Performance of Used Tire Cushion Layer under Rockfall Impact

Rock shed is widely used in traffic lines against rockfall. In order to cushion rockfall impact and dissipate impact energy, cushion layer is usually adopted in rock shed. Used tire cushion layer is proposed in this paper and it can cushion rockfall impact utilizing large radial deformation of tire. Reinforced concrete structure model is built with used tire cushion layer and artificial rockfall test is carried out. Twelve tests are divided into 4 sets with different rockfall mass, rockfall height, and tire filling material. Simplified calculation model with spring-damper is derived from radial repeated compression test of used tire, which improves the calculation efficiency. Test and numerical simulation show that application of used tire cushion layer in rock shed can cushion rockfall impact and effectively reduce peak acceleration and the maximum impact force. Filling sand and gravel in tire can improve tire stiffness and energy absorption capacity but will decrease cushion effect due to its large density. With the same impact energy, light rockfall is more destructive than weight rockfall for used tire cushion layer.