Numerical Simulations on the Flexural Responses of Rubberised Concrete

Abstract

The increase in world population has led to a significant increase in the numbers of cars and used tyres. These tyres must be disposed of on an ongoing basis as a result of their consumption or deterioration. This can result in negative effects on the environment that must be preserved, especially from those materials, i.e., these waste materials are difficult to dispose of without special treatments. Hence, extensive experimental investigations and numerical simulations need to be conducted to use and recycle these wastes by exploring the possibility of using them as alternative ingredients in construction materials. For example, waste rubber pieces can be used as one of the main components of concrete. In this study, the main aim was to numerically simulate the flexural behaviours of rubberised concrete under the influence of an applied vertical loading with different contents of added rubbers by using the commercial finite element software ANSYS. The obtained numerical results were compared with the experimental results of a previous study and showed a good agreement with the deflections and moduli of rupture, with the variances from 2–7% in the deflections. However, the differences in the moduli of rupture varied between 5% and 9%. Finally, the statistical analyses indicated that these numerical mean values and standard deviations were acceptable and were very close to the experimental values.

Badania zapraw cementowych i żużlowych z granulatami gumowymi SBR pod względem ekotoksykologiczności i wytrzymałości

“…Due to the growing problem with waste tires worldwide, researchers are now focused on preparing rubberized concrete a widely used, greener construction material [2,3,7]. They combine with various binders shredded used tires as aggregate in varying degrees of filling and grinding, depending on the desired properties and designation [8]. Tire-derived aggregates (TDA) have been gaining more and more popularity in recent years [9].…”

“…Studies give different results. First research on rubberized concrete in the 1990s [8] found that the addition of rubber to a concrete mixture decreased the material's flexural and compressive strengths. It was also shown that cracking in concrete occurred more frequently than in conventional concrete due to the poor adhesion between rubber materials and other components of the concrete [2].…”

Mesoscopic Analysis of Rounded and Hybrid Aggregates in Recycled Rubber Concrete

“…Parallel to experimental endeavors, numerical simulations have also offered valuable insights into the behavior of RRC [20][21][22][23]. This approach provides a granular view of the interactions between aggregates, rubber particles, and the cementitious matrix [24][25][26]. Traditional commercial finite element software, while powerful, is sometimes marred by challenges such as computational inefficiency and mesh sensitivity, especially when modeling complex materials like RRC [18,[27][28][29].…”