Rammed earth tire packing process design : final design report

Abstract

This report outlines a process designed for compacting soil into automobile tires. The current state of this process consists of manually filling and packing the soil with a sledge hammer. A mechanized process is needed to reduce time and labor necessary to pack tires with soil. This improved process will facilitate construction of rammed earth tire structures. The process outlined in this report consists of using a pneumatic backfill tamper and hydraulic cylinder press in conjunction with a lever mechanism to pack a tire with soil. This system consists of lightweight machinery that can be easily manipulated while working on the top of a tire wall. Due to elimination of sledgehammer, the recommended method greatly increases safety and decreases operator fatigue. In conclusion, the process designed by the project team is a low cost method that greatly improves upon the current method in terms of manual input, operator fatigue, safety, and time savings. The project team recommends implementation of this designed process for further testing and performance verification.