Rubber concrete application

It should be mentioned that this model may not be universally true for representing the thermal behaviour of rubber concrete. Other models such as parallel connection may also be appropriate. It may take a lengthy discussion to quantify the modelling applicability, but the point to be made here is that for rubber concrete, internal stress/pressure build-up, which could be developed in controlled concrete, may be mitigated because of the presence of rubber particles inside. 

What is the possible application of rubber concrete Before replying to this question, let s categorise three levels of rubber content in concrete ... 

At the low level of rubber, rubber concrete essentially functions like controlled concrete and it appears that one possible application is as a replacement for air entrained concrete. The results obtained from the test site in NAU indicate that, while it performs well in a cold climate, rubber concrete has the advantage of higher compressive strength than air entrained concrete. Also, while it has good ability to resist cracks, rubber concrete may be used as controlled concrete but with fewer or no expansion joints. 

At the level of 177 kg per cubic metre and more, rubber is in a very high concentration. For example, the level of 236 kg per cubic metre will have a volume of 0.18 cubic metre, and take about 25% of the total volume. Considering the air the rubber will bring in, rubber concrete at this level will be very light. In a few cases, the measured unit-weight values of rubber concrete at this level are as low as 1600 kg per cubic metre. Applications may include outdoor sports and recreational facilities like tennis courts, basketball courts, walkways, etc., with a design strength of 14 MPa or less. 

These novel organic polymers were not developed solely for the CW or BW treatment market but are for much wider application. These same value-adding process additives are regularly incorporated into products for industrial and domestic cleaning, concrete, pulp and paper, metal finishing, paints and surface coatings, wastewater, seawater distillation, drilling muds, secondary oil-recovery, plastics extrusion, fibers, rubbers, and a host of other areas. 

Of the several types of the polymer-modified mortars and concretes used for various construction applications, latex-modified mortar and concrete are by far the most widely used materials. Latex-modified mortar and concrete are prepared by mixing a latex, either in a dispersed liquid or as a redispersible powder form with fresh cement mortar and concrete mixtures. The polymers are usually added to the mixing water just as other chemical admixtures, at a dosage of 5-20% by weight of cement. Polymer latexes are stable dispersions of very small (0.05-5 pm in diameter) polymer particles in water and are produced by emulsion polymerization. Natural rubber latex and epoxy latex are exceptions in that the former is tapped from rubber trees and the latter is produced by emulsifying an epoxy resin in water by the use of surfactants [87]. 

Chlorinated rubber is often used in combination with medium oil drying-type alkyds. The principal applications are highway traffic paint, concrete floor, and swimming pool paints. 

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