Potential of waste tires as aggregates in concrete

Used vehicular tires, if improperly disposed, poses serious environmental problems related to health, fire and pollution hazards. Their limited recycled uses and the high costs of shredding have led to their scattered large stockpiles in Kenya. In this study, the effect of replacing ordinary coarse aggregate in concrete with shredded rubber chips, ranging from 0% to 40%, is investigated. Results obtained show that the incorporation of varying contents of rubber chips produces concrete of reduced compressive and tensile strengths. However, flexural stress-strain characteristics of concrete incorporating rubber chips show higher energy absorption capacity. Potential use of this kind of concrete includes nonstructural purposes such as lightweight concrete walls and blocks, building facades and crash barriers. Keywords: concrete aggregates, rubber chips, rubberized concrete, used tires, waste recycling Journal of Civil Engineering Research and Practice Vol. 3(1) 2006: 75-8