Investigating the Static and Dynamic Behavior of Sheet Piles with Recycled Lightweight Materials

The high volume of recycled tires has caused many environmental problems. A rubber crumb and soil combination can be a suitable option for backfill materials due to their low specific weight. On the other hand, using these materials as the backfill of retaining walls can improve static and seismic behavior. In this research, the combination of soil with powder tire (PT) and ground tire (GT) has been used for the backfill of the sheet-pile wall for the first time. For this purpose, two-dimensional simulations of finite elements have been performed to evaluate the effect of adding PT and GT to sand on sheet-pile walls’ static and dynamic behavior. This research showed that adding 30% of GT and PT to sand reduces the sheet-pile wall’s maximum horizontal static and seismic displacement by 60%-43% and 40%-26%, respectively. However, from the point of view of the settlement, adding PT and GT increases the static and seismic settlement. Finally, the optimal amount of PT and GT to sandy soil for backfill materials of the sheet-pile wall is 10% and 30%, respectively.