Mechanical and Damping Properties of Rubberized Concrete Containing Polyester Fibers

Environmental sustainability is the need of the hour. The dependency on natural river sand has to be decreased, and an environment friendly disposal of waste rubber tires needs to be promoted. The application-specific properties of concrete such as damping or vibration absorbing capacity can be enhanced, by the use of scrap rubber tires as aggregates in concrete. This paper evaluates the feasibility of using shredded waste rubber as a partial replacement to fine aggregate, with respect to mass, by conducting investigations on its mechanical properties. In addition, the effect of polymeric fibers which is incorporated in rubberized concrete is probed. The reuse of waste rubber and fiber resulted in improved ductility and damping ratio; however, it reduced the strength values. At a maximum of 7.5% replacement in both plain rubberized and fiber reinforced rubberized concrete, the loss in strength percentage is within acceptable limits making it suitable for use as vibration attenuators in applications such as road curbs and barriers, paving blocks, trench filling, and machine foundations.