2nd Croatian Conference on Earthquake Engineering 2CroCEE

Rubberized concrete is a promising material for structural elements, created by replacing aggregate with rubber particles in order to significantly reduce environmental impacts from large tyre waste with improved behaviour under earthquake loads.
Experimental studies on nine columns and three frames were carried out in order to determine the capacity of different structural elements in regard to conventional concrete. The specimens were subjected to a cyclic loading following the loading protocol used for the seismic performance assessment of structural and non-structural components, as it allows all damage states to be quantified to develop the corresponding fragility models. The results indicated that rubberized concrete columns and frames made of rubberized concrete can delay and reduce the amount of damage occurring under seismic loading. This is attributed to the higher deformability of rubberized concrete compared to conventional.
Numerical studies calibrated on previous experiments concluded assumptions about the great possibilities and applicability of rubberized concrete as material in new buildings for improved safety under seismic scenarios.
With these contributions, increased use of rubberized concrete in global construction can promise a reduction of the significant environmental impacts caused both by waste tyres and the exploitation of natural resources with the promotion of environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional concrete in structural applications in earthquake-prone areas.