Cover
Vol. 20 No. 1 (2026)

Published: April 29, 2026

Pages: 91-104

Research Article

Combination between Crumb Rubber and Waste Brick Aggregate in Self-Compacting Concrete: Bond-Strength as a Case Study

Roaa Abed Mukhlif 1 Ahmed Noaman 2 George Wardeh 3
1 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Anbar, Ramadi, Iraq
2 University Of Anbar
3 CY Cergy-Paris University, 95031 Neuville-sur-Oise, Paris, France
History
  • Received: March 6, 2026
  • Revised: April 11, 2026
  • Accepted: April 25, 2026
  • Available Online: June 30, 2026
DOI

https://doi.org/10.37650/ijce200107

Abstract

The accumulation of large amounts of construction and demolition waste in Iraq, especially after the 2014 conflicts, has created a serious environmental problem. To achieve sustainable goals, recycling these materials in the construction sector supports the principles of the circular economy and reduces the demand for natural aggregates, as recycling represents one aspect of crisis recovery. This study investigates the mechanical performance and bond strength of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) containing demolition brick aggregate (DBA) and discarded brick aggregate (CBA) at 100% replacement ratios for fine and coarse aggregates, with and without 10% crumb rubber (CR) as a volumetric replacement for fine aggregate. Ten SCC mixes were designed and experimentally evaluated after 28 days. The results showed that adding 10% rubber to the reference mix resulted in a 13.5% decrease in compressive strength and a 16.8% decrease in bond strength. Complete replacement of natural aggregate with recycled brick aggregate resulted in significant decreases in compressive and bond strengths of up to 60% and 50%, respectively. Furthermore, incorporating crushed rubber into the recycled brick aggregate further decreased the compressive and bond strengths. The predominant failure patterns observed in the bond strength test were splitting and sliding failure. The combination of these two types of waste aggregate could promote the use of sustainable SCC in practical applications

Keywords

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