Development of Tire Added Latex Concrete

Tire added latex concrete (TALC) was developed to incorporate recycled tire rubber as part of concrete. Crumb rubbers from tires were used in TALC as a substitution of fine aggregates or styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) latex, while maintaining the same water-to-cement ratio. Various static and dynamic strengths of TALC were measured and compared to those of conventional and latex modified concrete. TALC showed higher flexural and impact strengths than those of portland cement, latex modified concretes, and rubber added concretes. Microscopic pictures taken using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) seemed to support the hypothesis that there is better bonding between crumb rubbers and portland cement paste due to latex. TALC showed potential of becoming a viable construction material to enhance the brittle concrete while incorporating the waste tires.