Dynamic behaviour of pipe protected by rubber–soil mixtures

As reuse materials, waste tyres mixed with soils are valuable materials to be used for many purposes in geotechnical projects that may be subjected to dynamic loads. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of using waste tyres in buried pipe protection. To achieve this purpose, a series of laboratory model tests were carried out to investigate the dynamic responses of pipe buried in pure soil and rubber soil mixtures with volume content of 10%, 20% and 30% rubber particles. Test results such as earth pressure and strain of buried pipe are discussed in this study. The results indicate that inclusion of 20–30% rubber particles in the mixtures leads to a change in earth pressure increment distribution, and these mixtures lead to obvious reductions in earth pressure increments. For the mixtures with 20–30% rubber particles, the pipe had lower strain under the dynamic loading. Compared with pure soil, the mixtures with 20–30% rubber particles exhibited better performance with regard to the responses of the pipe–soil system. Hence, the research undertaken in this paper provides a viable approach to protect buried pipes subjected to dynamic loading.