Incorporation of rubber ash as a partial substitute of fine aggregates in concrete

Abstract

The construction industry is responsible for a high consumption of natural resources, demanding high quantities of aggregate materials for use in construction. In addition, large quantities of rubber waste generated worldwide have emphasized the need to find practical reuse applications. The present study partially replaces fine aggregates by ash from a co-processing of milled and burned conveyor belt rubber waste. Test specimens with ash concentrations of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%, were made comparing its workability, mechanical axial resistance and absorption of water by capillarity. It was concluded that the partial replacement of sand by 5% of rubber ash has improved the traditional concrete mixture, with better workability, less amount of water, leading to a greater resistance to axial compressive and acceptable absorption of water. Thus, the results confirm that the concrete with incorporation of rubber ash is a potential alternative technology to achieve sustainable development in the construction industry.