Evaluation of the compressive-strength reducing behavior of concrete containing rubber aggregate

It is well known that the toughness and freeze-thaw resistance of concrete can be improved by rubber aggregate (RA) while it significantly reduces the compressive strength. In this study, a simple semi-empirical prediction model of strength reduction factor (SRF) for rubberized concrete (RuC) is proposed to evaluate the compressive-strength reducing behavior of RuC. The model takes the volume fraction of RA as an independent variable and can be used to quantitatively describe the influence of different composition factors on compressive strength. In addition, a database containing more than 321 groups of reported experimental results is established to validate the proposed model. The main influencing factors of SRF are also clarified, including the content, particle size, surface property and replacement method of RA. According to the above factors, scientific classification and statistical fitting analysis are carried out on the database to determine the model parameter b. It is found that the proposed SRF model has good universality and predictability, which can be used to guide the mix design of RuC.