Citation: Ahmad, J.; Zhou, Z.; Majdi,
A.; Alqurashi, M.; Deifalla, A.F.
Overview of Concrete Performance
Made with Waste Rubber Tires: A
Step toward Sustainable Concrete.
Materials 2022, 15, 5518. https://
doi.org/10.3390/ma15165518
Academic Editors: Stefano Guarino
and Flaviana Tagliaferri
Received: 8 July 2022
Accepted: 5 August 2022
Published: 11 August 2022
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materials
Article
Overview of Concrete Performance Made with Waste Rubber
Tires: A Step toward Sustainable Concrete
Jawad Ahmad
1
, Zhiguang Zhou
1,
*, Ali Majdi
2
, Muwaffaq Alqurashi
3
and Ahmed Farouk Deifalla
4
1
Department of Disaster Mitigation for Structures, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
2
Department of Building and Construction Technologies and Engineering, Al-Mustaqbal University College,
Hillah 51001, Iraq
3
Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099,
Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
4
Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Future University in Egypt,
New Cairo 11845, Egypt
* Correspondence: zgzhou@tongji.edu.cn
Abstract: Utilizing scrap tire rubber by incorporating it into concrete is a valuable option. Many
researchers are interested in using rubber tire waste in concrete. The possible uses of rubber tires
in concrete, however, are dispersed and unclear. Therefore, a compressive analysis is necessary to
identify the benefits and drawbacks of rubber tires for concrete performance. For examination, the im-
portant areas of concrete freshness, durability, and strength properties were considered. Additionally,
several treatments and a microstructure investigation were included. Although it has much promise,
there are certain obstacles that prevent it from being used as an aggregate in large numbers, such as
the rubber’s weak structural strength and poor binding performance with the cement matrix. Rubber,
however, exhibits mechanical strength comparable to reference concrete up to 20%. The evaluation
also emphasizes the need for new research to advance rubberized concrete for future generations.
Keywords: waste tires; concrete; aggregate; compressive strength; treatments; durability
1. Introduction
Due to the new infrastructure being built, a significant quantity of waste concrete
is generated from destroyed buildings every year. Construction and demolition trash
is generated annually in China and the EU at 450 million tons and 200 million tons,
respectively. About half of the rubber in a tire is made of natural rubber, butadiene
rubber, and styrene-butadiene rubber. The other parts include carbon black, metal, textile,
zinc oxide, sulfur, and additives [1]. Tires represent environmental dangers owing to their
composition, which makes them exceedingly durable, non-biodegradable, and a fire hazard,
as well as a breeding ground for rats, mice, and mosquitoes [2]. The proper disposal of used
tires has grown to be a significant environmental issue [3]. Each year, the EU member states
produce more than three million tons of scrap tires [4], and a stock of 600 hundred tons is
present. Due to the desire to create a green environment, keep it clean, and minimize carbon
emissions, many western nations, including Canada, are having trouble maintaining and
reusing structural waste [5]. Figure 1 shows the recycling percentages of different waste.
Materials 2022, 15, 5518. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15165518 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/materials