Concrete Made From Old Tires Proves To Be Potential In Residential Market

May, 2022 - By WMR

A study assessed performance of new type of concrete made from old tires by using it in a residential slab monitoring its performance for several years

A team of researchers at the University of South Australia explored a new approach to recycle rubber that could help to diminish tires by reusing them for creating concrete that could be used in construction. When tested in real world this new concrete proved to be an economical and sustainable alternative to regular concrete used in construction.

The team used crumb rubber concrete in this study, which was produced from grinded rubber tire with same consistency as sand. As per the team, these rubber crumbs can be used for replacing a specific proportion of the sand normally mixed in with the water, cement and other ingredients to create concrete. With this method using natural material can be reduced and rubber can be reused. The researchers reported that the new concrete proved to be promising in lab tests, however testing its reliability in real-world construction will require further tests. Thus, the team tested it in residential settings and for that in 2018 the team poured two concrete slabs of crumb rubber at the University campus with two slabs of traditional concrete.

Poring these experimental slabs of concretes the team created the entrances to a lab of civil engineering that witnesses heavy foot traffic. The found that the crumb rubber concrete was superior to traditional normal concrete in some of the ways, with higher ductility and toughness, impact resistance, better acoustic and thermal insulation, higher ratio of damping and light weight. Making concrete is a carbon-intensive method, when concrete starts to degrade or crack, the structure requires to be replaced. Thus, creating a concrete with more durability while recycling rubber tires could be beneficial in some aspects.