Study on the dynamic bending toughness of steel/glass fiber reinforced rubber concrete

Concrete, as a brittle material, is prone to brittle bending failure under external loading, leading to a series of safety hazards. Rubber concrete, with its higher toughness than conventional concrete and its environmental value in facilitating the recycling of waste tires, has seen extensive use. However, the excessive replacement of fine aggregates with rubber causes a substantial loss in the mechanical properties of the concrete. To ensure a balance between mechanical performance and toughness, the rubber content is typically kept low. As a result, while its toughness is superior to that of traditional concrete, the improvement is still quite limited, and it is difficult to meet the demands of environments exposed to high dynamic load risks. Based on the above, this study focuses on improving the dynamic bending toughness of rubber concrete. Despite existing research suggesting that combining rigid and flexible fibers can generate a synergistic effect, thereby improving the toughness of concrete mixtures. However, certain research has noted that the combination of rigid and flexible fibers can sometimes lead to a negative synergistic effect, where the improvement in concrete toughness is inferior to that achieved with single fiber addition. Hence, from a practical application standpoint, this study aims to verify the feasibility of improving the dynamic flexural toughness of rubber concrete through the combined use of steel and glass fibers. The findings ultimately demonstrate that combining steel and glass fibers yields a beneficial synergistic effect within rubber concrete. This study aims to provide valuable reference for the practical effectiveness of rubber concrete in future applications.