Abstract: To investigate the effect of filler types on cyclic shear behavior of scrap tire columns (STC) reinforced geomaterials, a series of horizontal cyclic shear tests, with a vertical pressure of 100 kPa and a maximum shear strain of 2%, were conducted on STC reinforced river sands, gravels and loam soils, respectively. Test results show that STC reinforced river sands and gravels almost have the same values of equivalent dynamic shear moduli and equivalent damping ratios, which are better than those of STC reinforced loam soils. In consideration of dynamic behavior and construction convenience, STC reinforced river sands have a good advantage in practical application. Moreover, the stress-strain hysteresis curves were reasonably established based on the FEM simulation by the code of ABAQUS. Constitutive models of Mohr-Coulomb, Mooney-Rivlin and Rebar were selected to simulate the mechanical behaviors of geomaterials, rubbers and rebars, respectively. From the simulated energy-time variation curves during the cyclic shear, it is found that the inside filling geomaterials mainly play a role of energy dissipation, and scrap tires mainly act for reinforcement.

Key words: scrap tires, reinforcement, horizontal cyclic shear, filling material, seismic isolation, numerical modelling