Research on the performance of the cement stabilized gravel with rubber particles

The primary objective of this paper was to study the mechanical properties and durability of the cement stabilized gravel which added rubber particles by using macroscopic and microscopic test. Through tests of compression, splitting and frost resistance, relationships between mechanical properties of samples and rubber particles' content were studied. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was applied to analyze the micro-morphology and elemental composition of samples, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was engaged to identify the product phases. The tests results showed that compressive strength of mixtures decreased with the rubber particles content increasing and the early strength effect was obvious, splitting strength decreased slightly. It also indicated that the addition of rubber particles can improve the frost resistance of the mixtures. As a result, the frozen stability coefficient (K) of samples was improved from 0.89 to 0.97. XRD and SEM analyses showed that calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) was resultant and the interface bonding between sand and CSH was better than rubber particles and CSH, which the latter had interface cracks.