Mechanical and acoustical characteristics of bound rubber granulate

A relatively large number of different materials aimed at binding rubber granulate (crumb rubber) were produced. Then, the most important mechanical and acoustic properties of the optimal formulations were determined. It was found that both the type of polymer used in binding crumb rubber as well as the correspondent mesh size strongly influence the overall properties of the agglomerate. In general, the best results, in terms of flexural strength and of acoustic absorption, were obtained using a mixture of 20 wt.% of binders (Vert Oxyde resin and Buche-pore, in a 70:30 w/w ratio) with finer granules (0.5–1.5 mm). The acoustic absorption of bound crumb rubber bodies is better than that provided by the commonly used light concrete material.