Thermal properties of dune sand based-rubber mortar composites

Abstract

The results of using tire rubber waste as an aggregate substitute in the production of dune sand mortar composites are presented in this article. The thermal properties of construction materials are one of the most important determinants of a building's habitability. As a result, the current study examines how the physical properties and microstructure of crumb rubber-dune sand mortar based composites influence their thermal properties. For this purpose, we investigated five dune sand mortar mixes with crumb rubber ratios of 5% to 20% with a fraction of 0/4 mm. To evaluate the performance of the resulting mortars, mechanical strength and thermal conductivity were determined. Finally, the relationship between ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and thermal conductivity was investigated. The results of laboratory tests revealed that adding crumb rubber to dune sand mortar could reduce the mortar's mechanical strength. The results of experimental tests showed that a mix of crumb rubber in dune sand mortar could have a negative impact on the mechanical strength of mortar. In addition, the pore system created by the rubber waste in the mortars has a greater impact on the thermal conductivity and UPV of the mortars than their density with an adequate determination coefficient (R2 = 0.987) was obtained between thermal conductivity and UPV. Based on the thermal properties, waste rubber-dune based mortars are promising materials to improve building energy efficiency.