Changes in Properties of Cement and Lime Mortars When Incorporating Fibers from End-of-Life Tires
Lluís Gil,
Ernest Bernat-Masó,
Francisco Javier Cañavate
Affiliations
Lluís Gil
Department of Strength of Materials and Structures in Engineering, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Technical School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering (ETSEIAT), Colom 11, Terrassa 08222, Spain
Ernest Bernat-Masó
Department of Strength of Materials and Structures in Engineering, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Technical School of Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering (ETSEIAT), Colom 11, Terrassa 08222, Spain
Francisco Javier Cañavate
Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), School of Industrial Engineering of Terrassa (EET), Colom 1, Terrassa 08222, Spain
This paper studies the addition of fibers from end-of-life tires to commercial mortar mixtures. Two different types of mortar, one lime-plastic and other cement-fluid, are mixed with different percentage of fibers ranging from 0% to 1%. The changes in bulk density, consistency, compressive and flexural strength, dynamic Young modulus and water absorption are studied. According to the results, consistency is the property that shows more relevant changes for an addition of 0.25% fibers. Consistency is related to workability and affects the water absorption and the Young modulus values. On the contrary, bulk density and mechanical properties did not change with the addition of fibers. The results prove that this fiber, considered a waste from recycling of end-of-life tires, can be used in commercial mixtures without losing strength. On the other hand, mortar workability limits the amount of fibers that can be included in the mixture and this parameter determines the performance of the mortar.
