Feasibility of Rubber–Sand Mixture Columns for Liquefaction Mitigation: Shake Table Investigation
Feasibility of Rubber–Sand Mixture Columns for Liquefaction Mitigation: Shake Table Investigation
Rubber sand mixtures (RSM) have emerged as promising materials in various geotechnical applications, including lightweight backfill, embankment construction, and seismic isolation layers. Laboratory element tests reported in the literature consistently highlight their ability to reduce excess pore-water pressure and improve the cyclic resistance of loose sands, thereby mitigating the risk of liquefaction. Despite these encouraging results, the large-scale and in-situ use of RSM for liquefaction mitigation remains relatively unexplored. Previous researchers have examined their performance in roles such as thin-layer drains, rubber-wall type drains, and as protective barriers against pipeline uplift. The present study investigates the feasibility of employing an optimized RSM as a column material for ground improvement in liquefiable soils. A shake-table experiment was performed on groups of RSM columns and, for comparison, on gravel columns of similar particle gradation installed in saturated, loose sand. The test results demonstrate that RSM columns effectively reduce pore pressure build-up and settlement, indicating they can serve as a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional gravel columns for in-situ liquefaction mitigation.
Amit Srivastava; Subhadeep Banerjee
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Special Session 7: Geotechnical seismic isolation based on sustainable geomaterials
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-433