Experimental Study on the Stress-Strain Behavior of Self-Compacting Concrete Modified by Waste Rubber under Uniaxial Tension with Acoustic Emission Technique

Abstract

Tensile characteristics of concrete play an important role in structures. In this paper, the stress-strain behavior of self-compacting concrete modified by waste tire rubber (rubberized self-compacting concrete [RSCC]) under uniaxial tension is researched. Both monotonic and cyclic tests are conducted for RSCC with different rubber contents. The results demonstrate that the incorporation of rubber aggregate results in a lower uniaxial tensile strength but an improved deformation resistance, a high energy-dissipating ability, and a lower stiffness deteriorating rate. The acoustic emission (AE) technique is employed to detect the damage progression. Although the AE signals decrease with the increase of AE signals, the damage can be well represented by a relatively high emitting rate of AE signals. Furthermore, the load ratio, calm ratio, and relaxation ratio are used to characterize the damage development. It is found that the incorporation of rubber aggregate results in a complicated cracking behavior of specimen under uniaxial tension.