Long-term strength of rubberized concrete paving blocks

Norazly bin Awang Mohamad Haikal bin Haron Mohd Shaharil bin Mohd Sharif

What is rubberised concrete paving blocks (RCPB)

Why we used rubber?

Road transportation engineering are producing ton of wastage from scrap tyres. Recycled waste tyre rubber is promosing material in construction industry due to its lightweight, elasticity, energy absorption, sound and heat insulating properties. As a replacement material for fine and coarse aggregates. To utilize or make used of tire rubber instead of dumping or left unattended. This is due to environmental concerns. This nonrenewable resources will provide a breeding place for mosquitos, caused air pollution, odour and other harmful contamination.

Fabricating of RCPB

Testing Conducted

Splitting tensile strength test

Compressive Strength Test

Flexural strength test

 Compressive strength test :

To measure the compressive strength of the paving blocks (RCPB) Universal testing machine with a maximum capacity up to 3000kN.

Splitting tensile strength :

A splitting tensile strength is established to derive material strength rather than unit strength for CPB according to BS 6717: 2001 (BSI, 2001). It measures the ability to resist a shear force which is the tension generated, for instance, in the case of spalling. This leads also to a large breaking surface that can be inspected visually.

Flexural strength test :

Flexural strength is preferred as an index of strength. Flexural (three point bending) strength, however, is not affected by paving unit thickness. It seems to be a more suitable quality indicator due to bending test.

Compressive Strength Test

Splitting Tensile Strength Test

Flexural Strength Test

Correlation Graph

Conclusions
Finding shows that crumb rubber can be used as replacement of fine aggregate but the quantity of usage should not exceed 20 percent because it did not show any significant change in compressive strength but slightly improved the flexural strength. It was found that the block specimens tested remained intact after failure and did not shatter. This would be beneficial for trafficked roads. Comparing the three curing regimes at long-term age, the air cured samples gained slightly higher strength. Nevertheless, a high volume of daily production of CPB makes natural weather curing more economic and applicable. A valuable relationship of long-term strength would produce benefits for both researchers and road designers.