Cementitious composites with rubber particles from recycled tyres: Physical and mechanical properties

This work describes a statistical analysis of the mechanical properties of cementitious composites made with recycled rubber inclusions for sustainable structural applications. The rubber particles from recycled tyres were used as replacement of quartz inclusions in the mortars. A full factorial design (7¹2²) was performed to investigate the effect provided by the rubber particles size and fraction on the physical and mechanical properties of the cementitious composites. The results show that the use of rubber particles reduces the overall density, compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, and increases the apparent porosity, water absorption and permeability. Large pores in the composites are present when large size particles are used. The low water/cement ratio adopted in this work did not allow a full hydration of the cementitious phase, which further reduced the overall mechanical performance. Some cementitious composite configurations have however shown acceptable mechanical properties for non-structural applications in civil engineering.