Durability Performance of Polymeric Waste Crumb Rubber as Fine Aggregates Replacement in Concrete

Abstract

This paper presents a study on durability performance of polymeric waste crumb rubber as partial fine aggregates replacement in concrete grade 30. The use of aggregates as constituent in concrete production commonly lead to a question about the sources of natural aggregates since concrete consumption has been increasing nowadays. Rubberized concrete has been introduced whereby natural fine aggregates are being replaced with crumb rubber in concrete since there are problems with availability of natural sand as fine aggregate material. Besides, polymeric waste materials production has been increasing. Crumb rubber used in this study was manufactured by special mill where scrap tire rubber is grinded and screened into smaller size of particles. Rubberized concrete is produced by mixing with different percentages of 10, 20 and 30% of crumb rubber as fine aggregates replacement. Water cement ratio of 0.53 and curing periods for 28 days and 60 days were considered in this study. The water absorption test was conducted to determine the percentages of water absorption, while water permeability test was conducted to determine the coefficient of permeability in concrete. Absorption and permeability are governed by the capillary pores in the cement paste. Pores that are too large resulted in high absorption and permeability, while pores that are small resulted in a low absorption and permeability. The durability performance in term of water absorption and water permeability in concrete was improved by introducing crumb rubber as polymeric waste materials to replace fine aggregates in concrete. The recycling and reusing of polymeric waste materials in concrete attract the interest worldwide which can promote sustainability and reduce the high environmental impact of the concrete technology.