Freeze-thaw resistance of steel fibre reinforced rubberised concrete

Abstract

This study evaluates the freeze-thaw performance of steel fibre reinforced rubberised concretes (SFRRuC) engineered for flexible concrete pavements. The effect of large volumes of fine and coarse rubber particles (i.e. 30% and 60% volumetric replacement of natural aggregates) is determined for concretes reinforced with 40 kg/m3 of a blend of manufactured steel fibres and recycled tyre steel fibres. The freeze-thaw performance is assessed through surface scaling, internal damage, residual compressive strength and flexural behaviour. The results show that SFRRuC are able to withstand 56 freeze-thaw cycles with acceptable scaling and without presenting internal damage or degradation in mechanical performance. This indicates that SFRRuC can perform well under extreme freeze-thaw conditions and can be used to construct long-lasting flexible pavements as a sustainable alternative to asphalt concretes.