Impact of Polypropylene Fibers on the Mechanical and Durability Characteristics of Rubber Tire Fine Aggregate Concrete

Abstract

In this research, the consequence of using rubber tire aggregates (RTA) on the durability and mechanical characteristics of polypropylene fibers (PF) reinforced concrete is evaluated. Fifteen concrete mixtures were produced and tested in the laboratory. RTA was utilized instead of fine natural aggregates (FNA) to the concrete at concentrations of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by a volumetric fraction; also, the contents of PF in the concrete mixtures were 0%, 1%, and 2% by weight fraction. Finally, the following parameters were tested for all the mixtures: compressive and tensile resistances, fracture, changes in drying shrinkage, bulk electrical resistivity, elastic moduli, and resonance occurrences. The control sample was the one without RTA and PF. According to the results, by adding RTA to the mixtures, the shrinkage deformation amplified, but the PF addition caused a decrease in the shrinkage deformation. Furthermore, adding 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% RTA, with 2% PF leads to an upsurge in the flexural resistance by 34%, 24%, 16%, and 6%, respectively, relative to the control sample without PF and RTA. Moreover, the fracture energy of mixtures increased by utilizing PF and RTA simultaneously.