Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences: Research Areas

Abstract:
The increased quest for sustainable and eco-friendly materials in the construction industry has led to research on partial replacement of the conventional constituents of concrete by two selected waste materials. The broad aim of this work was to investigate the effects of partially substituted fine aggregate by rubber on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. Different tests were performed to determine and compare slump, plastic density, compressive strength, tensile splitting strength, flexure, modulus of elasticity, drying shrinkage and initial surface absorption of the concrete mixes. The results demonstrated that rubber improves workability and causes a decrease in plastic density. The compressive and tensile splitting strengths, flexure and modulus of elastic significantly decrease with increasing rubber content. Rubber also causes an increase in percentage drying shrinkage. Additionally, rubber fails the initial surface absorption test, that is, the surfaces of their concrete mixes are almost impermeable. However, partial replacement of fine aggregates with 5% of rubber can potentially be used in low strength concrete applications.

Keywords: OPC, aggregates, rubber, workability, compressive and tensile splitting strengths

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