Tire derived aggregate for retaining wall backfill under earthquake loading

Tire Derived Aggregate (TDA) is a recycled lightweight construction material produced by cutting waste tires. The present research aims at evaluating the dynamic performance of TDA backfill under simulated earthquakes based on a full-scale shake table test. Main test results such as accelerations, wall displacements, and dynamic pressures are presented and discussed in this paper. A comparison with a similar shake table test of a wall with conventional soil backfill shows that the amount of wall sliding increased but the dynamic pressure on the wall exerted by the TDA backfill substantially decreased.