Effect of Crumb Rubber on Fresh and Mechanical Behaviour of OPC-based Concrete

Abstract

Crumb rubber offers attractive benefits as well as sustainable recycling of used tires into a valuable resource when utilised in concrete. This study examined the fresh and hardened properties of rubberized concrete using angular and fiber crumb rubber. Crumb rubber was replaced by 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% with coarse aggregate and locally produced fly ash (FA) was blended with cement at a constant ratio of 15:85 (FA:OPC). Based on the test results the workability decreased as the amount of rubber increased in the mix. The test results exhibited that the angular and fiber crumb rubber particles slightly decreased the compressive strength of concrete as compared to the control mix. The compressive strength was decreased by 33 % and 37.67 % in ACRC and FCRC, respectively, compared to the control mix. However, the flexural and tensile strengths of concrete were increased by approximately 8% and 43% for the maximum 8% dosage of fiber rubber.