PERFORMANCE OF HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE CONTAINING RECYCLED RUBBER

Recycling of materials has become a major interest for engineers as a part of their collective efforts in finding and developing environmentally friendly solutions towards a more sustainable future. Inadequate disposal of the huge numbers of tires generated every year after they reach their service life and become waste has become one of the most challenging problems that can create health and safety risks. One of the promising solutions is utilizing waste rubber in civil engineering applications as partial replacement of natural aggregate in conventional concrete. This paper aims to investigate the performance of high strength concrete containing recycled rubber as partial replacement of fine aggregate. Four different mixes were produced in which crumb rubber partially replaced fine aggregate by 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% of volume. Slump, density, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, and water absorption were evaluated. The rubberized concrete mixes showed good workability and slightly lower density compared to the control mix. A systematic reduction in compressive, tensile, and flexural strength was observed with increasing the rubber content. Rubberized concrete mixes showed higher water absorption compared to the control mix. The results of this study provide an insight on the effect of rubber particles on high strength concrete.