Cement – natural rubber latex stabilised recycled concrete aggregate as a pavement base material

Abstract

This research investigated the influence of natural rubber latex (NRL) on the performance of cement stabilised recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a pavement base material. The influence factors studied included different cement at contents and dry rubber to cement (r/c) ratios. The NRL replacement enhanced the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and indirect tensile strength (ITS) of cement stabilised RCA. The highest UCS and ITS of cement-NRL stabilised RCA were found at the optimum r/c ratios. Beyond these optimum r/c ratios, the UCS and ITC values decreased although all UCS values were still greater than the minimum requirement for base material. Microstructural analyses indicated the detected cement hydration products and NRL films, which NRL films were found to improve the adhesion and interparticle bonds of RCA particles. However, the excessive NRL additive retarded the cement hydration, whereby the UCS and ITS development was low when the r/c was greater than the optimum value.