Experimental Investigation on Bead Rubber Cement Concrete (BRCC)

Abstract

Due to huge production in automobile industry the country having huge disposal from rubber tyre as waste also increased and is directly disposes to the earth. The reason for selecting tyre rubber is having more elastic nature, durable, and having high ductile nature. To reduce the cost of construction – partially replace the coarse aggregate with ordinary tyre rubber and steel with tyre bead wire in concrete. The main aim of this project is to study the mechanical properties of rubberized (Rubber-Reinforced) concrete, which is partially replacement of coarse aggregate and tyre bead wire and compare with M20 ordinary mix. At the same time comparing on reducing steel reinforcement by adding bead rubber as reinforcement. At present, the cost of construction increases because of using regular /traditional materials in concrete. From these studies we can use waste materials like tyre rubber from auto mobiles, and silica fume from industry. Utilization of silica fume is to make concrete more durable, economical at usage and increase in strength parameters. The crumbled rubber percentage should be not more than 0.15 ratio of 20% replacement and Bead wire position should be placed in two layers, 2 strips at top and top strips at bottom. By increasing the percentage in silica fume the strength increases comparing to the rubber cubes, cylinders and in prims.

Introduction

Concrete is a composite construction material made by mixing cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, and water in suitable proportions. Its properties, such as strength, durability, and workability, depend on the quality and quantity of these materials.

1. Rubber Concrete

Rubber concrete is produced by adding waste tyre rubber to conventional concrete. Rubber is used in two forms:

• Chipped rubber: Small rubber pieces used as a partial replacement for coarse aggregates.

• Crumbed rubber: Fine rubber particles used as a partial replacement for sand.

The main purpose of using rubber is to recycle waste tyres, reduce the consumption of natural aggregates, and produce lightweight concrete.

2. Materials Used

The main materials used in the preparation of rubber concrete are:

• Cement: Acts as a binding material and contributes to the strength and durability of concrete.

• Fine aggregate: Sand that fills the spaces between coarse aggregates and improves the workability of concrete.

• Coarse aggregate: Crushed stones or gravel that provide strength, volume, and stability.

• Water: Required for cement hydration and concrete curing. It should be clean and free from harmful impurities.

• Rubber: Waste tyre rubber used as a replacement for fine or coarse aggregates.

• Bead wire: High-carbon steel wire obtained from tyres, used as reinforcement to improve the tensile performance of concrete.

• Silica fume: A supplementary cementitious material used to improve concrete strength and durability.

3. Bead Wire and Reinforcement

Bead wire is a high-carbon steel wire coated with copper or bronze. It provides strength and stability to tyres and can be reused as reinforcement in concrete.

Concrete is strong in compression but weak in tension. Therefore, steel reinforcement is used to improve its tensile strength, control cracks, resist shear forces, and increase load-carrying capacity.

Different reinforcement materials include mild steel bars, high-strength deformed bars, hard-drawn steel wires, and structural steel.

4. Tests on Materials

Various tests are conducted to determine the quality and properties of the materials used.

• Cement tests: Fineness test and specific gravity test.

• Fine and coarse aggregate tests: Sieve analysis, specific gravity, and bulk density tests.

• Bead wire tests: Tensile test, torsion test, diameter measurement, and out-of-roundness test.

These tests help ensure that the materials meet the required construction standards.

5. Batching, Mixing, Casting and Curing

• Batching: Measuring the required quantities of cement, aggregates, water, and rubber. It can be done by volume or weight.

• Mixing: Combining all materials thoroughly to obtain a uniform concrete mixture.

• Casting: Pouring the prepared concrete into moulds measuring 10 cm × 10 cm × 50 cm. Bead wire strips are placed in the tension and compression zones according to the reinforcement arrangement.

• Curing: Maintaining suitable moisture and temperature conditions to allow cement hydration and improve the strength and durability of concrete.

6. Tests on Concrete Specimens

Two major tests are conducted to evaluate the performance of the prepared concrete.

A. Compressive Strength Test

This test determines the ability of concrete to withstand compressive loads. It helps evaluate the quality and strength of concrete.

fc=PAfc?=AP?

Where:

• PP = Applied load

• AA = Cross-sectional area

B. Split Tensile Strength Test

This test determines the tensile strength of concrete by applying a compressive load along the diameter of a cylindrical specimen. Testing is commonly performed at 7 and 28 days.

ft=2PπLDft?=πLD2P?

Where:

• PP = Applied load

• LL = Length of specimen

• DD = Diameter of specimen

Conclusion

1) The addition of chipped rubber to concrete results in better performance compared to regular concrete. 2) The chipped rubber with a 20% replacement and a 0.15 ratio performs better than the 20% replacement with 0.10, 0.17, and 0.19 ratios, causing less confusion and frustration. 3) Adding 5% silica fume enhances the strength of concrete, whether it contains chipped rubber or not. 4) When chipped rubber is added to cubes, it increases compressive strength by 34% compared to normal cubes. 5) Similarly, adding chipped rubber to cylinders increases tensile strength by 13% compared to normal cylinders. 6) Including 5% silica fume in cubes boosts compressive strength by 1% compared to rubber cubes, while in cylinders, it increases tensile strength by 5% compared to rubber cylinders. 7) Bead rubber strips should be placed along the entire length of the prisms, similar to reinforced type 1. 8) Prisms reinforced with bead type 1 show greater strength than plain prisms and other types of prisms using rubber as reinforcement. 9) Prisms with bead reinforced type 1 have 25.6% less flexural strength compared to prisms with steel reinforcement. Prisms made with silica cubes have 6% less flexural strength than steel-reinforced prisms, but 18% more flexural strength than prisms with bead reinforced type 1.

References

[1] paragraphs IS – 456 – 2000 [2] IS – 10262 – 2009 – For Mix Design [3] IS 2386 – 1963 – For Material Tests [4] All core subject test books in civil engineering [5] Construction materials - (B. C. PUNMIA) [6] Concrete technology theory and practice (A. K. JAIN)

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Challa Siva Kumar, Bandi Prudvi Rani. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.