Evaluation of mechanical strength of sustainable concrete paving blocks (SCPB)

The waste tire is a material of difficult degradation, its inadequate accumulation or disposal cause serious environmental impacts. Stacked tires are subject to fires due to thermal capacity which have, besides being prone environments for proliferation of vectors transmitting diseases. The use of tire rubber waste in the production of paving blocks has been a viable alternative to environmentally proper disposal of this waste and to reduce the consumption of natural resources, contributing to sustainable construction. This work evaluates the behavior of the concrete with addition of tire rubber waste in the production of paving blocks. The fine aggregate was substituted by rubber waste in proportions of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10, 20 and 50%. Portland cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, rubber waste and superplastic additive were used in the concrete. Compression strength tests were performed in interlocking floor parts at 7 and 28 days. The graphical analysis was using values of resistance and rubber content, and the results showed that for a given range of proportion of substitution of fine aggregate by rubber waste, there was an improvement in the compression strength of concrete paving blocks, and with substitution of up to 10% of sand by rubber waste is possible to use this concrete to produce interlocking floor for heavy traffic, according to the recommendations of the Brazilian standard.