SCRAP TIRE RUBBER-BASED AGGREGATE IN LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE

Reusing rubber particles from used tires is good for the environment and, moreover, the world's population is becoming progressively conscious that a very high demand for natural resources is unsustainable. As the concrete industry consumes high amounts of natural resources, both for clinkering and gravel aggregate production, one must focus on its sustainability, considering environmental and economic issues. Therefore, reuse of waste tire rubber in concrete or in other composite materials is a logical solution for sustainable production of construction materials. Hence, the paper is aimed at the development and testing of lightweight concrete composed of a high volume of crushed waste tire rubber used as partial replacement of natural silica aggregate. In order to access the effect of incorporation waste tire rubber-based aggregate in concrete composition, reference concrete mix based on silica aggregate only is studied as well. The crushed waste tire rubber is characterized by its powder density, specific density, and particle size distribution. Specific attention is paid to thermal transport and storage properties of waste rubber that are examined in dependence on compaction time. For the developed lightweight concrete, mechanical, hygric, and thermal properties are tested. The tested lightweight concrete is found to be alternative and environmentally friendly construction material possessing improved thermal insulation function, interesting hygric parameters and sufficient mechanical resistance.