Behavior analysis of concrete with recycled tire rubber as aggregate using 3D-digital image correlation

Abstract Owing to the rapid growth of world population and the usage of cars, scrap tires are causing serious environmental problems and ecological threats, which can be solved by recycling them, e.g., by using them as aggregates in concrete. In this study, an experimental investigation is established to understand the compression behavior of concrete by replacing natural aggregates with recycled tire rubber at different percentages, ranging from 10% to 50% by volume. In experimental testing, several compression tests were performed on cylindrical concrete samples, and a three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) system was used to analyze the compression behavior of concrete structures during deformation. The experimental results indicated that the behavior of concrete changed from brittle to ductile and their ability to absorb compression energy (compression toughness) improved by increasing the crumb rubber percentage. Using 3D-DIC system which has a potential to replace the conventional tools, cracks onset locations were detected, failure mechanism and crack progress were tracked, and critical strain values which are usually at the interface of rubber particles and concrete were located. Although the cost of rubber crumbs is high compared with that of natural aggregates, incorporating recycled tire rubber in concrete structures can solve ecological problems.