is increased about 77%.

292 Not much change is observed afterwards.

293 Failure pattern of several specimens in UCS test are shown in Fig. 13. As it is apparent in Fig. 13(a), for

294 unreinforced clay, shear plane (vertical crack) is almost continued vertically from top to the bottom which

295 shows a fully brittle failure of the specimen. Where ρ=0.5% and 1%, multiple undeveloped cracks are

296 observed on the specimen and shear plane is formed. A specified failure surface is no more observed with

297 increase of WTTF content to 4% and, specimen failure ensues creation of multiple cracks and bulging

298 deformation. This may be resulted from high level of strain tolerated by the specimen.

299 According to Fig. 13, it is clear that for SF0 and SF0.5, shear plane, is almost vertical and, contrary to clay,

300 multiple cracks are seen in addition to shear plane ,which may be indicative of effect of fibers on increase

301 of mixture strength. In such cases, WTTF create a confinement ,which prevents expansion of original

302 shear plane. This is clear also in images related to higher content of fibers. In cases where ρ=3% and 4%,

303 in addition to large deformation and bulging in the specimen the shear plane is ambiguously formed.

304 Moreover, undeveloped and staggered micro-cracks are created.

305 4.4. CBR

306 Load–penetration curves extracted from CBR test for CF and SF mixtures are shown in Fig. 14. As it is

307 clearly observable in Fig. 14(a), adding fibers to the soil results in significant drop in the stress required

308 for piston penetration. This drop is continued until addition of 2% of fibers; then, it slightly increases i.e.

309 required stress for 12.7mm piston penetration in clay is changed from 2809kPa to 1086kPa, 909kPa,

310 746kPa, 1167kPa, and 1412kPa for ρ=0.5%,1%,2%,3% and 4% respectively. Changes of CBR values

311 against various WTTF contents for CF and SF mixtures are presented in Fig. 15. CBR decreases from

312 22.33% to 5% by adding 0.5% of WTTF. The reduction continues less significantly to 2%. Further

313 addition of WTTF leads to 3% increase in CBR. On the other hand, according to the Fig. 14(b), by

314 adding WTTF in SF mixture, stress required for 12.7mm piston penetration is shown to increase

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315 43.24%, 186.5%, 190.74%, 222.16% and 239.2%, respectively for ρ=0.5%,1%,2%,3% and 4%.

316 According to Fig. 15, the improvement in CBR value is 270% by adding 2% of WTTF. A minor decrease

317 takes place by more fiber addition; which is probably due to high accumulation of WTTF (Cabalar et al.,

318 2014; Tajdini et al., 2016).

319 4.5. STS

320 Diagonal strain-tensile stress curves resulted from STS test performed on CF and SF mixtures are

321 shown in Fig. 16. It is distinctly observed in Fig. 16 (a) for unmodified clay, STS rapidly increases to

322 29.3kPa in 2.13% diagonal strain. A severe drop then occurs in strength. By adding WTTF, ductility and

323 post peak strength are increased. STS decreases upon ρ=1% and again, it shows an upward trend, i.e.

324 failure strain reaches 14.4% upon ρ=2%. Meanwhile, tensile strength becomes nearly equal to that of non-

325 reinforced clay. By adding more WTTF, mixture shows a quite hardening behavior and tensile strength

326 for ρ=3% and 4% increases to 60.55% and 85.78%, respectively. The increase may be resulted from high

327 amount of WTTF and accumulation of fibers prevents creation and expansion of tensile cracks,

328 resembling a bridge.

329 According to Fig. 16 (b), no significant change can be observed in STS with 0.5% and 1% WTTF

330 increase. Ductility shows a minor increase as the only changing factor. However, for higher WTTF

331 contents, both STS and ductility increase quickly i.e. peak tensile strength for ρ=2%, 3% and 4% fibers

332 shows significant increase of 103%,150% and 238%, respectively for strains of 10.2%, 14.44% and 11%.

333 4.6. Microscopic Analysis

334 Some images obtained by stereo and biological microscopes from shear plane in CF and SF specimens

335 of direct shear and UCS tests are shown in Fig. 17. To better understand interaction between fibers and

336 soil grains, four different levels were studied in both types of soils.

337 a) Fibers: as clearly seen in Fig. 17 (a), and (b), external surfaces of fibers in clay are almost not affected

338 by cohesion of clay minerals, and merely a minor amount of soil is trapped in the grooves created by

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339 fibers twisting. This may result in WTTF mobilization to some extend (Yadav and Tiwari, 2017a).

340 Contradictorily, in SF mixtures, soil particles are attached to fibers and have well covered up external

341 surface of fibers.

342 b) Cavity formed by removing fibers: as observed in Fig. 17 (c), lack of cohesion and friction between

343 fibers and clay minerals after removing fibers out of soil causes no change in the arrangement of grains,

344 and soil seems to encompass the fibers as a jacket. In SF mixtures (Fig. 17 (d)), while fibers were being

345 extracted out of the soil, grain arrangement was disrupted and some of the nylon threads having proper

346 friction with soil grains experienced ruptured and remained in soil.

347 c) Soil and crumb rubber interaction: like fibers, very low amount of clay minerals is remained around

348 the crumb rubber, which shows lack of proper cohesion between clay mineral and crumb rubber. In SF

349 mixtures, on the other hand, numerous clay and sand grains are present on the surface of crumb rubber

350 (Fig. 17 (e), and (f)).

351 d) Nylon threads: images obtained by biological microscope with 400x magnification show that in clay

352 (Fig. 17 (g)), there is almost no difference between nylon threads tested and those on which no test is

353 performed (Fig.4 (c)). In SF mixtures (Fig. 17 (h)), numerous angular grains are attached to nylon

354 surface. Cohesion of these grains to fibers may be occurred due to penetration of grains into the surface of

355 fibers, or hygroscopic water existing on surface of soil grains may have caused the particles to adsorb

356 nylon threads.

357 Reviewing images from Fig. 17, it is well understood that an external matter placed between WTTF and

358 clay grains prevents cohesion and friction to be formed between the two materials. This factor may be

359 double layer water existing in clay minerals. Excessive increase of OMC (section 4.1) in clay, highly

360 supports the hypothesis. Therefore, it may be concluded that presence of a thin film of water between clay

361 grains and nylon fibers prevents proper engagement of WTTF with clay particles. This is followed by

362 decrease in strength parameters of UCS and CBR. On the contrary, lack of this film of water in SF

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363 mixtures as well as sharp corners of grains, in addition to attraction caused by hygroscopic water will

364 result in proper engagement of fibers and soil grains. This way, strength parameters of soil are increased.

365 5. Conclusion

366 In order to manage and prevent burial of hazardous WTTF produced as a waste in LTEs treatment

367 process, a set of laboratory tests were designed and performed and the possibility of reusing these wastes

368 as soil reinforcement was investigated. An outline of results is as follows:

369 1) By adding WTTF to the soil, the MDD decreases and OMC increases. Changes of OMC to

370 WTTF addition in clay is much higher than that of sandy soil. The difference may be caused by

371 additional amount of water existing in boundaries between WTTF and clay particle.

372 2) The results from direct shear test show that up to 2% addition of WTTF, significant effect on

373 ductility of either soils is not encountered; however, ductility increases significantly when

374  and  . Adding WTTF in clay, results in a slight change of cohesion in a non-uniform

375 way. Internal friction angle however, is decreased up to , and again experiences a minor

376 increase upon further addition of WTTF. In SF mixtures, increase of WTTF up to 1% results

377 in a decrease of cohesion; after which, cohesion increases with a steep slope. Meanwhile internal

378 friction angle increases slightly up to 1% and then, it is almost decreased to the initial level. In

379 clay mixtures, initial shear stiffness reduces non-uniformly with an increase of WTTF. For sandy

380 mixtures, WTTF augmentation under low normal stress increases the initial stiffness but

381 increasing the normal stress causes the addition of WTTF to have a negative effect on this

382 parameter.

383 3) The results from UCS shows that adding WTTF to clay transforms brittle behavior of the soil to a

384 quite ductile behavior. Adding fibers to  in clay entails a significant drop of strength. It is

385 improved slightly upon higher WTTF contents. Adding WTTF to sandy soil in any contents

386 results in significant increase of UCS. Initial axial stiffness in clay shows a remarkable decrease

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387 by an increase of 1% WTTF. Not much change is observed in higher WTTF contents. However,

388 in SF mixtures initial axial stiffness increases by adding a maximum 0.5% of WTTF and it

389 becomes constant afterwards.

390 4) CBR in clay shows a notable decrease upon WTTF addition up to 2%. It is then increased

391 slightly upon higher WTTF contents. Meanwhile, in SF mixtures by adding up to 2% of WTTF,

392 CBR shows a significant increase which is ensued by a minor reduction.

393 5) STS of clay is decreased by adding 1% of WTTF and then, it is remarkably increased upon larger

394 fiber contents, which may be due to accumulation of fibers. Meanwhile in sandy soil, WTTF has

395 no significant effect on STS up to 1%. This trend alters upon higher fiber contents and

396 therefore STS increases quickly. WTTF augmentation in both types of soils leads to behavior

397 transformation towards perfect ductility and hardening.

398 6) Microscopic studies show that lubrication stemmed from a thin film of water between clay

399 minerals and WTTF which results in reduction of engagement of fibers and clay particles. This in

400 turn leads to reduction of strength parameters of the mixture. However, lack of such lubricant

401 layer in SF mixtures, angular grains, and attraction caused by hygroscopic water results to

402 increase of friction and cohesion between soil grains and WTTF.

403 According to the results, it is clearly recognized that WTTF may be used as highly efficient reinforcement

404 materials in all geotechnical projects with granular soils, bearing no excessive cost. In terms of using

405 these wastes in treatment of clays, note that they reduce some of mechanical properties of the soil to some

406 extents. However, tensile strength and ductility of the clay are well increased. Therefore, in such projects

407 as Earth embankments, backfill of both gravity and reinforced retaining walls and slope stabilization,

408 WTTF can be used to treat clay soils. To use these wastes in specific projects such as liner material etc.,

409 more studies are required on effect of WTTF on permeability, compressibility, and other specific

410 parameters of the project.

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411 From an environmentalist point of view, using these waste materials in civil engineering projects could

412 prevent them from being buried or burnet while avoiding usage of other expensive materials.

413

414 Acknowledgement

415 The authors would like to appreciate the environmentalist Yazd rubber industry complex, especially the

416 management, supervisor of ELT treatment division, and Yazd Tire technical division for their support

417 during this project.

418

419 References

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Table 1
Geotechnical properties of clay and sand.

Property Testing Method Sand Clay

Specific gravity ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 2.72 2.78
Passing No. 200 (75 μm) sieve (%) ASTM D1140 – 00, (2007) 10.10 95.50
Liquid limit (%) ASTM D4318-10, (2010) 31.32 26.98
Plastic limit (%) ASTM D4318-10, (2010) 16.93 16.94
Plastic index (%) ASTM D4318-10, (2010) 14.39 10.04
Coefficient of uniformity, 𝐶𝑢 D2487-10, (2010) 21.32 18
Coefficient of curvature, 𝐶𝑐 D2487-10, (2010) 1.577 0.68
USCS soil class D2487-10, (2010) SW-SC CL

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Table 2
The chemical compositions of clay and sand.

Chemical Content (%) Chemical Content (%) Chemical Content (%)

composition Sand Clay composition Sand Clay composition Sand Clay
SiO2 50.4 40.2 MnO 0.16 0.123 SumLa.Lu 0.021 0.027
CaO 13.4 19.5 P2O5 0.15 0.14 Cr2O3 0.019 0.024
Al2O3 11 8.5 SO3 0.121 0.042 ZnO 0.016 0.006
Fe2O3 6.7 6.4 S 0.119 - Rb2O 0.013 0.009
MgO 3.52 3.54 Cl 0.115 0.011 NiO 0.009 0.015
K2O 2.46 1.81 SrO 0.061 0.065 CuO 0.008 0.006
TiO2 0.85 0.81 V2O5 0.041 0.031 Y2O3 0.007 0.004
Na2O 0.3 0.2 BaO 0.026 - Co3O4 0.004 0.004

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Table 3
WTTF separation for the two sample at intervals of 6 months (%)

Property Sample 1 Sample 2

Length 0-20 31.1 36
(mm) 20-40 56.2 57.7
40< 12.7 6.3
Diameter 0-0.50 12.4 13.4
(mm) 0.50-0.80 50.1 46.6
0.80< 9.5 7.3

Rubber crumbs and accumulated fibers 26 31.4

Rubber powder 2 1.3

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Table 4
The physical characteristics of WTTF.

Values
Property Unit Testing Method Most
Generally
frequency
Fiber type - - Yarned -
Equivalent diameter mm ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 0.030-1.50 0.80
Length mm ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 0-70 20-40
Tensile strength MPa ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 300-2000 600
Twist S ( Folded ) T/10cm ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 30-50 39 2
Elongation at break % ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 18-25 22
Elastic modulus GPa ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 2-7.5 2.7
Hot air shrinkage
% ASTM D5591-04, (2016) 3-5 4.5
(at 177 C× 2 min 143 gr)
Linear density Denier1 ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 840-1890 1260
Melting point °C ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 250-260 256
Water absorption % ASTM D854 -10, (2010) 5-13 9.5
1 9 km yarn mass in grams

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Table 5
Energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDAX) Result for WTTF (%).

Composition of element Symbols Percentage (%)

Carbon C 62.32
Oxygen O 23.9
Sodium Na 4.75
Zinc Zn 2.91
Sulfur S 2.19
Aluminum Al 1.83
Silicon Si 1.38
Magnesium Mg 0.72

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Fig. 1. Packages of WTTF ready to transport to landfill.

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100
eve)
90 CL (Si
Percentage passing (%) 80
70

e)
r)

iev
ete
60

(S
om
50

C
r
yd

-S
(H

SW
40
CL

30
20
te r )
10 (H ydrome
SW-SC
0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10
Grain size (mm)

Fig. 2. Particle size distribution curves of clay and sand.

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800

I
Q
600
C : Calcite
Cl: Clinochlore
Counts

I : Illite
400 Q : Quartz

Q, C
Cl
Q

Q, C

C
C

Q, C
Cl

Q, C
I
200
Cl

Q
I

Q
I
Cl

Q
0
0 20 40 60 80
(a) Position (2)

800
Q

600
Counts

400
Cl I
Q

Q, C
Q, C
I, C
Cl
I

200
Q, C
I

Q, C
Cl

C
I

Q
C

Q
Cl

Q
I

0
0 20 40 60 80
(b) Position (2)

Fig. 3. X-ray diffraction pattern: (a) clay, (b) sand.

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Fig. 4. (a) WTTF, (b) Stereo zoom microscope image of a number of fibers in WTTF with different
diameters, (c) biological microscope image of nylon thread and (d) dendritic structure of fibers

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Fig. 5. The split cylindrical mold and the five steps of preparing a specimen.

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17.4 20

17.2 OMC
19

17.0
MDD (%)

OMC (%)
18
16.8

MDD 17
16.6
CF
16.4 16
0 1 2 3 4
(a) WTTF content  (%)

13.6
19.0 OMC

18.5 13.4
MDD (%)

OMC (%)

18.0
13.2
MDD

17.5
SF
13.0
0 1 2 3 4
(b) WTTF content  (%)

Fig. 6 .Variation of MDD and OMC considering different fiber content. (a) CF, (b) SF

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100

80

Shear stress (kPa)

60
 = 0%
 = 0.5%
40
 = 1%
 = 2%
20  = 3%
Normal stress=100 kPa  = 4%
0
0 3 6 9 12 15
(a) Horizontal displacement (mm)

200

160
Shear stress (kPa)

120

 = 0%
80  = 0.5%
 = 1%
 = 2%
40
 = 3%
Normal stress=200 kPa  = 4%
0
0 3 6 9 12 15
(b) Horizontal displacement (mm)

240

200
Shear stress (kPa)

160

120 = 0%
= 0.5%
80 = 1%
= 2%
40 = 3%
Normal stress=300 kPa = 4%
0
0 3 6 9 12 15
(c) Horizontal displacement (mm)

Fig. 7. Shear stress-displacement curves for different CF mixtures. (a) Normal stresses=100 kPa, (b)
Normal stresses=200 kPa and (c) Normal stresses=300 kPa.

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100

80

Shear stress (kPa)

60
 = 0%
 = 0.5%
40
 = 1%
 = 2%
20  = 3%
Normal stress=100 kPa  = 4%
0
0 3 6 9 12 15
(a) Horizontal displacement (mm)

200

160
Shear stress (kPa)

120
 = 0%
80  = 0.5%
 = 1%
 = 2%
40
 = 3%
Normal stress=200 kPa  = 4%
0
0 3 6 9 12 15
(b) Horizontal displacement (mm)

280

240

200
Shear stress (kPa)

160
 = 0%
120  = 0.5%
 = 1%
80  = 2%
 = 3%
40
 = 4%
Normal stress=300 kPa
0
0 3 6 9 12 15
(b) Horizontal displacement (mm)

Fig. 8. Shear stress-displacement curves for different SF mixtures. (a) Normal stresses=100 kPa, (b)
Normal stresses=200 kPa and (c) Normal stresses=300 kPa.

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50 Normal stress=100 kPa

Initial shear stiffness changes (%)

Normal stress=200 kPa
SF Normal stress=300 kPa

-50
CF
Normal stress=100 kPa
Normal stress=200 kPa
Normal stress=300 kPa
-100
0 1 2 3 4
WTTF content  (%)

Fig. 9. Initial shear stiffness changes for different CF and SF mixtures considering different normal
stresses.

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50

45
Cohesion (kPa)

40

35

30 CF
SF
25
0 1 2 3 4
WTTF content  (%)

40
Internal friction angle ()

35

30

25
CF
SF
20
0 1 2 3 4
WTTF content  (%)

Fig. 10. Shear strength parameters versus fiber content: (a) cohesion and (b) Internal friction angle.

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500

400
Axial stress (kPa)

300
CF0
200 CF0.5
CF1
CF2
100
CF3
CF4
0
0 4 8 12 16 20
(a)
Axial strain (%)

400

300
Axial stress (kPa)

200
SF0
SF0.5
SF1
100 SF2
SF3
SF4
0
0 4 8 12 16 20
(b) Axial strain (%)

Fig. 11. Axial stress-strain behavior: (a) CF, (b) SF

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30
CF
25 SF
Initial axial stiffness (MPa)

20

15

10

0
0 1 2 3 4
WTTF content  (%)

Fig. 12. Initial axial stiffness for CF and SF mixtures.

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Fig. 13. Typical failure patterns under UCS test: (a) CF0, (b) CF0.5, (c) CF1, (d) CF4, (e) SF0, (f) SF0.5, (g)
SF3, (h) SF4.

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3000
CF0
CF0.5
2500 CF1
CF2
Piston stress (kPa)

2000 CF3
CF4
1500

1000

500

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
(a) Penetration (mm)

3500
SF0
3000 SF0.5
SF1
2500
Piston stress (kPa)

SF2
SF3
2000
SF4
1500

1000

500

0
0 3 6 9 12
(b)
Penetration (mm)

Fig. 14. Load–penetration curves for various fiber contents: (a) CF, (b) SF

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25
CF

20 SF

15
CBR (%)

10

0
0 1 2 3 4
WTTF content  (%)

Fig. 15. Variation of CBR for various fiber contents.

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60

50
Split tensile stress (kPa)

40

30
CF0
20 CF0.5
CF1
10 CF2
CF3
CF4
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
(a) Diametrical strain (%)

40
Split tensile stress (kPa)

30

20
SF0
SF0.5
10 SF1
SF2
SF3
SF4
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
(b)
Diametrical strain (%)

Fig. 16. Split tensile stress-diametrical strain for various fiber contents: (a) CF, (b) SF.

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Fig. 17. Microscopic images of interaction between soil grains and WTTF for SF (on the right) and CF
(on the left) mixtures: (a & b) external surface of fibers, (c & d) Cavity formed by removing fibers, (e &
f) external surface of crumb rubbers and (g & h) Nylon threads.

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