Iman Mansouri - Dept. of Civil Engineering, Birjand University of Technology
Hassan Zahedifar - Laboratory Specialist, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman

The cement industry faces a number of challenges that include depleting fossil fuel reserves, scarcity of raw materials, perpetually increasing demand for cements and concretes, growing environmental concerns linked to climate change and an ailing world economy. This experimental work investigates the impact of substituting part of the conventional aggregates with rubber aggregates on certain characteristics of the cement concretes. This incorporation of rubber aggregates resulting from cutting worn tires in practical sizes decreases the mechanical resistances of the concretes while improving slightly the fluidity of the tested mixtures. The effect of these aggregates on the shrinkage of the concretes at an early age is appreciable and even very interesting for the concretes used, for example, in road construction. This technique of cutting worn tires without any further treatment makes it accessible to everyone which helps not only insaving the environment by getting rid of this cumbersome waste but also in saving traditional aggregates.

Cement, Rubber, Waste tires, Concrete, Mechanical response