Mechanical performance of polymer skeleton porous concrete incorporated with rubber aggregates

Polymer skeleton porous concrete (PSPC) is an innovative type of pavement material combining the high strength of cement concrete with the high toughness of asphalt concrete. It is also characterized by excellent water permeability, noise reduction, construction efficiency, and driving comfort, leading to extensive practical applications. The authors found that incorporating rubber powder greatly enhances the mechanical properties of PSPC, including flexural strength, deformation resistance, and impact toughness. This paper investigated influences of five different proportions of rubber powder on PSPC. Results show that polymer skeleton porous rubber concrete (PSPRC) exhibits exceptional deformation capacity and toughness. When the rubber content is 10% of the cement mass, compared with PSPC without rubber content, the deformation performance of PSPRC increased by 49.4% and the impact toughness increased by 156.6%. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was also employed to elucidate how rubber power enhances the overall mechanical properties of PSPC.