Utilization of crumb rubber for lightweight concrete production

Abstract

Abstract The development of crumb rubber concrete for lightweight concrete production has gained significant attention in recent years due to its potential environmental and structural benefits. Disposal of condemned tyre continues to constitute serious problem to the environment, hence there is need for further research on effective use of crumb rubber in concrete. The crumb rubber possess the capability as a sustainable and environmentally friendly material. This study therefore, focuses on developing crumb rubber concrete for practical use in light weight concrete construction. Concrete mix design was done, followed by processing of crumb rubber concrete in the laboratory and the performance of the concrete was evaluated. This process included three stages namely; selecting effective rubber particle size, designing and adjusting concrete mixes, and testing recommended mixes for practical applications. The compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength were measured. The results showed that within the crumb rubber size range used (0.15–2.36 mm), increasing the rubber particle size decreases the compressive strength. Compared to conventional concrete, the presence of 20% rubber as sand volume replacement decreased the 7-day/28-day strength ratio by values that ranged between 9% and 20%. This study also focus on the utilization of Minitab design expert software to optimize the mix design parameters for crumb rubber concrete, aiming to enhance its mechanical properties while maintaining lightweight characteristics.