Rubberised concrete: from laboratory findings to field experiment validation

Abstract

Cement-based materials suffer from low tensile strength and limited strain capacity. They are brittle and highly sensitive to cracking, and such characteristics are the cause of the main distresses that limit the sustainability of their applications. Laboratory findings showed that the use of rubber aggregates obtained by grinding end-of-life tyres was effective in reducing the tendency of concrete cracking. This paper focuses on validating these findings in actual field conditions. For this purpose, control and rubberised concretes were produced using an industrial concrete plant and then used for the construction of prototype pavements. In equivalent conditions of construction, including length, the monitoring of the field experiment over a period of more than one year showed that the pavement constructed using control concrete tended to crack more due to shrinkage than the pavement constructed using rubberised concrete. Such experimental findings show that the use of a concrete incorporating rubber aggregates from used tyres may be an appropriate solution for sustainability, for economy and for saving non-renewable natural resources.

Keywords:

• Pavement
• shrinkage cracking
• rubber aggregates
• recycling
• durability
• clean environment

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME). We are also grateful to the Communauté d’Agglomération du Grand Toulouse for making available the field on which the project was conducted under optimal security conditions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME).