Experimental and Predictive Study of the Flexural Behavior of Self-Compacting Rubberized Steel-Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study that aimed to analyze the flexural behavior of self-compacting rubberized steel-reinforced concrete. A four-point bending test was performed on three reinforced beams made with conventional concrete and three similar beams made using the same concrete mixture with a 10% volumetric substitution of natural aggregates with rubber particles. The results showed a statistically significant decrease (about 24%) in the cracking load for the rubberized concrete beams, which is attributed to the reduced indirect tensile strength and modulus of the rubberized concrete. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the control and rubberized concrete beams in terms of ultimate load and maximum deflection Additionally, the estimated adhesion strength, based on the average measured crack spacing, was also statistically similar between the tested beams. Existing equations derived from reinforced concrete beam theory were deemed suitable for rubberized concrete, since the estimation trends for these equations were similar for both types of concrete. Therefore, the main conclusion of this study is that the presence of rubber particles, at a 10% volumetric substitution, did not affect the flexural behavior particularly the quality of adhesion between the reinforcing bars and the surrounding concrete of steel-reinforced beams.