Physical and mechanical performance of concrete made with waste rubber aggregate, glass powder and silica sand powder

Abstract

This study presents experimental results about the effect of incorporating waste rubber aggregates in combination with waste glass powder or silica sand powder obtained from dune natural sand, on the performances of cementitious mixtures. Rubber aggregates (RW) were used to replace crushed sand in concrete mixes with ratios of 10%, 20%, 40% and 60%, while glass powder (GP) and natural sand powder (SP) were used to replace 15% of the cement weight. Nine different forms of concrete with the separate wastes and with the combination of them were designed and prepared. The mixtures were characterized in the fresh and hardened states by means of workability, fresh density, compressive and tensile strengths, propagation of ultrasonic waves and deformability tests. The water/binder ratio and superplasticizer percentage of all mixtures were maintained constant. The results showed that the strength increased with the incorporation of glass powder and rubber aggregates, especially with 10% and 20% RW contents. In addition, the developed rubberized concrete with the incorporation of glass powder presented higher fresh density and deformability, compared to the cementitious rubberized mixtures without GP. Furthermore, the simultaneous incorporation of rubber waste and glass powder enhanced the concretes workability due to the low GP and RW water absorptions.