Stability Study of Reinforced Embankment with Rubber Particles Mixed Soil

To reduce the environmental pollution caused by waste rubber tires, it is an effective solution to process them into derived aggregates and apply them in engineering reinforcement. Currently, geogrid reinforcement technology is widely used in embankment and slope projects. However, due to the limitation of soil resources, most of the local fine aggregates are used for backfill and compaction, which leads to the geogrid not being able to give full play to the reinforcing effect. Therefore, this paper proposed the method of composite reinforced embankment of waste tire rubber particles and geogrid to solve the above problems. The influence of rubber particle content (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) on the shear characteristics of the mixed soil was examined using a triaxial shear testing system. Additionally, pullout tests on geogrids were conducted to investigate the effects and mechanisms of rubber particle content on the pullout characteristics of uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial geogrids. Finally, the deformation characteristics and stability of reinforced soil embankment with rubber granular soil mixture were analyzed by indoor tests and numerical simulation methods. The results indicate that the elastic modulus of the mixed soil gradually decreases as the rubber particle content increases. At the same time, the shear strength index shows an initial increase followed by a decrease, reaching its maximum value at a content of 15%. The peak tensile force of the three types of geogrids in the mixed soil follows the same trend with its maximum value at a content of 15%. The addition of 15% rubber particles in bi-axial and tri-axial geogrid-reinforced embankments reduces the settlement of the embankment by approximately 19% and 23%, respectively, as well as the lateral earth pressure by approximately 18% and 23%. The presence of the composite reinforcement layer significantly limits the development depth of the slope failure slip surface, thus enhances the embankment’s resistance to deformation.