Experimental Study on Geopolymer Rubberized concrete using natural Zeolite

Abstract

On one hand, the utilization of rubber tires is ever-increasing, expected to further increase at a rapid rate, and with that the waste rubber. When the tires become old, worn out and irreparable, it is often dumped in landfills. For every one billion tires produced, an equal amount of tires being removed from the vehicles. This waste can be utilized in large quantities when employed in the construction industry. On the other hand, cement-based concrete utilization also increasing at a faster rate and with that the CO2 emissions. These two major issues i.e. waste rubber utilization and curbing of cement consumption can be effectively done by developing geopolymer concrete with the replacement of waste rubber chips and rubber powder in the place of natural aggregates. In the present study, the geopolymer concrete has been developed by using fly ash, GGBS, and zeolite as binder materials, sodium hydroxide, and sodium silicate as alkaline activators, rubber chips as a partial replacement to natural coarse aggregate, rubber powder as a partial replacement to natural fine aggregate. Rubberized geopolymer concretes have been developed by replacing fly ash with 5% zeolite, natural coarse aggregate with 2.5% waste rubber chips, and natural fine aggregate with 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight of waste rubber powder. The developed concrete is then assessed for its performance through mechanical properties, durability behaviour. The results showed the developed concrete has high impact resistance and good freeze-thaw resistance properties. This concrete is suitable for the members subjected to high-impact loads.