Flexural Performance of Hybrid-Rubberized Composite Slabs Using Finite Element Method

Ab s t r act Hybrid Rubberized Composite Slabs (HRCS) is an innovative material which has been developed for highway barriers in bridge construction to avoid vehicle accidents and thereby reducing the risk to public. A three dimensional hybrid rubberized composite slab model (HRCS) was created using Finite element Analysis Software ANSYS and was validated by previous experimental research works on concrete with crumb rubber. Finite element simulations were performed to examine the effect of replacing 0-20% of fine aggregates with crumb rubber. The load-displacement behavior was analyzed for the plain and hybrid rubberized composite slabs under static bending loads. From the results, it was found that, the displacement decrease significantly with increase in the amount of fine crumb rubber replacement. The static bending load decreases as the percentage of replacement of fine crumb rubber increases. Aggregate replacement with crumb rubber in concrete decreases its strength under static bending load. As confirmed by experimental results, FEA can effectively simulate the behaviour of HRCS when the proper numerical model is adopted. Keywords: Hybrid Rubberized Concrete Slab, Crumb Rubber, Finite element analysis (FEA), Static Bending Load.