Mechanical characterization of a tire derived material and its application in vibration reduction

Tire Derived Materials (TDMs) deserve special interest as the reuse of tires is one of the most important topics in recycling and Environmental Engineering. This thesis describes the mechanical characterization of a new TDM based on appropriate experimental tests. Moreover a novel strain energy function is presented, based on the Hencky-logarithmic strain tensor, to model the response for moderately large deformations. Finally a Finite element program is used to solve an optimization problem of railway track mat for light-weight lines.