“Transforming Waste Tyre into Sustainable Concrete”

Waste tyre disposal is considered an important environmental issue due to the increased rate of vehicle usage. Waste tyres are considered non-biodegradable materials, causing environmental pollution. This study focuses on utilising waste tyres as an alternative material in sustainable concrete by incorporating crumb rubber as an additional component in the concrete mix. Crumb rubber is treated with sodium hydroxide solution to increase the surface roughness. In this study, crumb rubber is incorporated into the mix design as an additional material in different percentages of volume of concrete mix rather than using it as a replacement material for fine aggregates. Concrete mix is designed using cement, sand, coarse aggregates, sodium hydroxide-treated crumb rubber, and water. Concrete mix is cast into cubes and cured at 7, 14, and 28 days to test their properties. It is found that the addition of sodium hydroxide-treated crumb rubber improves the flexibility and crack resistance of the concrete mix while maintaining sufficient strength properties. It is proved that waste tyre rubbers can be effectively utilized as an additional material in the mix design of concrete to produce sustainable and eco-friendly construction materials.