Ecological and functional technical mortars with rubber

The finishing coatings of buildings, such as plasters and renders, are essential for the durability and sustainability of constructive solutions. Mortars provide constructive elements with protection and contribute significantly to thermal and acoustic comfort of the indoor environment. The development of ecological mortars with specific characteristics in response to the need for more sustainable construction represents an important challenge. Considering the current quality requirements for mortar industries regarding technical specificities and the environment, it is fundamental that more recycled or natural raw materials, and material with lower environmental impact are introduced. Furthermore, the development of multifunctional mortars suited for different substrates ensures more versatility of the products. Looking to address these issues, this paper presents the development of mortars incorporating granulated rubber from used tires. This residue has been considered for the development of construction materials due to its lightness, elasticity and energy absorption capacity. It also provides improved thermal and acoustic behaviour. For this purpose, 2 different mortar compositions with fine rubber granulate were analysed. Mechanical behaviour for different substrates was determined through compressive and flexural strength, dynamic elasticity modulus and adhesive strength. The hygrothermal behaviour of the mortars was also evaluated considering the results obtained for water vapour permeability, capillary absorption and thermal conductivity tests. Very promising results were obtained in this study. These allow the framing of these mortars in the recent context of CE marking requirements for rendering and plastering mortars. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Diamond Congress Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2018.