An Investigation on Mechanical Properties and Damping Behaviour of Hardened Mortar with Rubber Tire Crumbs (RTC)

Abstract

Masonry wall has been used for ages as a part of non-engineered building structures, due to its ease of manufacture, strength, and stiffness to support gravity loads, but brittle enough to resist earthquake shake. One solution to increase its ductility when the earthquake shake stroked, ductile materials at bed joints that binding the masonries may apply. Mortar is a composite material consisting of sands, cement, and water that is generally used for masonry construction as a binder at bed joints. On the other hand, rubber has been used to isolate vibration of machinery because of its good damping behaviours. Those materials will be mixed and be elaborated to provide a ductile mortar binder at bed joints. This research aims to investigate the mechanical properties and the damping behaviour of hardened mortar with rubber tire crumbs at proportions of 0%, 40%, and 60%. Three types of specimens in forms of mortar cubes of 50x50x50 mm3, tensile specimens and mortar beams of 100x100x500 mm3 were tested to provide strength and damping behaviour. The addition of rubber tire crumbs in the mortar decreased the compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength and unit weight. Despite its weakness in the mechanical strengths, the addition of rubber tire crumbs could increase the damping behaviour significantly. This research recommended that mortar containing RTC is still appropriate use for non-structural component although it has low mechanical properties.