Assessment of Dowel Bars Performance in Concrete Pavement Containing Crumb Rubber of Tires

Abstract

Solid waste management is one of the big challenges facing most countries around the world. Reusing these wastes in construction project represent one of the most efficient ways to consume these wastes and reduces the demand on natural sources. The Crumb Rubber (CR) of tires is a source of a huge amount of solid waste that can be reused in construction projects such as paving of roads. The current research presents an experimental investigation for the dowel bars performance in rubberized concrete pavement. The research involves conducted pullout tests for dowel bars cast in concrete pavement contains a different percentage of CR particle (2%, 4%, and 6% of total aggregate) as partial or total replacement to aggregate on sieves No. 16 and No. 50. Four cases of dowel bars surface were investigated. The results of the study showed that adding CR particles to concrete can significantly reduce the bond between the dowel bars and surrounding concrete pavement which allows for more free movement of dowel bars and reduce joint lockup. The use of treated CR by NaOH solution with standard dowel bars (epoxy coated lubricant steel dowels) can give a superior reduction in pullout load. The reductions were 45%, 66%, and 83% in pullout load for the percentages of 2%, 4%, and 6% crumb rubber respectively compared with the reference mix.