Mechanical and thermal behavior of concrete including waste tire and glass powder as fine aggregate and cement respectively

Abstract

One of the recycling approaches of waste materials like tires and glass is to use them in concrete. In this paper, the effect of simultaneous use of waste rubber and glass powder, as partial substitution of fine aggregate and cement, on workability and mechanical properties in ambient temperature and after exposure to temperature of 600°C is investigated. In total, 13 mixtures were prepared. Except the reference mixture, the rest contained a combination of rubber particles replacing fine aggregate with the percentages of 5% and 10% by volume and glass powder replacing cement with percentages of 10%, 15% and 20%. First of all, the slump test was carried out. Moreover, compressive strength, tensile strength and ratio of tensile to compressive strength, before and after thermal exposure, and mass loss after exposure to elevated temperature were investigated. In order to have an understanding of waste materials behaviour, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy tests were conducted. the results indicated that 5% for rubber particles, 10% for glass powder and also rubber particle size of 3-5mm presented the best results among mixtures containing rubber and glass powder, in terms of compressive and tensile strengths.