Evaluating the abrasion resistance and durability of concrete containing crumb rubber and recycled steel fibre

This study aimed to investigate the effects of crumb rubber and recycled steel fibre on the durability properties of concrete. The effects of crumb rubber (0–20%) and recycled steel fibre (0–0.5%) on the compressive strength, as well as abrasion and freezing-thawing resistance of concrete were investigated. The results indicated partial replacement of the fine aggregate with crumb rubber in concrete had contradicting results based on the test module. By implementing Response Surface Methodology on the results, it was concluded that adding crumb rubber decreases abrasion resistance in the dressing wheel test but increases abrasion resistance in the wide wheel test. During the wide wheel abrasion test, the crumb rubber particles in the rubberized concrete projected beyond the smooth surface of the concrete, confined the surface rubbing of the concrete, and led to more abrasion resistance compared to the control mix. On the contrary, the most abrasive surfaces in the dressing wheel abrasion test were those with the highest crumb rubber contents due to a weak bond between cement paste and crumb rubber. Adding recycled steel fibre did not have any result on abrasion resistance. While replacing fine aggregate with crumb rubber leads to more mass loss in the presence of 3% saline solution, there is a synergic effect between crumb rubber and recycled steel fibre on freezing-thawing resistance. The combination of 12.5% crumb rubber and 0.34% fibre is the optimum mixture to achieve the maximum synergic effect in freezing-thawing resistance.