Waste tyre rubberized concrete: properties at fresh and hardened state

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the properties of various concrete mixtures at fresh and hardened state, obtained by a partial substitution of coarse and fine aggregate with different volume percentages of waste tyres rubber particles, having the same dimensions of the replaced aggregate. Workability, unit weight, compressive and flexural strength and post-cracking behaviour were evaluated and a comparison of the results for the different rubcrete mixtures were proposed in order to define the better mix proportions in terms of mechanical properties of the rubberized concrete. Results showed in this paper were also compared to data reported in literature. Moreover, a preliminary geometrical, physical and mechanical characterization on scrap tyre rubber shreds was made. The rubberized concrete mixtures showed lower unit weight compared to plain concrete and good workability. The results of compressive and flexural tests indicated a larger reduction of mechanical properties of rubcrete when replacing coarse aggregate rather than fine aggregate. On the other hand, the post-cracking behaviour of rubberized concrete was positively affected by the substitution of coarse aggregate with rubber shreds, showing a good energy absorption and ductility indexes in the range observed for fibrous concrete, as suggested by standard (ASTM C1018-97, 1997).