From a geotechnical engineering viewpoint, recycling and reuse of crushed glass and tire rubber can significantly help reduce the demand for natural resources (i.e., sand and gravel aggregates). Following an earlier study by the authors aimed at characterizing gravel–rubber mixtures (GRM), this paper focuses on the geotechnical assessment of gravel–glass–rubber mixtures (GGRM) made of recycled crushed green glass bottles and recycled granulated tire rubber. Specifically, the compaction, one-dimensional compressibility, and shear strength characteristics of GGRM prepared at 40% and 55% rubber content by volume (RB) with varying glass content by volume (GL) are investigated. It is found that compacted GGRM possesses high strength (i.e., friction angle ≥ 30°) and adequate compressibility, making it a suitable general and structural fill material for use in eco-friendly geotechnical applications.
Shear wave velocity (VS) measurements are widely used to characterize geomaterials, evaluate small-strain stiffness, and develop indirect approaches for estimating the liquefaction resistance of various soil types. In this study, the bender element method was employed to investigate the VS characteristics of sand–gravel mixtures (SGMs), with the aim of clarifying the combined effect of key factors such as gravel content (GC), relative density (Dr), packing state, and soil fabric. Laboratory tests were performed on reconstituted specimens composed of two sandy soils and pea gravel with GC of 0, 10, 25, 40, 60, 80 and 100% and Dr of 20, 30, 45 and 60%. Specimens were prepared using wet tamping (WT) and air pluviation (AP) techniques. VS measurements were conducted under effective confining stresses () of 50, 100, 150 and 200 kPa. The results show that the VS of SGMs increases with increasing Dr and , whereas the influence of GC depends on the limiting and threshold sand contents. The effect of soil fabric was found to be marginal. Furthermore, the combined effects of GC and Dr on VS can be uniquely captured using the equivalent void ratio approach for SGMs with sand-dominated microstructures, while the skeleton void ratio approach is more appropriate for SGMs with gravel-dominated microstructures.