The use of recycled rubber tyres in concrete construction

The growing problem of waste tyre disposal in the UK can be alleviated if new recycling routes can be found for the surplus tyres. One of the largest potential routes is in construction, but usage of waste tyres in civil engineering is currently very low. This study investigates the potential of incorporating recycled rubber tyre chips into Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete. This report presents the workability, strength and durability properties of concrete incorporating rubber tyre chips as a partial replacement for the coarse aggregate in the concrete. Plain rubber aggregate and rubber aggregate coated with cement paste were used. The results showed that concrete incorporating rubber aggregate has lower workability and unit weight and exhibited a notable reduction in compressive strength. However, the rubberised concrete did not exhibit a typical failure mode of plain concrete and a beneficial effect on flexural strength was observed.