Numerical Investigation on Vibration Screening Using Geofoam and Sand-Crumb Rubber Mixture Infilled Trench

This study investigates the application of a composite layer of geofoam and sand-crumb rubber infilled trench (GSFT) as a wave barrier. Rubber is a waste material and its safe disposal is a matter of concern. A numerical investigation was carried out using a two-dimensional finite element method (FEM) in ABAQUS software. A machine foundation was considered as the source of vibration and the screening efficiency was evaluated by calculating the Amplitude Reduction Factor (A(r)). The performance of the GSFT was evaluated by varying the loading frequency, location of the trench, trench geometry and the proportion of geofoam and sand-crumb rubber (SCR) mixture. The effect of slenderness ratio and cross-sectional area was found to be critical for trench design. The findings of this study were in good agreement with previous studies on Expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam infilled trench and SCR infilled trench. It was observed that GSFT performed similar to the EPS geofoam infilled trench and was better than SCR filled trench. Therefore, it is proposed that GSFT can be used as a potential alternative to the EPS geofoam wave barrier by not only cutting down the cost but also as an eco-friendly alternative.