Innovative Application of Scrap-tire Steel Cords in Concrete Mixes

More than 2.5 million scrap-tires are produced in Jordan each year. In addition, more than three million tires are currently stockpiled throughout the country. However, only one company has been established in the country for the recycling, recovery and reuse of scrap-tires. Currently, this industry is facing many challenges due to lack of support and subsidies from the government. Many researchers have investigated the use of recycled tire products in several traditional civil engineering materials. This research is exploring the use of steel cords, a by product of the tire recycling process, in concrete mixes. Different concrete specimens were fabricated and tested in uniaxial compression and splitting tensile strength. The steel cords were substituted into the concrete mix in volumetric percentages of 0% (control), 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10%. Results show that mechanical properties of concrete made with steel cords are improved compared with concrete mix made with the traditional scrap-tires recycled material (such as crump rubber or rubber chips). Also, the test results show that even though the compressive strength is reduced when using steel cords, this reduction is minimal. When 2% of steel cords are used, there is an 18% increase in ductility. Moreover, splitting tensile tests show that concrete mixtures with any steel cords content have much greater toughness than the control mixture. This mechanical property mix indicates an excellent potential application of modified concrete mix in structures that absorb large amounts of energy. On the contrary, the density, air content and workability of the mixtures fabricated were not significantly affected.