Initial damage is a significant factor leading to alterations in the mechanical properties of discarded tire materials. With reinforced soil being at its serviceability limit state, the one-dimensional tensile stress state predominates within the reinforcement material. The tensile properties of tire-derived geotechnical reinforcement material(TGRM) with initial damage directly determine whether the reinforcement effect can stably exist within the reinforced soil. To investigate the tensile properties, damage mechanisms, and the relationship between the failure mode of TGRM and its absorptive capacity for strain energy under initial damage conditions, static tensile tests were conducted to obtain the stress-strain relationships, post-fracture elongation rates and fracture morphologies of both strip-shaped and ring-shaped TGRM. During the tensile process, research indicates that the non-zero-degree steel fibers within TGRM undergo a symmetrical interlaminar relative displacement. This ensures that the cross-section remains macroscopically planar throughout, ultimately leading to a interlayer cracking in the belt layers. Prior to the cracking, a reliable anchoring relationship constantly exists between the steel fibers and the rubber matrix. Initial damage determines the integrity of zero-degree belt layer and the depth of non-zero-degree steel fibers embedded into the rubber matrix, which in turn affects the strain energy storage capacity and the failure mode of TGRM. The results may provide references for the establishment of the constitutive relationship and strength theory of TGRM under initial damage conditions.
