Recycling Waste Rubber Tires in Pervious Concrete

Abstract

An alarming increase in the number of waste rubber tires (WRT) generated annually calls for the need to identify sustainable waste management practices as they pose serious threats to the quality-of-life. One such waste disposal strategy is recycling of WRT in pavement materials. Therefore, the objective of this research study was to investigate the effect of inclusion of WRT derived aggregates on properties of pervious concrete (PC). The size of recycled rubber aggregates (RA) varied from 4.75–2.36 mm, which were added to PC mix at 5 and 10% by weight of coarse aggregates; the new mix was called rubber-modified pervious concrete (RMPC). The porosity and permeability increased with increasing proportions of RA with reduction in the density and compressive strength. At 5% RA content; the magnitude of porosity and permeability increased by 6.9 and 53.1%, respectively, while the density and compressive strength reduced by 7.4 and 63.7%, respectively, compared to the control mix. Similarly, at 10% RA content; density and compressive strength decreased by 12.5 and 77.7%, respectively, while porosity and permeability increased by 15.2 and 63.4%, respectively, compared to the control mix. Owing to lower compressive strength (~5–8 MPa), RA as filler may be utilized in PC materials with non-vehicular traffic sections such as sidewalks and footpaths. Due to higher porosity and permeability, RMPC can help harness the stormwater benefits associated with PC, while simultaneously allowing for sustainable disposal of WRT.