CIVIL engineering students from Technological Institute of the Philippines won the Best Paper citations in the 2023 Advanced Materials and Sustainable Energy Technologies international conference hosted by Sunway University.

The students were Grant Onell Villojan, John Aaron Abejo, Rainiel Engelhart Antipuesto, June Hernan Basiya, Nathaniel Delos Santos, Kim Lloyd Lura, and Krishel Us.

Engr. Juland Padilla served as the group’s research adviser.

The students were recognized for their experimental research that seeks to address the problem of waste rubber disposal.

The study explored the effects of waste rubber as an additive substitute for coarse aggregates in concrete mix.

Villojan presented their findings on behalf of his classmates.

“Our conclusion is that rubber does not mix well with cement,” he said.

According to TIP, the team’s investigation revealed that using rubber as a coarse aggregate in concrete reduces its ‘compressive strength’, or the capacity of the building material to withstand loads.

“This is because rubber has distinct properties and does not chemically react with cementitious components during the hydration process. As a result, the rubber-concrete mixture has low adhesion and bonding,” the team noted in their abstract.

Villojan said they hope to improve their study within the same framework.

“We are thinking of the ideal ratio for the rubber mixture, so the pavement will not break down easily once the materials are applied to increase its coefficient of friction,” Villojan said.

This, TIP explained, will enable its experiment to pass a skid resistance evaluation once it is tested for human activity.

Sunway University got 146 paper submissions for the 2023 AMSET event in Kuala Lumpur.

Of the number, 84 were selected for presentations, including 14 from TIP Manila and Quezon City.