Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Performance of high strength rubberized concrete in aggressive

environment
Blessen Skariah Thomas ⇑, Ramesh Chandra Gupta, Priyansha Mehra, Sanjeev Kumar
Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

h i g h l i g h t s

 Waste tyre rubber creates environmental pollution.

 Concrete was designed with water–cement ratio 0.3.
 Waste tyre rubber (crumb rubber) was partially replaced for fine aggregates.
 Rubberized concrete shows better resistance to acid attack.
 Chloride penetration and carbonation are comparable to that of control mix.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Due to the huge increase in the population and number of vehicles, lots of tyres are ending as waste every
Received 9 December 2014 day. It was estimated that every year almost 1000 million tyres end their useful life and more than 50% are
Received in revised form 23 February 2015 discarded without any treatment. One of the possible solutions for the effective use of waste tyre rubber is
Accepted 4 March 2015
to incorporate into cement based materials, to replace some of the natural aggregates. In this study, waste
Available online 21 March 2015
tyre rubber in the form of crumb rubber was used as a partial replacement for natural fine aggregates in
high strength cement concrete. Crumb rubber was replaced for fine aggregates from 0% to 20% in multiples
Keywords:
of 2.5%. Tests were done to determine the depth of carbonation, water absorption of acid attacked
Discarded tyre rubber (crumb rubber)
High strength rubberized concrete
specimens, compressive strength of acid attacked specimen, variation in weight of acid attacked specimen
Acid attack and chloride penetration of these concrete samples. From the test results it could be concluded that the
Carbonation resistance high strength rubberized concrete are highly resistant to the aggressive environments.
Chloride penetration Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
With urbanization, industrialization and technological innova-
tions in different fields, large amount and variety of solid waste
materials have been generated by the industrial, agricultural, min-
ing and domestic activities. In the year 2002, it was estimated that
the amount of waste generation was 12 billion tonnes annually.
(1.6 billion would be municipal solid waste and 11 billion could
be industrial waste). By the year 2025, the amount would be 19 bil-
lion tonnes annually. The land requirement for the disposal of
these waste materials is a challenge for the civil and environmental
engineers [1–4,15–17].
Waste tyre rubber is one of the solid waste materials that pol-
lute the environment. Every year millions of tyres are discarded,
thrown away or buried all over the world, representing a very ser-
ious threat to the ecology. It is estimated that every year almost
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: chaprathu44@gmail.com (B.S. Thomas).
1000 million tyres end their useful life and more than 50% are dis-
carded without any treatment. By the year 2030, the number
would reach to 1200 million tyres yearly. (Including the stockpiled
tyres, there would be 5000 million tyres to be discarded on a regu-
lar basis.) If the Indian scenario is considered, it is estimated that
the total number of discarded tyres would be 112 million per year
(after retreading twice) [8,10–12,15].
For the last some years, construction industry is taking up the
challenge to incorporate sustainability in the production activities
by searching for more environmental friendly raw materials or by
the use of solid waste materials as aggregates in concrete. One of
the possible solutions for the use of waste tyre rubber is to incor-
porate into cement based materials, to replace some of the natural
aggregates. This attempt could be environmental friendly (as it
helps to dispose the waste tyres and prevent environmental pollu-
tion) and economically viable (as some of the costly natural aggre-
gates can be saved) [14,16,27,29,30].
Oikonomou and Mavridou [31] studied on the chloride ion
penetration resistance of mortars which are modified by the waste

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.03.012
0950-0618/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326
rubber from automobile tyres. Rubber particles were used to
replace fine aggregates by weight, from 0% to 15% in multiples of
2.5%. Water absorption by immersion of rubberized concrete had
given better results when compared to the control mix.
Benazzouk et al. [10] reported that the resistance to chloride ion
penetration was enhanced due to the addition of rubber particles
in concrete. Up to the substitution of 15% of rubber particles, the
chloride ion penetration had decreased. For 5% substitution with
rubber particles, the reduction was 14.22% lesser than that of the
control mix and for 15% substitution, it was 35.85%. The best
results were obtained in the mixture with 12.5% rubber particles
and a bitumen emulsion. It exhibited better mechanical properties
and the chloride ion penetration was decreased by 55.89% when
compared to the control mix.
Azevedo et al. [7] observed that the increase in percentage of
rubber resulted in serious loss in compressive strength. The con-
crete mix containing 5% tyre rubber, 15% flyash and 15% metakao-
lin for cement replacement gave the results similar to that of
control mix. The capillary water absorption was lower in the speci-
mens where rubber was substituted up to 15%. Mohamed [29]
studied on high strength rubberized concrete containing silica
fumes. Tyre-rubber particles were used to replace the total weight
of the fine mineral aggregate by 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%. The fresh
rubberized concrete exhibited lower unit weight and acceptable
workability when compared to plain concrete. Considerable reduc-
tions were noticed in axial strength, flexural strength, and tangen-
tial modulus of elasticity. Cube Drop tests showed good resilience
of the rubberized concrete.
Many studies on normal strength rubberized concrete were
reported in literatures. A proper study is essential on the properties
of high strength rubberized concrete. In this study, concrete was
designed with water–cement ratio of 0.3. Crumb rubber (waste
tyre rubber mechanically grinded into rubber crumbs) was par-
tially substituted for fine aggregates from 0% to 20% in multiples
of 2.5%. 6% silica fumes were added by weight of cement. Various
tests like chloride penetration, compressive strength of acid
attacked specimen, variation in weight of acid attacked specimen,
water absorption of acid attacked specimen and test for carbona-
tion resistance was performed on the concrete samples.
2. Material properties and preparation of test specimens
The properties of the raw materials and the methods of pre-
paration of the specimens for testing are described below.
2.1. Raw materials and preparation of test specimens
Ordinary Portland Cement of grade 43, conforming to IS: 8112-
1989 [26] was used (Specific gravity 3.15, Normal consistency 34%,
Initial setting time 99 min, Final setting time 176 min). Natural
river sand confirming to zone II as per IS: 383-1970 [22] (Specific
gravity 2.63, free surface moisture 1%, fineness modulus 2.83).
Crushed stone coarse aggregates, 10 mm size (fineness modulus-
5.573) was used 40% by weight of total coarse aggregates and
coarse aggregates, 20 mm size (fineness modulus-7.312) was used
60% of total coarse aggregates. The average specific gravity of the
coarse aggregates was 2.63. Tyre rubber was grinded into three
sizes (powder form of 30 mesh, 0.8–2 mm, 2–4 mm). The Specific
gravity of rubber powder was 1.05 and that of the other two sizes
were 1.13. The three sizes of crumb rubber were mixed in definite
Table 1
Mixture proportions of fresh concrete.
Cement kg/m3 Water kg/m3 Silica fumes kg/m3 Coarse aggregates 10 mm kg/m3
450.000 140.000 27.000 355.000
321
percentages by weight (2–4 mm size in 25%, 0.8–2 mm size in 35%
and rubber powder in 40%) to bring it to zone II.
To investigate the suitability of discarded tyre rubber as a substi-
tute for fine aggregates in concrete, concrete was designed (As per
IS: 10262-2010) [24] with water–cement ratio 0.3. The ratio of
cement, fine aggregates and coarse aggregates were 1:1.48:2.67
by weight (1 part of cement, 1.48 parts of fine aggregates and
2.67 parts of coarse aggregates). Crumb rubber was replaced for
natural fine aggregates from 0% to 20% in multiple of 2.5%. The mix-
ture proportion is given in Table 1. Super plasticizer was used as the
admixture to arrive at the desired workability (above 0.91). In these
mixes 15 concrete cubes each of size 100 mm were cast for 28, 56
and 84 days acid attack test, 6 concrete cubes each of the above
size for carbonation and chloride penetration test. The mixtures
were prepared and cast at indoor temperature of 25–30 °C.
Moulds were covered with plastic sheets soon after casting and
de-moulded after 24 h. Curing was done for 28 to 90 days in water
tank, with controlled temperature of 25–27 °C. The IS codes used for
this experimentation work is given in Refs. [5,6,18–26].
3. Laboratory testing program
3.1. Chloride ion penetration
Silver nitrate spraying test was used to study the depth of chlo-
ride penetration as per Refs. [32,33]. The test specimens (100 mm
concrete cubes) after 28 days of water curing, were subjected to
continuous soaking for 91 days in 4% NaCl solution. The test speci-
men were periodically withdrawn at 28, 56 and 91 days from the
soaking tank and tested for depth of chloride permeability. The
cubes were split into two halves from the middle and the freshly
split pieces were sprayed with 0.1 N silver nitrate (AgNO3) solu-
tion. The AgNO3 reacts with the free chloride on the concrete sur-
face and form a white precipitate of silver chloride (AgCl). In the
places where the free chlorides are absent, AgNO3 reacts with
hydroxide to form a brown precipitate of silver oxide (AgO).
Thus, the boundary of colour change indicates the depth of chloride
permeability as shown in Fig. 2.
The depth of chloride penetration was obtained by measuring
the average depth of penetration in three samples. The formation
of silver chloride (white colour) occurs only when the concentra-
tion of free chloride ion is greater than 0.15% by weight of cement.
The graph showing variation in the chloride ion penetration
with respect to the percentage of crumb rubber is given in Fig. 1.
The depth of chloride penetration of the mixes with crumb rubber
up to 10% of fine aggregates was lesser than or similar to the values
of the control mix. The mixes with crumb rubber 12.5–20% had
shown more depth of chloride penetration than that of the control
mix. The chloride ion penetration exhibited reduction for the mixes
with 0–7.5% crumb rubber. Gradual increase in the depth of chlo-
ride ion penetration was observed for the mixes with 10–20%
crumb rubber. In 28 days of exposure, the chloride penetration
value of the control mix was 8 mm, that of the mix with 10% crumb
rubber was 7 mm and for the mix with 20% crumb rubber was
9 mm. Similar trend was observed at 56 days and 91 days of
immersion. At 91 days, the value of control mix was 16 mm.
Minimum value of 15 mm was obtained for the mix with 2.5%
and 5% crumb rubber and the maximum value of 20 mm was
obtained for the mix with 20% crumb rubber.
Coarse aggregates 20 mm kg/m3 Fine aggregates kg/m3 Admixture %
848.000 666.000 2
322 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326

25 28 Day 56 Day 91 Day Gypsum enables volume expansion in concrete, which induces
Depth of Chloride Penetration, mm

tensile stresses that result in cracking and spalling. Further reac-

20
20 18
19 19 tion of gypsum with calcium aluminate can lead to the formation
16 16 16 of ettringite which leads to further expansion and more micro
15 15 15 15
15 14 and macro cracking. In addition to this, sulphuric acid decalcifies
11 11
12 the calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) and thus decomposes the
10 10 10 cementitious matrix and leads to the strength loss of concrete
10 9
8 8 8
7 7 7 7 (Bassuoni and Nehdi) [9].
6
This test was performed as per ASTM C 267-97 [5] for a period
5
of total 84 days. Sulphuric acid of 3% concentration was taken as a
medium for acid resistance test. Concrete specimens of 100 mm
0 size were immersed in a container with dilute sulphuric acid.
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
The solution was replaced once in 4 weeks. The following tests
% of Crumb Rubber
were done on acid attacked specimens. Figs. 6 and 7 show the
Fig. 1. Depth of chloride penetration with respect to % of crumb rubber. specimens after 28 and 84 days of acid attack.

The reason for the minor reduction in the depth of chloride

3.2.1. Water absorption of acid attacked specimen
penetration from the mixes with 0–7.5% crumb rubber would be
The water absorption test was done to study the changes in
due to the fact that the rubber particles are impervious and does
porosity of concrete due to acid attack. The concrete specimens
not absorb water and simultaneously does not allow the passage
were tested for water absorption after 28, 56 and 84 days of immer-
of chloride ions. As the percentage of crumb rubber increased,
sion in dilute sulphuric acid. The test was done as per ASTM C 642
the depth of chloride penetration decreased. However beyond
(2006). The specimens were oven dried at 60 °C for 3 days and then
7.5% crumb rubber, the chloride penetration increased and it may
kept at room temperature for at least 1 day (24 h) and initial weight
be due to the lack of internal packing of the concrete.
noted. Then it was immersed in water such that about 50 mm water
was maintained on the top surface of the specimen. Then the final
3.2. Acid attack test
weight was noted after 48 h. The values were compared with the
water absorption values of the non-acid attacked specimens.
Degradation can take place if the concrete is exposed to aggres-
From the results given in Fig. 4, the water absorption of the
sive sulphuric acid environments. It is one of the key durability
specimens with crumb rubber was greater than that of the control
issues that affect the maintenance costs and life cycle performance
mix. The amount of water absorption gradually increased with the
of all the concrete structures. There can be presence of sulphuric acid
increase in the percentage of crumb rubber in concrete. At 28 day,
in chemical waste, ground water, etc. In the case of concrete struc-
the amount of water absorption of the mix with 0% crumb rubber
tures in industrial zones, there can be possibility of deterioration
was 0.79%. It was 0.85% for the mixes with 10% crumb rubber and
due to acid rains in which sulphuric acid can be one of the key com-
maximum water absorption of 0.95% was observed for the mix
ponents. Sulphuric acid attack is more disastrous than sulphate
with 20% crumb rubber. At 84 day, the water absorption of control
attack because of the fact that there would be a dissolution effect
mix was observed as minimum (1.06%), while the maximum
by the hydrogen ions in addition to the attack by sulphate ions.
amount of water absorption (1.67%) was observed for the mix with
Corrosion of concrete due to the action of sulphuric acid can be
20% crumb rubber.
characterized by the following reactions (Bassuoni and Nehdi) [9]:
Water absorption of acid attacked specimens at 28, 56 and
CaðOHÞ2 þ H2 SO4 ! CaSO4  2H2 O 84 days did not follow the trend of the control mix. When we
observe Figs. 6 and 7, the top layer of the concrete specimens with
CaSiO2  2H2 O þ H2 SO4 ! CaSO4 þ SiðOHÞ4 þ H2 O 0% crumb rubber was completely removed (100%) by the action of
sulphuric acid. In the case of the mix with 20% crumb rubber, less
3CaO  Al2 O3  12H2 O þ 3ðCaSO4  2H2 OÞ þ 14H2 O than 100% top surface were attacked by acid. The rubber particles
! 3CaO  Al2 O3  3CaSO4  32H2 O and the cementitious layer surrounding the rubber particles were
unaffected by acid and have projected outwards by providing extra

Fig. 2. Freshly splitted concrete specimen and the depth of chloride penetration of the specimen with 0% crumb rubber after 28 days (arrow shows depth of chloride
penetration).
 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326 323

80.0 28 Day 56 Day 84 Day

71.8 71.6
68.8 67.4

Loss in Compressive Strength (%)

70.0 66.2
57.6 59.8 57.8
60.0 54.9 54.7
50.3 48.6 49.1
50.0 43.8
37.3
40.0 35.7 34.6 33.9
30.0
16.6 18.8 18.9 18.2 18.0
20.0 14.9 15.6 15.5 16.5

10.0

0.0
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
% of Crumb Rubber

Fig. 3. Loss in compressive strength of acid attacked specimen.

1.67
Control 28 Day 56 Day 84 Day

1.63
1.80

1.59
1.48
1.60

1.39
1.36
1.35

1.35

1.35
1.31
1.26
1.40
1.21

1.19
1.15
Water Absorption, %

1.06

1.03

1.03

1.20

0.95
0.94

0.91
0.89
0.88
0.85

0.85
1.00
0.81
0.80
0.79
0.79

0.79
0.69

0.68
0.65

0.80 0.64
0.61

0.59

0.57

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
% of Crumb Rubber

Fig. 4. Water absorption of acid attacked specimen.

9.00 8.53 8.26 28 Day 56 Day 84 Day

8.22 8.17 8.17
8.00
7.00 6.42 6.26 6.50 6.33 6.45 6.48 6.31 6.39
6.07
Loss in Weight (%)

6.00
5.00 4.38 4.44 4.42 4.14
4.00
3.00
2.03 1.96 2.08 2.09 1.97
2.00 1.28 1.31 1.26 1.25
1.00
0.00
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
% of Crumb Rubber

Fig. 5. Loss in weight of acid attacked specimen.

pockets to arrest the water. So the water absorption of rubberized before immersion in acid solution and calculated as the percentage
concrete was higher than the control mix concrete. loss in weight.
The graph showing the loss in weight (%) of acid attacked speci-
3.2.2. Weight loss of acid attacked specimen men is reported in Fig. 5. At 28 days, the percentage loss in weight
The saturated surface dry weight of concrete specimens was found gradually increasing from the control mix to the speci-
immersed in sulphuric acid solution was determined after a light men with 7.5% crumb rubber and then it started to decrease in all
surface brushing and then washing lightly in tap water. Weight the mixes up to 20% replacement of crumb rubber. The loss in
measurement was done after 28, 56, and 84 days of immersion in weight for mix with 0% crumb rubber was 2.03% and that in the
acid. The variation in weight was compared with the initial weight mix with 20% crumb rubber was 1.25%. Similar pattern could be
324 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326
Fig. 6. Images of acid attacked specimen at 28 days. The specimen with 0%, 10% and 20% crumb rubber.
Fig. 7. Images of acid attacked specimen at 84 days. The specimen with 0% and 20% crumb rubber.
observed for the 56 and 84 days. At 84 day, the loss in weight for
mix with 0% crumb rubber was 8.22% and it was 6.39% for the
mix with 20% crumb rubber. Maximum loss of 8.53% was observed
for the mix with 2.5% crumb rubber and minimum loss was of
6.31% for the specimen with 17.5% crumb rubber. The crumb rub-
ber particles present in the rubberized concrete was holding the
constituent particles of the concrete from breaking away by pre-
venting the formation of cracks and material separation. While in
the concrete with no crumb rubber or less amount of crumb rub-
ber, more cracks were developed and the constituent materials
were easily separated.
3.2.3. Compressive strength loss of acid attacked specimen
The compressive strength was determined after 28, 56 and
84 days of immersion in acid solution. It was compared with the
compressive strength of normal concrete (non-acid attacked),
which was water cured for 28 days after casting and the loss in
the compressive strength when compared to the control values
was reported in percentage. The control values are given in
Figs. 2–4 of Ref. [12].
The graphs showing the results of compressive strength loss for
acid attacked specimens is reported in Fig. 3. We could find that
there was more loss in compressive strength for the specimens
with less amount of rubber. As the amount of crumb rubber was
increased in concrete, the amount of loss has gradually decreased.
The For the entire specimen, the amount of compressive strength
loss was increasing from 28 days to 56 days and from 56 days to
84 days. At 28 days, the amount of loss in compressive strength
was found to be increasing with increasing amount of crumb
rubber. The strength loss in mix with 0% crumb rubber was
14.9% and that for the mix with 20% crumb rubber was 18%. In
the 56 and 84 days, a trend opposite to that of 28 day was
obtained. The percentage loss in compressive strength was
decreasing for the increasing amount of crumb rubber in concrete.
The compressive strength value of the mix with 0% crumb rubber
at 56 day was 57.6% and at 84 day was 71.8%. The loss for the
mix with 20% crumb rubber was 33.9% at 56 day and 37.3% at
84 day. The reason for this phenomenon can be same as what
was observed in the case for the weight loss in acid attacked
specimen.
3.3. Carbonation resistance
The depth of carbonation was measured as per CPC 18 RILEM
[13]. After 28 days of water curing, the concrete specimens
(100 mm size) were oven dried for 48 h. Each specimen was
divided to four pieces of 50 mm width and 100 mm depth. These
pieces were oven dried and 2 coat of epoxy paint applied on the
longitudinal surface. After drying and marking, the samples were
introduced to the CO2 chamber (the relative humidity is controlled
at 50–55%, carbon dioxide concentration kept at 5 ± 0.2%,
Temperature was 27 ± 2 °C). After 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks of
CO2 exposure, 3 pieces from each sample were taken and tested.
The samples were broken into two halves from the longitudinal
side and phenolphthalein pH indicator (A solution of 1% phenolph-
thalein in 70% ethyl alcohol) was sprayed on the freshly broken
faces. In carbonated areas where the pH is less than 9.2, the solu-
tion remain colourless and in non-carbonated areas where the
 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326 325

16 14 Days 28 Days 42 Days 56 Days 91 Days in the mix with 5%, 7.5% and 10% crumb rubber. When we study
14 the carbonation coefficient given in Fig. 9, all the mixes with 0%
14 13
12 to 20% crumb rubber showed a flattening trend in the carbonation
Depth of Carbonation, mm

12 11 11 11 coefficient at 91 days.
10 10 10
10 9 Reduction in the depth of carbonation was observed up to 12.5%
8 8 of crumb rubber. This can be attributed to the improved pore struc-
8 7 7 7 7
6 6 ture at reduced water–cement ratios. Miguel and Jorge [28] had
6 5 5 5 5 5 mentioned that, when the tyre aggregates were replaced for the
4 4
4 3 3 3 3 coarse aggregates in concrete, the carbonation depth had
2 2 2 2 increased. In our case, the depth of carbonation had decreased up
2 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0 0 to 10% crumb rubber substitution This could be because of the rea-
0 son that the fine aggregates and the replaced crumb rubber were
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 almost the same size (Zone II) and these closely packed rubber par-
% of Crumb Rubber ticles along with the natural aggregates in the concrete may pre-
Fig. 8. Depth of carbonation with respect to % of crumb rubber.
vent the entry of carbon dioxide gas into the concrete. The
rubber powder might have provided a filler effect in the concrete
to reduce the depth of carbonation. Increase in the depth of car-
bonation beyond 10% crumb rubber would be due to the lack of
1.60 internal packing in the concrete specimens.
Carbonation Coefficient (mm/√day)

1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
28
Exposure Time (Days)
Fig. 9. Carbonation coefficient with respect to exposure time.
pH is greater than 9.2, the phenolphthalein indicator turns purple
red as given in Fig. 10. The average depth of carbonation and car-
bonation coefficient was reported for each specimen.
From the results given in Fig. 8, it was noticed that the depth of
carbonation of the mixes with 2.5–12.5% crumb rubber were less
than or equal to that of control mix concrete. Gradual decreasing
trend in the depth of carbonation was noticed up to 10% sub-
stitution with crumb rubber. Beyond 10%, there was gradual
increase in the depth of carbonation up to 20% substitution with
crumb rubber. At 91 days, the depth of carbonation in control
mix was 11 mm, It was 14 mm (the maximum value) in the mix
with 20% crumb rubber. Minimum depth (10 mm) was observed
0
4. Results and discussion
2.5
5
From chloride penetration test it is clear that the depth of chlo-
7.5
ride penetrations of the mixes with crumb up to 10% was lesser
10
than or similar to the values of the control mix. The mixes with
12.5 crumb rubber 12.5–20% show the depth of chloride penetration
15 greater than that of the control mix.
17.5 In the water absorption test of acid attacked specimens we
20 could find that the water absorption after 28, 56 and 84 days
42 56 91 increased with increase in the amount of crumb rubber.
From the weight measurement of acid attacked specimens, it is
clear that there was more loss in weight for the specimens with
less amount of rubber and vice versa. At 84 days, the weight loss
for mix with 0% crumb rubber was 2.03% and that in the mix with
20% crumb rubber was 1.25% when compared to the control values.
Similar pattern could be observed for the 56 and 84 days. At
84 day, the loss in weight for mix with 0% crumb rubber was
8.22% and it was 6.39% for the mix with 20% crumb rubber.
Maximum loss of 8.53% was observed for the mix with 2.5% crumb
rubber and minimum loss was of 6.31% for the specimen with
17.5% crumb rubber.
In compressive strength loss for acid attacked specimens at
84 days, we could find that there was more loss in compressive
strength for the specimens with less amount of rubber. As the
amount of crumb rubber was increased in concrete, the percentage
of loss has gradually decreased. The crumb rubber particles present
in the rubberized concrete was holding the constituent particles of

No Carbonation

Arrows Indicate Depth of Carbonation

Fig. 10. Specimens showing the depth of carbonation.

326 B.S. Thomas et al. / Construction and Building Materials 83 (2015) 320–326
the concrete from breaking away by preventing the formation of
cracks and material separation. While in the concrete with no
crumb rubber or less amount of crumb rubber, more cracks were
developed and the constituent materials were easily separated.
From the carbonation test, it was noticed that the depth of
carbonation of the mixes with 2.5% to 12.5% crumb rubber were
less than or equal to that of control mix concrete at 91 days. The
carbonation coefficient of the mixes with 0% to 20% crumb rubber
showed an increasing trend at 91 days.
5. Conclusion
To study the properties of waste tyre rubber in high strength
concrete, Concrete was designed as per IS: 10262-2010 [24]. The
ratio of cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates and water by
weight are 1:1.48:2.67:0.3. Crumb rubber was replaced for natural
sand from 0% to 20% in multiples of 2.5%. Tests were done to deter-
mine the depth of carbonation, water absorption of acid attacked
specimens, compressive strength of acid attacked specimen, varia-
tion in weight of acid attacked specimen and chloride penetration
of these concrete samples. The following conclusions may be
drawn from this study.
There was more loss in compressive strength and weight of the
control mix concrete specimens when compared to the rubberized
concrete specimens. Only the water absorption had shown higher
values in rubberized concrete. So the high strength rubberized con-
crete can be applied in the areas where there are possibilities of
acid attack.
The chloride penetration in the concrete mixes up to 10% crumb
rubber and carbonation values in the concrete mixes up to 12.5%
crumb rubber are comparable to that of the control mix.
It could be concluded that the high strength rubberized con-
crete are highly resistant to the aggressive environments.
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