Evaluating the effects of fine rubber aggregate

Abstract EN

This work is conducted to evaluate the behavior and performance of rubber-concrete (rubcrete) in comparison with the traditional one.

The work proceeded in three main phases.

In the first one, the production of rubcrete mixtures with enhanced impact resistance and acceptable mechanical properties is investigated.

The rubcrete mixtures design is primarily based on the use of fine powder rubber aggregate from waste tires as a partial replacement of sand, silica fume as a pozzolan, moderate water content, and High range water-reducer.

One of the investigated rubcrete mixes is selected for the production of beam structural elements for the remaining phases of study.

The selected one possessed satisfactory performance in both the fresh and the hardened states.

In the second phase, the behavior of a rubcrete beam is evaluated under the effect of static loading in comparison with that of the traditional concrete beam.

In the last stage, a rubcrete beam is tested under the effect of dynamic excitation.

Test results show that rubcrete mixture characterized by superior impact resistance and toughness could be produced without a significant loss of other mechanical properties.

Also, rubcrete mixtures could be employed in producing beam structural elements as the tested beams show high extensibility and ductility although its damping ratio is reduced slightly.

Furthermore, the rubcrete is favorable for seismic resistant and impact systems and also for vibration control applications such as inertia floors.