Slurry Infiltrated Fiber Concrete (SIFCON) with chopped Tire

Rubber

Abstract
Slurry Infiltrated Fibrous Concrete (SIFCON) is a highly improved version of conventional Fiber Reinforced Concrete
that has an extremely high fiber content, a unique building material with unique characteristics in the areas of strength,
durability, toughness, and ductility. This study is intended to provide more information about the possibility of using pre-
treated waste tire rubber in the production of SIFCON and studying the effects of waste tire rubber recovered from scrap
tires on the compressive and flexural strength of SIFCON. Increasing percentage of waste rubber is shown to decrease
the compressive and flexural strength of SIFCON samples. Moreover, it has been shown that the waste rubber offers
large benefits in terms of unit weight and cost. This is because waste rubber has a lower density and cost than steel fiber.

Keywords: SIFCON; Waste rubber; Steel fiber; Compressive strength; Flexural strength.

1. Introduction

Slurry infiltrated fiber concrete (SIFCON) was firstly produced in 1979 by the Lankard Materials Laboratory in
Columbus, Ohio, United States, through inserting significant quantities of steel fibers into steel fiber reinforced
cement-based composite materials. [1]. In addition to having a high fiber content and Exceptional and unique
properties including ductility and toughness, SIFCON is a particular form of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) with a
fiber matrix that contributes considerably to the composite matrix's tensile strength. In addition to the manufacturing
technique and fiber volume fraction differences, the primary distinction between FRC and SIFCON is that SIFCON
does not include any coarse aggregates. If applied, it will prevent mortar from infiltrating the fiber network.
Furthermore, compared to conventional concrete and (FRC), SIFCON features a high cement content [2-5].
The growth of the car industry has increased tire manufacturing globally, but as landfill space becomes less and less
available, It is becoming more challenging to dispose of used tires. Presently, between 75 and 80 percent of used tire
waste is buried in landfills. Due to the bulkiness of the flames and their propensity to float to the top over time,
complete tires cannot be disposed of in the most of landfill processes. Studies have shown that waste rubber tires
contain harmful chemicals because they don't break down in the environment. Tires may be utilized as concrete
aggregates based on these issues. Aggregate and cement are the two fundamental components needed to make

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buildings out of concrete. The most recommended method for getting rid of old tires is to recycle the rubber by mixing
it with concrete [6].
According to tests on rubberized concrete behavior by Eldin and Senouci (1993), Using tire chips and crumb rubber
as an alternative to aggregate in sizes of 38, 25mm, and 19mm resulted in a drop of 85% in compressive strength and a
reduction of 50% in splitting tensile strength, but also demonstrated that under tensile and compressive stresses, it was
capable of absorbing a significant amount of plastic energy.
When fine crumb rubber was completely substituted for sand, a lesser reduction in compressive strength (65%) was
seen. Rubber-containing concrete exhibited neither brittle failure under compression nor split tension. Because it
enhances fracture toughness, recycled rubber has a strong potential for application in Portland cement concrete mixes,
according to a more thorough analysis of their findings. To maximize the tire rubber composition in the combination,
however, an improved mix design is required [7].
Garrick (2004) presented an investigation of waste tire-modified concrete, which employed tire fiber and chips
instead of coarse aggregate to replace 15% of the volume of the concrete mix. As a result, plastic deformation,
toughness, cracking resistance, and impact resistance all improve. But the rubberized sample's strength and stiffness
were decreased. When the maximal load was attained, the control concrete disintegrated, but the rubberized concrete
exhibited significant deformation without disintegrating because of the bridging brought on by the tires. The rubber
fiber modified concrete has a lower stress concentration than the rubber chip modified concrete. This indicates that the
rubber fiber-modified concrete can withstand a greater load before the concrete matrix fails than the rubber chip-
modified concrete [8]. The mechanical and durability characteristics of concrete with various proportions of 0 %, 4 %,
4.5 %, 5 %, and 5.5 % waste tire rubber were studied by Kunal Bisht and Ramana (2017). Workability of concrete has
been seen to decrease with an increase in waste tire rubber. With a 4% substitution of rubber for fine aggregate, the
output of flexural and compressive strength slightly reduces [9].
Matrix and Rubber's Bond Strength
The physical characteristics of fibers and matrix, as well as the strength of the bond between them, are the primary
factors in the composite material's theoretical performance. Bond strengths vary depending on a large number of
factors, including time. One of the typical findings from a number of experiments was that there was a decrease in the
strength of the material in the compressive, flexural, and tensile directions. Several publications have proposed that
previous surface treatment of the used tire might reduce the loss in strength [10]. In order to improve the hydrophilicity
of the rubber surface, an investigation by Segre and Joekes [11] was conducted in which the surface of recycled rubber
tires was treated using a variety of surface treatments, including sodium hydroxide (NaOH). It was believed that by
doing this, the carboxyl and/or acidic groups on the rubber surface would be hydrolyzed by the sodium hydroxide [12].
The samples were evaluated after being cured for 28 days. The following tests were performed on samples of 10%
rubber that had been treated with sodium hydroxide: flexural strength, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and
abrasion resistance. They discovered that for flexural strength, the specimen with rubber that had been exposed to
NaOH had greater values than the control specimen [11].
Mohammadi et al. [13] assessed the characteristics of rubberized concrete made withwaste tire rubber treated by
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and discovered that this process of treatment produced a moderate increase in the flexural
strength and a noticeable increase in the compressive strength. Due to the coarser surfaces of the modified waste
rubber, however, it failed to improve the adhesion qualities of rubberized concrete.
In order to create sustainable concrete, Rajan, R. et al. (2021) investigate the use of recycle tire rubber as a partial
substitution for sand in M30 grade of concrete mixture at varied ratios. In order to create a good chemical interaction
between the cement matrix and the rubber surface, a method of surface modification was suggested. Prior to being
washed with clean water, waste tire rubber was first immersed in a 5 percent sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution for
24 hours. Second, waste tire rubber was added to a solution of 5 percent potassium permanganate (KMnO4), whose pH
was corrected to 2-3 using sulphuric acid, and the solution was heated to 60 ºC while being agitated for around two
hours to facilitate the oxidation reaction. The recycled tire rubber is first washed in clear water before being submerged
in a solution of 5 percent saturated sodium bisulfite (NaHSO3) at 60 ºC for half to one hour. They discovered that,
when compared to conventional concrete, in 5% and 7.5% by weight, the compressive strength exceeds 100% of the
substitution of modified recycled tire rubber. Additionally, the flexural strength reaches (100% and 90%) of
substitution of modified recycled tire rubber in (2.5% and 5%) by weight as compared to normal concrete [6].
2. The aim of study
The primary goal of this research is to investigate the use of waste rubber tires with conventional steel fiber in the
production of SIFCON. Additionally, evaluating the accomplishment of the most essential objectives, which include

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minimizing the self-weight while simultaneously maintaining the uniqueness of certain mechanical properties, Note
that waste rubber tires are utilized for the first time in the production of SIFCON, making this a unique study.
3. Experimental
Seven mixes will be carried out as follows:
1. One control mixture with a volume fraction of 4% steel fiber, named Normal SIFCON (NS0), is provided for
comparative evaluation.
2. Three mixtures with 6%, 8%, and 10% of rubber content (without treatment of rubber) and 4% steel fiber
called (NS6, NS8 and NS10).
3. Three rubber Pre-treatment mixes, with rubber pre-treatment with NaOH solution are named Modified
Rubber SIFCON (MNS6, MNS8 and MS10).
3.1 Materials used and Mix Proportions
Numerous trial slurry mixes were conducted to determine a mixture that has the optimal properties in the fresh state
in terms of viscosity, fluidity, and filling ability without segregation, bleeding, or pore pockets in the fiber network
that cause a marked drop in the mechanical properties of SIFCON. The characteristics of mixtures are listed in Table
1. Using the Mini-slump flow test following ASTM C1437-15 [14], the workability of the mixes was determined to be
255 millimeters. The mini-V-funnel test was another method used to assess the slurry's viscosity. A flow rate of 11
seconds was recorded for the mixture.
Table 1: SIFCON matrix mix design.

Constituent Mix Proportion

Cement (kg/m3) 872.4

Fine Aggregate (kg/m3) 969

Silica Fume (kg/m3) 96.9

HRWR by Wt. of Cementitious (%) 2.7

Hooked end Steel Fiber (Kg/m3) 312

Water/binding 0.26

V-funnel time (s) 11

Mini-slump flow (mm) 255

The chemical, physical and mechanical characteristics of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) Type I according to the
ASTM C150-18 [15] standard, which was utilized in this investigation, are listed in Table 2. The chemical
composition of silica-fume (SF) complies with ASTM C1240-15 [16] as illustrated in Table 2. As fine aggregate for
SIFCON, sand with a specific gravity of 2.65 and a maximum particle size of 0.60 mm was utilized. It must be tiny
enough to ensure complete penetration without clogging through the dense steel fiber. A polycarboxylate-based
superplasticizer (SP) meet the requirements of ASTMC494/C494M-17 [17] was used in order to produce the requisite
workability of the slurry, that must be fluid enough to pass through the thick fiber bed without leaving honeycombs.
Furthermore, hooked end steel fiber with a diameter of 0.5mm, a length of 35mm, and an aspect ratio of 70 with a
tensile strength of more than 1100 MPa was utilized in this work. Steel fiber volume fraction employed in this
investigation was 4%. The fiber volume was determined in accordance with the volume of each specimen's mold.
Figure 1 illustrates the hooked end used in this research. After several casting technique trials in the laboratory, the
steel fiber was incorporated into the SIFCON matrix using a multilayer technique. Initial placement and packing of
randomly oriented fibers in the mold to a specified level was followed by filling of the mold with mortar to the same
level. As demonstrated in Figure 2, the mortar must be sufficiently flowable to achieve infiltration into the fiber.
The waste tires rubber, with a specific gravity of 1.1, and a particle size ranging from 3 – 5 mm used in this study
was collected from Al-Diwaniya tyre factory in Iraq as waste car tires. They were cleaned with tap water to eliminate
anything that may affect the characteristics of crumb rubber. The rubber fibers are shown in Figure 3.
The compressive strength test was carried out using (100×100×100) mm cubes in accordance with ASTM C 109/C
109M [18]. While, prisms with (100×100×400) mm were tested for flexural strength according to ASTM C78 (third-

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point loading) [19]. After casting, samples were stored for 24 hours in saturated humid air at 20 ± 2 °C and then, the
samples were demolded. The specimens were cured in water for 28 days. The water curing temperature was set at 20 ±
2 °C. Table 3 represents the symbols of all the mixtures that were examined in this study and that appear in the tables
and figures of the study's results.
Table 2: Physical, mechanical and chemical characteristics of cement and Silica fume.
Chemical composition (%) Cement Silica Fume Physical characteristics
SiO2 64.0 89.43 Cement

Al2O3 20.8 0.64 Specific surface (m2/kg) 326

Fe2O3 3.6 0.45 Specific gravity 3.15
CaO 3.6 0.81 SF

SO3 2.6 0.85 Specific surface (m2/kg) 21000

L.O.I 3.5 4.11 Specific gravity 2.2
CaO (free) 1.33 2.15

Figure 1. The steel fibers used.

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Figure 2. Pouring processes of SIFCON samples.

Figure 3. The waste rubber tires used.

Table 3: Codes of the samples.

Sample Code Steel Fiber % Rubber content % Rubber Pre-treatment
NS0 4 0 -

NS6 4 6 -

NS8 4 8 -

NS10 4 10 -

MNS6 4 6 NaOH

MNS8 4 8 NaOH

MNS10 4 10 NaOH

3.2 Treatment of Waste Tires Rubber

Treatment is performed on waste rubber in order to make their surfaces rough and so improve their bonding with
the mortar. This was achieved by immersion waste rubber in a 5% solution concentration of sodium hydroxide NaOH
for 48 hours depending on previous research [20-22]. After that, waste rubber have been drained and washed with
clean water to eliminate any residual solutions. Then, the waste rubber was diffused out on mesh sheets and allowed to
dry in air for 48 hours. As shown in Figure 4.

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Figure 4. Treatment of rubber tires.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1 Compressive Strength
Table 4 shows the compressive strength and the percentage of strength loss of slurry infiltrated fiber concrete with
untreated and pre-treatment waste rubber. Each value in this table was determined by averaging the results of testing
three cubes in order to minimize the predicted error of each measured result.
Table 4: SIFCON sample cube compressive strength test results.
Compressive Strength fcu (MPa)
Untreated Rubber % Modified Rubber %
Age (days) 0%
6 8 10 6 8 10
rubber
28 85.52 61.97 59.9 48.64 66.34 62.91 53.74
fcu/fcu(0% rubber) % 100 72.4 70 56.8 77.5 73.5 62.8
Change in fcu % 0 - 27.6 - 30 - 43.2 - 22.5 - 26.5 - 37.2

Figure 5 shows the reduction in compressive strength as the percentage of crumb rubber increases, Compressive
strength at 28 days is 85.52 MPa at zero rubber content (NS0) and 61.67 MPa at 6% rubber content (NS6), a drop of
27.6%. At 8% rubber content NS8, the compressive strength decreases by 30% to 59.9 MPa, compared to the control
value. For 10% NS10 rubber, the compressive strength reduces to 48.64 MPa, which is a 43.2% decrease from the
control reference value.

90
80 77.5
Residual Compressive Srength MPa

72.4 73.5
70
70
62.8
60 56.8

50
40
30
20
10
0
6 8 10
Waste Rubber Content %

Untreated Rubber Modified Rubber

Figure 5. Effect of rubber content and rubber pre-treatment on compressive strength.

For SIFCON specimens with pre-treatment rubber with NaOH solution, the percentage of strength loss is less than
that of untreated specimens at the identical percentage of waste rubber. With 6% rubber content MNS6 the
compressive strength at 28 days reduces to 66.34 MPa that is a reduction of 22.5%. While with 8% rubber content
MNS8, compressive strength is 62.91 MPa that is a reduction of 26.5% from the control value. For the rubber
content of 10% MNS10 the compressive strength reduces to 53.74 MPa that is a reduction of 37.2 % from the
control mix.
This decrease in compressive strength is attributable to a number of factors, one of which is the less cohesive force
between the rubber surface and cement; hence, the mechanism of stress distribution inside the SIFCON mixture will
differ from that of a conventional mixture. In addition to the chemical composition, the particle shape and surface
texture of the waste rubber negatively influence the bonding with cement, hence decreasing the compressive strength,
which is dependent on the bonding between aggregates and cement.
4.2 SIFCON Flexural Strength

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Table 5 shows the flexural strength of slurry infiltrated fiber concrete with untreated and pre-treatment waste
rubber. In addition, the proportional percentage of strength reduction in comparison to the control mixtures was
calculated.
Table 5: Test values of flexural strengths of SIFCON samples
Flexural Strength fcu (MPa)
Untreated Rubber % Modified Rubber %
Age (days) 0%
6 8 10 6 8 10
rubber
28 20.63 17.87 15.96 13.18 19.11 17.08 16.01
fcu/fcu(0% rubber) % 100 86.6 77.3 63.8 92.6 82.8 70.7
Change in fcu % 0 - 13.4 - 22.7 - 36.2 - 7.4 - 17.2 - 29.3

It can be noticed from Table 5, that for the untreated rubber mixtures, the test results illustrated that utilizing of
rubber reduce the flexural strength up to 13.4 % at NS6, 22.7% at NS8, while 36.2 % losses at NS10, with respect to
the control mix NS0.
Figure 6 reveals that the pre-treated mixes (MNS6.MNS8 and MNS10) have a lesser reduction compared to the
original reference mix NS0, as the NaOH solution pre-treatment creates better adhesion between cement mortar and
the rubber surface. With 6% rubber content MNS6, the flexural strength at 28 days reduces to 19.11 MPa. That is a
reduction of 7.4%. While with 8% rubber content MNS8, the flexural strength is 17.08 MPa. That is a reduction of
17.2% from the control mix. For the rubber content of 10% MNS10, the flexural strength reduces to 16.01 MPa, which
is a reduction of 29.3 % from the control mix.
This decrease in flexural strength is attributable to the identical reason as the decrease in compressive strength,
particularly the weakened cohesive force between the cement mortar and the rubber surface.

100 92.6
90 86.6
82.8
77.3
Residual Flexural Srength MPa

80
70.7
70 63.8
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
6 8 10
Waste Rubber Content %

Untreated Rubber Modified Rubber

Figure 6. Effect of rubber content and rubber pre-treatment on flexural strength.

Additionally, it is clear from the experimental results that adding waste rubber to SIFCON samples reduces their
compressive strength values more significantly than it affects their flexural strength. This may be explained by the
elastic properties of rubber, which enable it to absorb considerable energy and exhibit excellent bending toughness.

5. Conclusions

The following conclusions can be taken from the results obtained in this paper using experimental results for
SIFCON samples with waste rubber:

• The experimental findings indicated that the decline in the compressive and flexural strength of SIFCON
samples increases with increasing waste rubber percentage for all mixtures of untreated and pre-treated rubber.

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• The compressive strength of modified SIFCON with waste rubber is significantly lower than those of control
SIFCON specemins due to the lower elastic modulus and lower strength of rubber as compared to steel fibers.

• The pre-treatment of rubber particles with NaOH solution can improve the compressive and flexural strength
of SIFCON samples compared to untreated ones.

• At the same percentage of recycled rubber, the compressive strength value reduction is more significant than
the flexural strength reduction.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to the head and staff of Building and
Construction Engineering Department, University of Technology. We would like also to express our special
appreciation to staff of construction materials laboratory at the civil engineering department for presenting all the
facilities to finish this work.

Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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