Re-Use of Waste Tire Rubber Pieces in the Production of Light Weight Concrete

At present disposal of waste tires is becoming a one of the major problem in the world. It is estimated that nearly 1.2 Billions of waste tire rubber is produced globally per year. It is estimated 11 %of post consumer tires are exported and 27 % are sent to landfill or dumped illegally and only 4 % is used for civil engineering projects. Hence efforts have been taken into identify the potential application of tires in civil engineering projects. In this research, a study was carried out on the use of rubber tire pieces as a partial replacement for coarse aggregate in concrete construction. The research was carried out by conducting test on the raw materials to determine their properties and suitability for the experiment. The concrete mix designs are prepared by using the DOE method and a total of 8 mixes were prepared consisting of two concrete grades (M15, M25). The specimens were produced with percentage replacements of the coarse aggregate by 10, 25 and 50 % of rubber aggregates. Moreover, a control mix with no replacement of the coarse aggregates was produced to make a comparative analysis. The prepared concrete samples consisting of concrete cubes and cylinders. Laboratory test carried out on the prepared concrete samples. The lists of tests conducted are, slump, unit weight, compressive strength, split tensile strength. The data collection is mainly based upon the prepared specimens in the laboratory