Rubber-Tire Particles as Concrete Aggregate

Accumulations of worn‐out automobile tires create fire and health hazards. As a possible solution to the problem of scrap‐tire disposal, an experimental study was conducted to examine the potential of using tire chips and crumb rubber as aggregate in portland‐cement concrete. This paper examines strength and toughness properties of concrete in which different amounts of rubber‐tire particles of several sizes were used as aggregate. The concrete mixtures exhibited lower compressive and splitting‐tensile strength than did normal concrete. However, these mixtures did not demonstrate brittle failure, but rather a ductile, plastic failure, and had the ability to absorb a large amount of plastic energy under compressive and tensile loads. A mathematical model is used to describe the effects of rubber aggregate on the compressive and tensile strength reduction of concrete.