Sustainable concrete incorporating crumb rubber and waste glass powder

Abstract

This research studies the application of Crumb Rubber (CR) and Waste Glass Powder (GP) in concrete as an example of sustainable construction material. CR was utilized as a partial replacement of fine aggregate, and GP was employed as a partial replacement of cement. The tests were conducted in terms of compressive strength, flexural strength, split tensile strength, elevated temperature behaviour, stress-strain behaviour, impact resistance, and microstructural properties. It was concluded that the presence of CR decreased mechanical strength of the investigated samples due to their lower stiffness and poor interaction with cement-based matrix. Meanwhile, the presence of waste GP helped with improving matrix densification and compensated for partial losses of mechanical strength. Among all studied combinations of the materials, the sample with 10% of CR and 15% of GP demonstrated the highest level of performance with strength values being fairly close to those of the control samples. The experiments conducted at the temperatures of 200°C, 400°C, and 600°C revealed an increase in the residual strength at 200°C and then gradually decreasing strength and increasing mass losses with the rising temperature. However, the optimum mixture exhibited relatively better properties of residual strength and stability with respect to temperature change. The impact tests proved that using waste glass powder does not impair the ability to absorb energy provided by crumb rubber. The results obtained via SEM analysis and the TGA test showed the improved microstructure of the sample and stable behaviour with rising temperature. In conclusion, this research has shown that the use of crumb rubber and waste glass powder in concrete is feasible without compromising its quality, especially when used at an optimal level of replacement. Keywords: Crumb Rubber, Waste Glass Powder, Sustainable Concrete, Elevated Temperature, Impact Resistance, SEM, TGA.