Proceedings of the Institution of
Civil Engineers
Construction Materials 163
February 2010 Issue CM1
Pages 19–26
doi: 10.1680/coma.2010.163 .1.19
Paper 800063
Received 10/12/2008
Accepted 17/02/2009 Tung-Chai Ling Hasanan Md. Nor
Keywords: Postdoctoral Research Professor, Faculty of
pavement design/strength & testing Fellow, Faculty of Civil Civil Engineering,
of materials/waste management & Engineering, Universiti Universiti Teknologi
disposal Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia, Johor,
Johor, Malaysia Malaysia
Long-term strength of rubberised concrete paving blocks
T. C. Ling MEng, PhD, H. M. Nor MSc, PhD, PGrad Dip,
The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term
strength of rubberised concrete paving blocks. The effect
of three curing conditions on compressive strength was
studied. Additional strength tests which included flexural
and splitting tensile strength were conducted to deter-
mine the strength characteristics and to enhance the
understanding of the blocks’ properties. Four batches of
blocks that replaced sand volume with crumb rubber at 0,
10, 20 and 30% were produced in a commercial plant. The
results showed that 10% replacement of crumb rubber
did not show any significant change in compressive
strength but slightly improved the flexural strength. As
the rubber content exceeded 20%, the blocks exhibited a
great reduction in strength although ductility increased
greatly. It was found that the block specimens tested
remained intact after failure and did not shatter. This
would be beneficial for trafficked roads.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the engineering and transportation sector, one of the waste
materials generated is scrap tyres and this poses serious
environmental problems. Recent statistics have indicated that
during the last 10 years there has been more than a 100% increase
in the number of registered vehicles in Malaysia. Therefore, a
huge quantity of waste tyres is discarded throughout the country
annually, which indirectly creates several problems
N they can become mosquito breeding places, which pose
health risks
N they occupy extensive space in landfills
N they form a fire hazard, which would contaminate the air and soil.
In addition, environmental concerns make it more important to
seek and identify useful economic and environmentally friendly
methods for managing these waste tyres in different applications.
It is no longer a new phenomenon to divert discarded waste
tyres into useful material within concrete to provide a long-term
solution. Furthermore, this effort contributes to the preservation
of natural raw materials such as aggregate for concrete
production. The main characteristics of waste tyres are low
density, low stiffness and high deformation, which may improve
the properties of normal concrete because it is always a
challenge for researchers to design and produce hardened
concrete with light weight, high strength and high toughness for
concrete block road application.
Construction Materials 163 Issue CM1 Long-term strength of rubberised concrete paving blocks
M. Rosli Hainin Siong-Kang Lim
Associate Professor, Assistant Professor,
Faculty of Civil Faculty of Engineering,
Engineering, Universiti Universiti Tunku Abdul
Teknologi Malaysia, Rahman, Petaling Jaya,
Johor, Malaysia Selangor, Malaysia
M. R. Hainin MSc, PhD and S. K. Lim MEng, PhD
Various laboratory investigators have shown that the addition of
rubber aggregate in a wet-cast concrete mixture produces a
reduction in the mechanical strength of the rubberised concrete
(Eldin and Senouci, 1993; Topçu, 1995; Fattuhi and Clark,
1996; Toutanji, 1996; Khatib and Bayomy, 1999; Olivares et al.,
2002; Guneyisi et al., 2004; Huang et al., 2004; Li et al., 2004;
Ghaly and Cahill, 2005; Granju, 2005; Kaloush et al., 2005; Ling
and Nor, 2006). However, no published data were found in the
literature on semi-dry-cast rubberised concrete produced at a
commercial plant facilitated with high pressure and a vibration-
making machine. In addition, most studies investigated the
particular curing conditions for the initial 28-day (Eldin and
Senouci, 1993; Fattuhi and Clark, 1996; Toutanji, 1996; Khatib
and Bayomy, 1999; Olivares et al., 2002; Huang et al., 2004; Li
et al., 2004; Ghaly and Cahill, 2005; Granju, 2005; Kaloush et
al., 2005; Ling and Nor, 2006), 90-day (Guneyisi et al., 2004)
and 180-day (Topçu, 1995) strength of rubberised concrete.
Toutanji (1996) discovered that the incorporation of rubber
aggregates in concrete resulted in a reduction of compressive
strength of up to 75% and a smaller reduction in flexural
strength of up to 35%. Kaloush et al. (2005) also showed that the
rubberised concrete mixtures lowered the compressive strength
more than the flexural strength at same mixture ratio.
Eldin and Senouci (1993) reported that reductions in strength of
up to 85% of the compressive strength and 65% of the tensile
strength were observed when the coarse aggregate was fully
replaced by rubber aggregate. It was found that with increasing
rubber aggregate volume content the reduction in compressive
strength was higher than that of the splitting tensile strength.
This early finding was supported by later investigations
conducted by some other authors (Guneyisi et al., 2004; Huang
et al., 2004; Li et al., 2004).
The present experimental study was therefore designed to
investigate the effects of curing conditions on the long-term
compressive strength, flexural and splitting tensile strength of
semi dry-cast concrete paving blocks (CPB) produced in a
commercial plant. By using a machine with high pressure and
vibration facilities, the CPB was expected to be a much more
consistent product and to achieve better dimensional and
improved strength. The relationship between compressive
strength, flexural and splitting tensile strength in long-term
performance was investigated and the results are reported
herein.
Ling et al. 19