Fire Resistance of Rubber Concrete Structures

One of the most used construction materials around the world is the concrete thanks to its versatility and durability. However, its environmental impact has been a topic of several investigations in order to find more sustainable alternatives. One alternative that has emerged during the last years is rubber concrete, which incorporates recycled tier rubber as a partial replacement of natural aggregate. This innovative solution not only provides a great repurposing of waste tires, but also offers potential benefits in terms of isolation, flexibility and reduced density. As it is a relatively new alternative, researchers have focused on understanding its behavior and determine its different properties. One special field of interest is the behavior when subjected to a fire scenario. Fire resistance is a critical aspect of building design and therefore, evaluating the fire resistance of rubber concrete structures is essential for ensuring compliance with current regulations. This thesis aims to investigate the fire resistance of rubber concrete structures by analyzing their mechanical and thermal behavior at elevated temperatures, considering the present normative and codes, as well as different add mixtures with different percentage of rubber replacement. Variation of thermal and mechanical properties with variation of temperature are proposed and its influence on its strength and distribution of temperature within concrete elements is analyzed.