Determination of mechanical properties of rubberized concrete in marine environment

Abstract

With an objective of saving the environment by providing crumb rubber as an alternative to natural fine aggregate this paper presents a study carried out to find the mechanical properties of rubberized concrete. Rubberized concrete is made up of waste rubber from vehicle tyres and other rubber waste which otherwise is left out polluting the environment. In this paper, 7.5% of crumb rubber (obtained by shredding the vehicle tyres) as an alternative to fine aggregate and 7.5% of fly-ash as an alternative to cement is added with other ingredients of concrete to produce an eco-friendly concrete which can be used economically and effectively for construction along the coastal areas. Various properties like workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength was carried out on concrete specimens exposed to the natural marine environment along the coast of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The total exposure of concrete specimen was about 150 days, and various specimens were tested at 7, 28, 90, 120 and 150 days, respectively. The test results showed that with a slight compromise in strength, the workability of concrete and resistance to the effect of seawater on the strength of concrete significantly improved with the addition of crumb rubber and fly-ash.