Dynamic properties of the mucky clay improved with the steel slag and the rubber particles

Abstract To make full use of advantages of waste steel slag and old rubber particles, the steel slag and rubber particles were mixed into the mucky clay to form the mucky clay-steel slag-rubber particles admixtures (MCSRA) to improve the engineering properties of mucky clay. Dynamic tests have been carried out by resonant column apparatus to investigate the influence of steel slag content, rubber particle content, rubber particle size and confining pressure on small-strain dynamic shear properties of MCSRA. The results showed that the dynamic properties of MCSRA were significantly improved compared with those of the mucky clay. It also revealed that as steel slag content increased, the shear modulus increased and the damping ratio decreased. In addition, as rubber particle content and rubber particle size increased, the shear modulus decreased and the damping ratio increased, and as confining pressure increased, the shear modulus increased and the damping ratio decreased. Moreover, an improved dynamic model was built based on the Hardin-Drnevich model to describe the dynamic performance of MCSRA. By comparing the dynamic characteristics of MCSRA with those of the mucky clay-steel slag admixtures, the Fujian standard sand and the Nanjing fine sand, the MCSRA could be applied to replace the mucky clay improved with the steel slag and Nanjing fine sand in some practical engineering.