Fresh properties of self-compacting rubberized concrete incorporated with fly ash

Solid waste management is one of the major environmental concerns in all over the world. High amounts of waste tires are generated each year and utilization of this waste is a big problem from the aspects of disposal, environmental pollution, and health hazards. In the production of self-compacting concrete, the incorporation of waste tires as partial replacement of aggregates is very limited. However, the use of waste tires might join the characteristics of self-compacting concrete (high flowability, high mechanical strength, low porosity, etc.) with the tough behavior of the rubber phase, thus leading to be a building material with more versatile performances. Thus, in this study, the usability of untreated crumb rubber as a partial substitute of fine aggregates with and without fly ash in the application of self-compacting concretes was investigated experimentally. For this purpose, a water–cementitious material ratio (0.35), four designated crumb rubber contents (0, 5, 15, and 25% by fine aggregate volume), and four fly ash content (0, 20, 40, and 60%) were considered as experimental parameters. Test results indicated that use of crumb rubber (CR) without fly ash (FA) aggravated the fresh properties of self-compacting rubberized concretes (SCRC) (slump flow diameter, T50 slump flow time, V-funnel flow time, L-box height ratio, initial and final setting times, and viscosity). However, the use of CR with FA amended the fresh properties of SCRC.