An experimental study on the fatigue properties of Alccofine-based crumb rubber concrete

Abstract

The disposal of rubber tyres is one of the common causes of environmental pollution. This problem may be solved using crumb rubber (CR) as a construction material without side effects. Therefore, an attempt has been initiated in the present experimental study to prepare green concrete by replacing various sustainable materials in multiple percentages. This study continues with fatigue and mechanical properties, crack patterns, load–displacement behaviours under cyclic load and failure modes of normal concrete, CR concrete (CRC) and Alccofine-based CRC. Nineteen different mixes are taken into account with 5 and 7% replacements of CR (10, 12 and 20 mesh) with sand and different proportions of silica fume, fly ash and Alccofine. The compressive strength and splitting tensile strength are reduced with the increase in CR content and inversely increase with the rise in CR size. Therefore, Alccofine and silica fume have been used to resolve the problems of strength reduction. The results indicate that the failure manner of CRC beams is gradual, which means enhancement of structural ductility. Finally, this study proposes the application of Alccofine- and silica-fume-based CRC for magnifying structural ductility.