Characterization of Modified Crumb rubber Interlocking Paver

Abstract

Interlocking pavers, otherwise called paving blocks, brick pavers or concrete paver blocks are produced from bricks or concrete blocks and are used for paving the exteriors of buildings and surfacing of driveways, floors, paths, patios, pool decks and walkways. Interlocking paving units have been successfully used worldwide for the surface of roadways and have adequately carried traffic loads without failure or deterioration. This study investigated the impacts of 2, 4 and 6 % replacement of sand with crumb rubber on the engineering properties of the interlocking pavers in order to produce a sustainable and environmental friendly interlocking paver. For the control sample the mix ratio was 1:1.38: 2.73 for cement, sand and coarse aggregate, respectively. The mixes had a water cement ratio of 0.4. The experiments conducted on cement were chemical composition, standard consistency and setting time. The tests carried out on the aggregates included chemical composition, sieve analysis, humidity content and specific gravity. The test conducted on the interlocking paver blocks were slump, bulk density and compressive strength. The study revealed that the cement had a standard consistency of 25%, initial setting and final setting time of 28 and 246 minutes, respectively. The major oxide compositions of cement were Calcium Oxide (CaO) and Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) with 60.38 and 20.8% constituent, respectively. The fineness modulus of the sand, crumb rubber and granite samples was 2.54, 1.50 and 2.35, respectively. The density and compressive strength decreased at each of the ages of curing (3, 7, 28 and 56 days), as the crumb rubber content in the interlocking pavers increased. Though the mechanical properties of the modified crumb-rubber interlocking pavers reduced, the interlocking pavers can still be used for low trafficked roads and as kerbs on the highway.