Acoustic Performance of Concrete with Rubber and Vermiculite for Highway Barriers

The inadequate disposal of waste tires has caused environmental and public health problems. One of the direct harmful effects is the noise due to traffic. Waste rubber has been used in concrete to improve its acoustic performance and energy absorption. Studies carried out by the U. S. Federal Highway Administration show that barriers, regardless the material used, do not block completely but can reduce the volume of traffic noise by half. This study proposes concrete mixes containing waste tires and vermiculite to verify their acoustic properties for road barriers. The experiments include concrete with waste tires and vermiculite to replace the sand mass from 10% to 40%. An improvement in the acoustic properties was observed, reducing the total sound intensity level of the concrete acoustic barrier to 20 dB and 29 dB, for the frequencies of 500 Hz and 1000 Hz, respectively.

Keywords:
Concrete barrier; rubber waste; vermiculite; acoustic performance