Engineers Have Created Durable Concrete Made From Ground-Up Rubber Tires

Engineers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia have come up with a way to make cement at a lower cost by using recycled materials.

A fairly easy recipe is used to make concrete. A mixture of sand, rocks, and gravel is used to mix a binding agent. Some of the items on the ingredient list, like larger stones and gravel, can increase the price, particularly in parts of the world where those materials aren't always readily available.

Replacing the aggregate with other materials, such as used rubber tires, can help reduce the cost of making concrete. It is a smart way to recycle the millions of worn down rubber tires removed from vehicles every year. Engineers have only been able to create concrete with a combination of rocks and rubber.

There is a problem with the rubber alternate because it has too many pores.

To replace all of the aggregate material in concrete with recycled tire rubber, the solution was to place the wet ingredients into steel molds that compressed the mixture with pressure to eliminate all of the rubber's pores. After drying, the concrete showed a much stronger bond between the hardened cement and the rubber particles, giving it a huge increase in strength.

The rubber tire concrete isn't strong enough to be used as a structural element, so the researchers are looking into other ways to reinforce and strengthen it. The new approach should prove to be a more cost effective alternative to traditional concrete in the long run. The result is a lighter material that is easier and cheaper to ship.