Study of strength and durability of rubberized concrete

Abstract

Rubberized concrete (RC) is an innovative, user and environmentally friendly invention in building materials that require less energy to manufacture and have a lower carbon footprint than cement-based systems, alleviating global warming concerns. It has the potential of reducing the dilemma of disposal of the huge rubber tire wastes by including them in production as a partial substitute for natural aggregate. This hereby avoids the depletion of natural mineral aggregates and protects the nature against air, water, and soil pollution. The present work shows the feasibility of incorporating waste rubber in concrete to solve the environmental issue and also improving the properties of concrete. For strength characterization, this work analysed the flexural, split tensile, and compressive strengths of rubberized concrete. To study the durability characterization of rubberized concrete, water absorption, acid resistance, chloride diffusion, temperature study, impact strength study, stress-strain behaviour study, and sorptivity study were evaluated. Finally, the outcome of this work concludes that rubberized concrete has distinct, tangible benefits compared with OPC concrete regarding environment protection, durability, and strength properties. Furthermore, rubberized concrete is recommended for producing lightweight concrete and civil engineering structures when compressive strength is not the main property.