Discussions and Closures
Closure to “Optimum Mixing Ratio and Shear
Strength of Granulated Rubber–Fly Ash Mixtures”
by Bhargav Kumar Karnam Prabhakara,
Prashant Vyankatesh Guda, and Umashankar Balunaini
Bhargav Kumar Karnam Prabhakara
Research Scholar, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana 502 285, India.
Umashankar Balunaini, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technol-
ogy Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana 502 285, India (corresponding author).
Email: buma@ce.iith.ac.in
Prashant Vyankatesh Guda
Formerly, Masters’ Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana 502 285, India.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0002639
The writers would like to thank the discussers for their interest in our
published work and for sharing their views. The conclusion made in
the abstract “Based on shear strength testing, fly ash-granulated rub-
ber mixtures are found to perform better than sand-granulated rub-
ber mixtures” was based on the experimental study carried out on
the materials presented in the study. The writers used 9.5-mm granu-
lated rubber and fly ash obtained from two sources. In accordance
with ASTM D6270 (ASTM 2012), granulated rubber is defined as
particulate rubber mainly composed of nonspherical particles with
size varying between 425 μm and 12 mm. The discussers pointed
to the direct shear results of Deng and Feng (2009) and Reddy
and Krishna (2015). The sizes of the tire wastes used in the Deng
and Feng (2009) and Reddy and Krishna (2015) were 4 to 5 mm and
20 mm, respectively. The corresponding sizes were smaller and
larger, respectively, in comparison with the size of granulated rubber
used in the present study. The higher values of angle of shearing
resistance for sand–tire shred mixtures observed by Reddy and
Krishna (2015) could be attributed to larger size of tire shreds
(20 mm). Studies reveal that the direct shear strength parameters
of sand–tire shred mixtures vary largely based on the mixture den-
sity, percentage of tire wastes, size of the tire wastes, normal stress
applied on the sample, and soil gradation (Balunaini et al. 2014a;
Madhusudhan et al. 2019; Mashiri et al. 2015). The writers would
like to point out that this is pioneering work in using tire shreds
mixed with fly ash as a fill material. There is, of course, a need for
comprehensive research to be carried out considering the influence
of the stated parameters on the properties of the proposed new
composite fill material.
The writers agree with the discussers that stability and com-
pressibility properties are critical when using lightweight materials
like fly ash and rubber particles as a fill material. The hydraulic
conductivity of Indian pond ashes ranges from 5 × 10−5 to 9.63 ×
10−4 cm=s (Prakash and Sridharan 2009). The range of perme-
ability values indicates that pond ashes are free-draining materials.
The addition of granulated rubber to the fine particles increases the
coefficient of hydraulic conductivity (Yoon et al. 2006), and hence
© ASCE 07020005-1
the generation of pore pressure in the ash-granulated rubber mix-
tures is not anticipated. Hence, the softening coefficient may not be
relevant in studying the water stability of this material. Many stud-
ies are reported with sand–tire shred mixtures as a backfill material
in retaining structures (Bali Reddy et al. 2016; Balunaini et al.
2014b; Rao and Dutta 2006; Neaz Sheikh et al. 2013). In addition,
fly ash is a widely accepted fill material in geotechnical engineer-
ing, with numerous high-volume embankments being constructed
with fly ash as fill material (Patelunas 1986; Srivastava and Collins
1989; Yoon et al. 2009). The writers have personally come across
many reinforced earth structures constructed with fly ash as rein-
forced backfill material. In fact, that is the genesis of carrying out
this experimental study.
Yoon et al. (2009) conducted a field performance study on a
4.6-m-high embankment constructed using pond ash as a fill mate-
rial. Horizontal and vertical inclinometers were used to measure the
differential settlements and the lateral movements, respectively. A
minimal differential settlement equal to 5 mm was observed at the
top of the embankment at the end of 1 year of construction. No sig-
nificant lateral movements were noticed at the toe and shoulder of the
embankment. Yoon et al. (2006) also monitored the settlements in
an embankment constructed using sand–tire shreds mixture (50=50,
by volume) as a fill material. The differential settlement was insig-
nificant and the lateral movement was about 2 mm. A maximum set-
tlement of 12 mm was observed after 200 days of road traffic.
Further investigations are needed to study the effect of the size
of tire shred on the engineering properties, mainly shear strength
and compressibility, of the proposed composite material. In addi-
tion, a detailed field instrumentation and monitoring of structures
constructed with this material will lend confidence in using this
material as a fill material.
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