Mechanical Response of MSW Materials Subjected to Shearing in Direct Shear Test Apparatus

Catastrophic ruptures in several landfills in different part of the world in recent decade indicate on the poor level of knowledge in the field of mechanical behavior of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) materials. Since MSW is the main material in the construction of landfills, their responses under different states and loading conditions governs on the not only the overall stability but also the partial stability aspects like serviceability of final liners, leachate and gas collection systems and etc. So far several extensive researches have been performed on this subject using different kind of apparatus however because of considerable differences among waste materials in different part of the world, evaluation of the mechanical response of MSW materials should be performed based on the local conditions. This paper embraces the results of direct shear tests on the MSW materials which is a part of a comprehensive research on this field. Using a large direct shear test apparatus with dimensions of 30 x 30 cm the effects of factors like normal stress, shearing rate, fiber orientation and age on the mechanical response of these materials were addressed. The results showed that the effect of factors like normal stress, shearing rate and aging on the level of mechanical response of these materials is considerable and the type of mechanical response of MSW materials is dependent on the fiber orientation.

کلیدواژه ها:

Municipal solid waste ، Mechanical behavior ، Shear Strength ، Loading rate ، Aging