Mechanical characterisation of cement-based mortar incorporating rubber aggregates from recycled worn tyres

The first results show that incorporating rubber particles as aggregates is detrimental to compressive and to tensile strengths. On the other hand, it induces a significant decrease of the modulus of elasticity and is beneficial in terms of strain capacity. Tensile tests on notched specimens show that the pseudo-strain corresponding to the peak load is significantly increased and that the benefit of fibre reinforcement remains unaltered in the case of rubber incorporation. Thus, both fibre reinforcement and rubber incorporation benefits can be drawn simultaneously. It is a promising solution to improve the durability of cement-based structures. Finally, the use of rubber particles obtained from shredded non-reusable tires adds obvious environmental interest to this research programme.