Weathering Properties of Elastic Rubber Concrete Comprising Waste Tire Solution

As a way of solving the environmental problem of waste tires, we introduce rubber concrete made from a rubber solution. The rubber solution was prepared by dissolving vulcanized waste tire scrap in a solvent mixture of tetrachloroethane and methylene chloride. The elastic rubber concrete was then manufactured by mold processing, with compositions comprising of rubber solution and aggregates. Carbon dioxide supercritical fluid was used to extract solvent from mixture of rubber solution and aggregates. The compressive strength and strain of the rubber concrete were 93.4 MPa and 6.7%, respectively. These results indicated that the rubber concrete made in this study corresponded to ultrahigh strength and high elastic properties compared with conventional cement concrete. Weathering properties on the elastic rubber concrete were examined. The time of freeze-thaw, lasting up to 10 days, did not affect the properties of the elastic rubber concrete. According to chemical tests with sodium chloride and sulfuric acid, it was found that the elastic rubber concrete was not affected by these chemicals for up to 240 days. Changing the outdoor condition for up to 720 days did not change the mechanical properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:794-798, (c) 2009. 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers