Fattuhi & Clark (1996) — Cement-Based Materials Containing Shredded Scrap Truck Tyre Rubber
Citation
Fattuhi, N. I., & Clark, L. A. (1996). Cement-based materials containing shredded scrap truck tyre rubber. Construction and Building Materials, 10(4), 229–236.
- DOI:
10.1016/0950-0618(96)00004-9 - Atlas layer: extension
- Related Victor Li book chapter: Chapter 7: Alternative Reinforcing Fibers & Fillers & Chapter 9: Green ECC (Recycled Rubber Particles & Damping Modifications)
- Source PDF:
fattuhi-1996-cement-based-materials-containing-shredded.pdf - Extracted text:
full_text/fattuhi-1996-cement-based-materials-containing-shredded_full_text.md - Source note:
source_notes/fattuhi-1996-cement-based-materials-containing-shredded_source_note.md
Why this paper matters
A classic pioneering paper in rubberized cementitious composites, evaluating 32 mixture formulations of paste, mortar, and concrete incorporating shredded scrap truck tire rubber, establishing foundational trade-offs between compressive strength loss and significant gains in impact resistance, toughness, and density reduction.
Main contribution
- Formulates 32 cementitious mixtures (pastes, mortars, concretes) incorporating scrap truck tire rubber (both fine rubber crumb and shredded coarse scrap rubber) with OPC and pulverized fuel ash (PFA).
- Quantifies density reduction across mixes: hardened densities range from $1300\text{ to }2300\text{ kg/m}^3$ as rubber replaces mineral aggregate.
- Quantifies compressive strength reduction: compressive strength drops by up to ~70 % when rubber content reaches 13 wt% of total concrete solids due to weak interfacial bonding and low elastic modulus of rubber inclusions.
- Discovers major functional improvements: dramatic enhancement in drop-weight impact resistance (preventing brittle catastrophic shattering), enhanced nailability, and improved thermal/acoustic insulation properties.
Evidence summary
- Mixture Formulations: 32 mixes spanning cement paste, mortar, and concrete; binders include OPC and OPC + PFA; aggregates partially replaced with rubber crumb ($< 2\text{ mm}$) or coarse shredded tire rubber ($2\text{--}10\text{ mm}$).
- Hardened Density: Ranges from 1300 kg/m³ (high-rubber paste/mortar) to 2300 kg/m³ (control concrete).
- Compressive Strength: Drops proportionally to rubber volume fraction (e.g., control concrete 35–45 MPa drops to 10–15 MPa at ~13 wt% rubber addition).
- Impact Resistance: Rubberized specimens exhibit ductile deformability under drop-hammer impact, absorbing multiple impacts before fracture without flying fragmentation.
- Nailability: Nails can be driven directly into rubberized mortar without causing brittle edge spalling.
Linked Atlas nodes
04_material_systems/green_ecc.md04_material_systems/rubberized_ecc.md05_experiments/impact_testing.md02_concepts/circular_economy_materials.md
Relationship to Victor Li book
- Relates to Victor Li (2019) Chapter 7 and Chapter 9 regarding the incorporation of recycled elastomeric particles to soften matrix stiffness ($E_m$), lower matrix fracture toughness ($K_m$), and improve composite damping and impact absorption in sustainable ECC.
Claim-evidence rows to add
| Atlas node | Claim | Evidence summary | Page/Figure/Table | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
04_material_systems/rubberized_ecc.md |
Adding shredded truck tire rubber reduces concrete compressive strength by up to 70 % but greatly enhances impact energy absorption | Experimental testing of 32 paste, mortar, and concrete mixtures with fine and coarse scrap rubber | Section 3 & 4, pp. 231–235, Table 3-5 | verified_from_pdf |
02_concepts/circular_economy_materials.md |
Scrap truck tire rubber replaces mineral aggregates in cementitious composites, lowering hardened density to 1300–2300 kg/m³ | Hardened density measurements across 32 rubberized cementitious formulations | Section 3.1, Table 4 | verified_from_pdf |
Verification status
- PDF preserved: yes (
fattuhi-1996-cement-based-materials-containing-shredded.pdf) - Text extracted: yes (
full_text/fattuhi-1996-cement-based-materials-containing-shredded_full_text.md) - DOI verified: yes (
10.1016/0950-0618(96)00004-9) - Metadata verified: yes (CBM, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 229–236, 1996)
- Claim-evidence matrix ready: yes
Cautions
- Early study on non-strain-hardening rubberized concrete; does not measure direct uniaxial tensile strain capacity or micromechanical PSH criteria.
- Demonstrates that untreated rubber particles have weak interfacial bonding with cement paste, causing significant compressive strength degradation.