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Feasibility of utilizing recycled concrete aggregate blended with waste tire rubber and drywall waste as pavement subbase material

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Abstract

As a developing nation, Pakistan faces financial obstacles in road construction, which is essential for economic growth but costly. A sustainable approach to address environmental concerns involves using recycled materials in road construction. The construction industry has largely overlooked recycling despite the significant amount of debris generated during construction and demolition. Repurposing materials from building and demolition activities, such as rubber from tires and drywall waste, can serve as viable materials for subbase layers in roads. These recycled materials can improve road quality and performance while mitigating environmental and health risks associated with stockpiling and disposal. This research evaluates the physical and mechanical properties of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) combined with drywall waste (DW), waste tire rubber (WTR), and quarry dust (QD) for flexible pavement subbases. The study investigated the effect of adding 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% crumb rubber with 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% DW as a percentage of fine aggregate with QD in RCA. By subjecting RCA to a series of tests, their strength, durability, and stability are thoroughly assessed to determine the optimal ratios of WCR and DW. As a result of these evaluations, a notable improvement in compressive strength is observed. Cost analysis demonstrates the economic feasibility of using recycled materials in pavement subbase construction, offering a cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally safe solution that reduces reliance on fresh aggregates (FA).

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Abbreviations

AASHTO:

American association of state highway and transportation officials

ASTM:

American society for testing and materials

C&D:

Construction and demolition

CBR:

California bearing ratio

CBR(S) :

Soaked california bearing ratio

WTR:

Waste tire rubber

D50 :

Mean grain size

DW:

Drywall

FA:

Fresh aggregates

MDD:

Maximum dry density

MR :

Resilient modulus

MR(SB) :

Resilient modulus of subbase layer

NHA:

National highway authority

OMC:

Optimum moisture content

PCSIR:

Pakistan council of scientific and industrial research

RCA:

Recycled concrete aggregates

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Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to the National Institute of Transportation at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan for their technical assistance and excellent laboratory space.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Transportation - Risalpur, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Afaq Ahmed, Syed Kamran Hussain Shah, Numan Ahmad & Muhammad Jawed Iqbal

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, 31261, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Umair Ali

  3. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Construction and Building Materials, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, 31261, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Umair Ali

  4. School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

    Adnan Anwar Malik

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  1. Afaq Ahmed
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Correspondence to Syed Kamran Hussain Shah.

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Ahmed, A., Shah, S.K.H., Ahmad, N. et al. Feasibility of utilizing recycled concrete aggregate blended with waste tire rubber and drywall waste as pavement subbase material. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-024-01967-x

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