Study on the mechanical properties of steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete

Steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete (SFRRC) has attracted increasing attention owing to its potential to improve the utilization of waste tires while enhancing the mechanical performance of rubberized concrete. Although previous studies have reported the mechanical performance of steel fiber-reinforced rubberized concrete, limited attention has been paid to establishing quantitative strength–conversion relationships among different mechanical properties. Therefore, this study systematically investigated the coupled influence of steel fiber volume fraction (0%–1.2%) and rubber replacement ratio (0%–15%) on the workability, cube compressive strength, axial compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, and strain characteristics of SFRRC, while developing empirical strength-conversion models specifically for SFRRC. Among the investigated mixtures, specimens containing 1.2% steel fibers and 15% rubber particles exhibited improved post-failure integrity while maintaining satisfactory mechanical performance. Based on regression analysis of the experimental data, empirical relationships between cube compressive strength and axial compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength were established. The proposed models exhibited high correlation coefficients (R2 ≥ 0.89), and the average prediction errors were generally below 10%. The findings provide a useful reference for strength prediction and engineering application of SFRRC.