ABSTRACT
Poor management of scrap tires in Malaysia have caused the accumulation of non-biodegradable materials in landfills and dumping sites, which contributes to the health issues. This research intends to exploit the scrap tires to produce rubbercrete brick. Utilizing recycled materials in construction industry helps to reduce the environmental impacts. However, inclusion of crumb rubber in Portland cement product lead to reduction in the strength due to the hydrophobic nature of the crumb rubber which repels water and entrap air on its surface. Therefore, in this research, nano silica has been introduced to the rubbercrete to modify its microstructure by densifying the interfacial transition zone and refining the pore system which consequently enhances the compressive strength. In this research, nano silica modified rubbercrete solid brick has been developed with a compressive strength of 15 MPa. The newly developed nano silica modified rubbercrete solid brick can be used for non-load-bearing construction application.
