Influence of recycled rubber on properties of concrete

Abstract

Global warming and the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere is becoming a bigger problem in the world every year. The desire for a global increase in production and the ever-increasing development of industry are the cause of the increased amount of waste in landfills and environmental pollution. Concrete is the most used construction material in the world, and the production of its main ingredient, cement, is responsible for about 7% of CO2 emissions in the world. Application of waste materials and by-products that end up as waste during some industrial process in production can find further application in concrete. Such materials can be used as mineral additives or as aggregate fillers, for partial or complete replacement of natural stone aggregate and/or cement. In this work, volume replacement of the fine fraction with 2.5 and 7.5 % crushed rubber was performed. Based on the test results of fresh concrete, in concrete with rubber addition, the slump consistency and bulk density decrease, and the air content increases. A drop in compressive strength of concrete was observed with an increase in the rubber content of 7.5%.