BUILDING DESIGN MODULE I: EARTH AND FILLING MATERIALS

MAGNAYE, KIMBERLY WEALTH M.

BSCE 4-1

Activity/Assessment:
1. Aside from what has been listed in this module, research other material
used as fill material and discuss its advantages and disadvantages
compared to the conventional fill material used in construction.

SHRED TIRES OR TIRE CHIPS AS BACKFILL

A study carried out by Cecich et al.
explained the applicability of pure tire
chips in retaining wall backfill by
achieving the higher factors of safety
against sliding, overturning compared to
the sand as backfill under static loading
conditions. Lee and Roh proved that the
dynamic earth pressures behind a retaining
wall were reduced on using a backfill
material having lesser elastic modulus and
higher damping ratio and demonstrated
that tire chips possesses these reliable properties. Xiao et al. conducted
reduced scale model tests on retaining walls of height 1.6 m backfilled with
tire derived aggregate (TDA) under static and seismic loading conditions and
compared the results with that of conventional sand as backfill. It has been
found that the displacements of the wall, accelerations in the backfill soil,
static and dynamic stresses in the backfill were reduced by using TDA due to
the lesser unit weights and higher damping ratios of rubber materials.
Numerical analysis on retaining walls backfilled with pure tire chips and pure
sand carried out by Huggins and Ravichandran and
Ravichandran and Huggins showed that the bending moments, shear forces and
the displacements of the walls backfilled with tire chips were reduced
significantly than that of walls backfilled with sand considered. Shaking table
tests on gravity type model caisson with tire chips, demonstrated that the tire
chips acted as cushioning material and substantially reduced the seismic load
against the caisson wall.
FLY ASH (COMMERCIAL BY-PRODUCT)
Just like the ACBFS, fly ash is also
a by-product. It is produced from
burning pulverized coal in electric
generation power plants. Fly ash
contains aluminous and siliceous
materials that form cement in the
presence of water. This material
can be used as a prime material in
cement-based products and as an
embankment material.
Bituminous coal fly ash is the most commonly used type because
subbituminous ash is usually self-cementing and can harden prematurely
when water is added which may lead to handling problems and inability to
achieve required degree of compaction.
Compared to the conventional fill materials used such as soil and rock, fly
ash has several advantages. It has a relatively low unit weight which makes it
well-suited to be placed over soft or low bearing strength soils. It also has a
high shear strength compared to its unit weight that makes it a good bearing
support with minimal settlement.
There are also some disadvantages of using fly ash as a fill or embankment.
It requires dust control measures unless it is delivered to the construction
site within its proper moisture range. Another disadvantage of this material
is it has to undergo erosion control procedures because its predominantly
silt-size material is subject to soil erosion. Lastly, its silt-size particles that
causes it to be more saturated may result in loss of shear strength so it
cannot be placed in areas exposed to free moisture, wetlands, and water
table.
POLYSTYRENE FOAM
Polystyrene is a versatile plastic used to make a wide variety of consumer
products. As a hard, solid plastic, it is often used in products that require
clarity, such as food packaging and laboratory ware. When combined with
various colorants, additives or other plastics, polystyrene is used to make
appliances, electronics, automobile parts, toys, gardening pots and
equipment and more.
Polystyrene also is made into a foam material, called expanded polystyrene
(EPS) or extruded polystyrene (XPS), which is valued for its insulating and
cushioning properties. Foam polystyrene can be more than 95 percent air
and is widely used to make home and appliance insulation, lightweight
protective packaging, surfboards, foodservice and food packaging,
automobile parts, roadway and roadbank stabilization systems and more.
Polystyrene is made by stringing together, or polymerizing, styrene, a
building-block chemical used in the manufacture of many products. Styrene
also occurs naturally in foods such as strawberries, cinnamon, coffee and
beef.

REFERENCES:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40891-015-0036-0
https://archive.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/tires/web/html/civ
il_eng.html#:~:text=Tire%20shreds%20can%20be%20used%20to%20construct%20
embankments%20on%20weak,is%20significantly%20cheaper%20than%20alternat
ives.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/fly-ash-applications-844761
https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/polystyrene/