Dynamic properties of steel slag improved with sand–tyre shreds admixture

To achieve recycled use of waste steel slag and waste tyres, it was proposed to incorporate waste tyre particles into waste steel slag and mix with sand to form a new geomaterial. Considering the effects of confining pressure, incorporation ratios of tyre particles and in corporation ratios of sand, the dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio of the new geomaterial were studied by a torsional shear vibration method based on resonance column tests. The specific control density of steel slag combined with different mixing ratios of tyre particles and sand were determined according to the relative density. The relationship between the dynamic shear modulus and the shear strain of the new geomaterial suited the hyperbolic model of Davidenkov. The maximum dynamic shear moduli of the new geomaterial with the tyre particle mixing ratio of 5% reached 166 MPa at the confining pressure of 200 kPa and were close to those of Fujian standard sand. The maximum dynamic shear modulus of the new geomaterial with the tyre particle mixing ratio of 15% was 103 MPa at the confining pressure of 200 kPa and was larger than those of Nanjing fine sand. The minimum damping ratio of the new geomaterial was in the range of 0·21–1·95% at the confining pressure of 200 kPa and was larger than that of the pure steel slag with 0·15–1·2%. These findings showed that the new geomaterial could be applied instead of sand.