Original Article

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems

and Structures
1–16
Mechanical strength and self-sensing Ó The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/1045389X20916788

composite containing conductive journals.sagepub.com/home/jim

rubber crumbs

Wenkui Dong1, Wengui Li1 , Kejin Wang2, Kirk Vessalas1

and Shishun Zhang3

Abstract
The effects of conductive rubber crumbs on the mechanical properties and self-sensing capacities of cementitious com-
posites are investigated in this study. The rubberized cementitious composites with five different contents of conductive
rubber crumbs are incorporated, ranging from 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by mass of fine aggregate. Under the uniaxial
cyclic compression, all the conductive rubber crumbs–filled cement composites exhibit excellent repeatability of piezore-
sistivity. The mortar with 20% conductive rubber crumbs at a water-to-binder ratio of 0.42 displayed the best piezoresis-
tive sensitivity. Based on the relative positions of conductive rubber crumbs in the rubberized cement mortar, three
conductive mechanisms were proposed for the conductive rubber crumbs, including complete isolation state, neighbour-
ing state and the contact state. The isolation state plays a dominant role when the content of the conductive rubber
crumbs is low, in which the piezoresistive behaviour is mainly controlled by the resistivity changes in cement matrix. In
the neighbouring state, pores or voids in the gaps between nearby conductive rubber crumbs make the conductive rub-
ber crumbs easier to connect, thus decreasing the resistivity under uniaxial compression. As for the contact state, the
decreased contact resistance and the absence of sand between conductive rubber crumbs lead to higher resistivity
changes under cyclic compression. The related results indicate that conductive rubber crumbs in cement mortar have
application potentials for structural health monitoring.

Keywords
Conductive rubber crumbs, cementitious composite, compressive strength, self-sensing, microstructure

1. Introduction ability (Xue and Shinozuka, 2013), noise isolation

capacity (Siddique et al., 2008), better durability to
Rubber products are one of extensively used materials aggressive environments (Deng et al., 2019; Thomas
from industrial to household. It has been reported that et al., 2015) and so on.
the disposal of rubber wastes without any treatment Inspired by this great application potential for
could cause severe environmental pollutions, public recycled rubbers in cementitious materials, mechanical
sanitary, as well as tremendous waste of resources properties, environmental durability and special
(Aiello and Leuzzi, 2010; Huang et al., 2007; Li et al.,
2019; Mohammadi et al., 2014; Shu and Huang, 2014).
1
Therefore, different from the commonly applied treat- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology
ments of calcination or burying in landfills, many stud- Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa
ies have been conducted to use recycled rubber crumbs State University, Ames, IA, USA
in cementitious composites, to strengthen the cementi- 3
School of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Huazhong University of
tious composites with certain superiorities. Some Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
experimental results indicated that the rubber crumbs–
Corresponding author:
filled cementitious composites have better damping Wengui Li, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of
properties (Skripki
unas et al., 2009), ductility (Wang Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
et al., 2016; Zheng et al., 2008), energy absorption Email: [email protected]
2 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

functionalities of rubber crumbs–filled cementitious and Han, 2009; Wang and Chung, 1998; Xiao et al.,
composites have attracted continuous attentions. Li 2010, 2011; Yoo et al., 2019) have studied the piezore-
et al. (2014) investigated the concrete filled with different sistivity of conductive cementitious composites with dif-
contents and particle sizes of rubber crumbs and found ferent conductors, such as carbon fibres, carbon
that the compressive strength of concrete decreased with nanotubes and carbon black, and concluded the
the increase in rubber content, and in particular, the improved sensing capacity for the composites rein-
smaller the rubber particles in the concrete, the worse forced by nanomaterials, especially for those possessing
the reduced ultimate compressive strength. By contrast, longer aspect ratios (Baeza et al., 2013; Chen et al.,
Youssf et al. (2014) partially replaced the fine aggregate 2004; Park et al., 2010). Dong et al. (2019e) and Han
by rubber crumbs and achieved the well-maintained et al. (2015a) summarized various factors, ranging from
compressive strength and slightly higher flexural strength raw materials, manufacturing procedures, loading
of cementitious composites with rubber crumbs ł 3.5%. regimes, resistivity measurements to environmental fac-
In terms of the improved durability, Thomas et al. tors, which influence the piezoresistivity of cementitious
(2016) found that the rubberized concrete possessed composites, and they compared results from different
higher resistance to aggressive environments, especially investigations with clarifications. Nevertheless, the con-
in the environments with long-term exposure to acids. ductive fillers to improve the conductivity or piezoresis-
Furthermore, Pham et al. (2019) developed the cementi- tivity of cementitious composites are either carbon-
tious composites with surface-treated rubber crumbs, based fillers or metal powders, and very few studies
and they obtained the improved acid and sulphate resis- involved the application potentials of rubber products.
tance compared to the composites filled with untreated Recently, with the development of composite material
rubber aggregates. Since the addition of rubber crumbs technology, special rubber products with excellent elec-
might induce air voids in cementitious composites, the trical conductivity were manufactured for modern
growth of sulphate reaction that produced crystals might industries such as electromagnetic shielding, microelec-
fill these small pores, thus reduce expansion and the tronic assembly and automobile (Mahapatra et al.,
degradation of rubberized cementitious composites 2008). To make full use of these conductive rubber
(Onuaguluchi and Banthia, 2019). Moreover, previous scrapes, attempts have been done on the improved elec-
investigations proved the higher abrasion and frost resis- trical properties of cementitious composites filled with
tance of rubberized cementitious composites than the conductive rubber fibres (Dong et al., 2019a, 2019b).
normal cementitious composites (Gesoğlu et al., 2014; The results demonstrated the potential of conductive
Wang et al., 2019; Yu et al., 2013). In addition to the rubber products to manufacture conductive cementi-
mechanical properties and durability, multifunctional tious composites. Furthermore, the improved piezore-
rubber crumbs–filled cementitious composites have also sistivity was found for the carbon black particles–filled
been studied. Holmes et al. (2014) found the decreased cementitious composites with the assistance of conduc-
workability, density and compressive strength of rubber tive rubber fibres (Dong et al., 2019d). These studies
crumbs–filled concrete and the dramatically improved first reveal the application of conductive rubber fibres
sound absorption ability in comparison with plain con- to improve the electrical conductivity and piezoresistiv-
crete. Corredor-Bedoya et al. (2017) further explored the ity of cementitious composites.
effect of rubber size and content on the noise absorption However, previous studies have never studied the
efficiency and detected the best energy transmission loss piezoresistive characteristics of cement mortar filled
for the cement mortar with 15% rubber crumbs and best with conductive rubber crumbs (CRC). In this study,
sound absorption for mortar with 25% rubber crumbs. the cement mortar mixed with CRC was proposed to
Currently, very few studies investigated the electrical replace fine sand at substitution rates ranging from
properties of rubber crumbs–reinforced cementitious 10% to 40% by weight. The self-sensing ability of these
composites. Since both the rubber crumbs and the rubberized cement mortars was mainly investigated.
cementitious materials are electrically isolated, the rub- The mechanical properties of the CRC-filled cement
berized cementitious composites illustrated higher elec- mortars were evaluated so as to explore their real engi-
trical resistivity than the plain ones (Si et al., 2017; neering application possibility. This study aims to pro-
Yung et al., 2013). Generally, one of the functionalities pose a new waste treatment for the rubber products as
of the conductive cementitious composites is for struc- distinguished from the common burying or calcination
tural health monitoring (SHM), due to their given to relieve the environmental stress from random dispo-
piezoresistivity. Some investigators (Chung, 2002; Cui sal and meanwhile take full advantage of the aban-
et al., 2017; Danoglidis et al., 2016; Ding et al., 2019; doned rubber wastes. The related results will provide a
Dong et al., 2019c; Han et al., 2007, 2011, 2015b; new alternative for recycling the conductive rubber
Konsta-Gdoutos and Aza, 2014; Liu et al., 2018; Ou wastes by mixing the rubber crumbs with cementitious
Dong et al. 3

Table 1. Physical properties and main compositions of General Purpose cement.

Appearance Fineness Initial setting Final setting Chloride (%) Portland Gypsum (%) Mineral
index (m2/kg) time (h) time (h) clinker (%) addition (%)

Grey 370–430 1.5 3 0.01 85–94 5–7 Up to 7.5

Table 2. Chemical compositions and the physical properties of silica fume.

Silicon Sodium Potassium as K2O Available Chloride (Cl) Sulphuric Moisture Bulk density
as SiO2 as Na2O alkali anhydride content (kg/m3)

89.6% 0.11% 0.23% 0.25% 0.16% 0.83% 1.5% 625

Table 3. Electrical, physical and mechanical properties of conductive rubber crumbs.

Conductive Density Volume resistivity Tensile strength Elongation (%) Shore Working
filler (g/cm3) (O cm) (MPa) hardness temperature (°C)

Carbon black 2.1 6 0.25 0.1 1.5 230 70 6 5 –55 to 160

Table 4. Physical and chemical properties of superplasticizer.

Properties Appearance Density under 20°C pH under 20°C Chloride content Air entrainment

Polycarboxylate Clear brown ~1.07 kg/L 561 No added chloride May slightly increase air bubble

composites to fabricate the conductive cement-based

sensor, which not only possess better deformability and
ductility but also provide self-sensing capacity.

2. Experimental programme
2.1. Raw materials
To prepare the cement mortar, commercially available
General Purpose cement and silica fume were chosen as
binders, with their physical properties and composi-
tions shown in Tables 1 and 2. Well-graded commercial
river sand was used as fine aggregate, and it has a parti-
cle size ranging from 75 mm to 4.75 mm. Since the
coarse aggregate may weaken the self-sensing ability of
the cementitious composites (Coppola et al., 2011; Figure 1. Grading curves and the mixture of conductive
Dong et al., 2019e), it was not considered in this study. rubber crumbs and fine sand.
Conductive rubber products were obtained in the form
of wire, and their electrical, physical and mechanical
properties are shown in Table 3. The water absorption the physical and chemical properties listed in Table 4.
of the rubber crumbs was ł 2%. To replace the fine Tap water was used throughout the whole mix design.
aggregate in the cement mortar, these rubber products
were first cut into small crumbs. The grading curves of
the cut CRC and fine sand are plotted in Figure 1. To 2.2. Specimen preparation
improve the workability of rubberized cement mortar, The rubberized cement mortar with five concentrations
polycarboxylate-based superplasticizer was used with of CRC ranging from 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%
4 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

Table 5. Mix proportion of rubberized cement mortar with various contents of CRC.

Index Cement Silica fume Fine sand CRC Water Superplasticizer (%)

M0* 0.9* 0.1 2.0 0 0.40 0.8

0.42
0.45
M10* 0.9 0.1 1.8 0.2 0.40 0.8
0.42
0.45
M20 0.9 0.1 1.6 0.4 0.40 0.8
0.42
0.45
M30 0.9 0.1 1.4 0.6 0.40 0.8
0.42
0.45
M40 0.9 0.1 1.2 0.8 0.40 0.8
0.42
0.45

CRC: conductive rubber crumbs.

M0 and M10 present the plain cement mortar and the rubberized cement mortar with 10% CRC, respectively; figures under the cement, silica fume,
sand, CRC, water and superplasticizer represent their ratios to the weight of binder, for example, 0.9* under cement presents the cement-to-binder
ratio of 0.9.

Figure 2. Mixing and casting procedures of rubberized cement mortar filled with CRC.

were used to replace fine aggregate. For all composites, ratios of 0.40, 0.42 and 0.45, respectively. The selected
the 10% (by mass) silica fume was used to replace W/B ratios were to ensure the acceptable workability
cement and the superplasticizer was 0.8% to the weight and compressive strength of the composites. The mix
of binder (cement and silica fume). The application of proportion of the rubberized cement mortar is listed in
silica fume can diminish the porosity of composites Table 5.
which is beneficial to the piezoresistive expression The manufacturing procedures of rubberized cement
(Dong et al., 2019a). Three groups of rubberized mortars were similar to that of the plain cement mor-
cement mortars were made at water-to-binder (W/B) tar, as depicted in Figure 2. The mixed solution of
Dong et al. 5

Figure 3. Schematic illustrations of experimental setup of compression machine, electrode, strain gauge and multimeter.

water and superplasticizer was first prepared in the self-sensing efficiency, the gauge factor (GF) represent-
Hobart mixer. Then, the premixed cement and silica ing the fractional changes in resistivity (FCR) under
fume and a mixture of sand and CRC were added into unit strain was calculated according to equation (2)
the mixer and mixed for 3 min. The moulds (50 3 50 (Han et al., 2017)
3 50 mm3) were cast and vibrated in the vibration
table for eliminating the air bubbles in the cement mor- FCR Dr
GF = = ð2Þ
tar. Two copper meshes were symmetrically embedded De r0 De
into the specimens as electrodes to measure the bulk
where GF is the gauge factor, FCR is the fractional
resistivity, with the distance of 30 mm. These specimens
changes in resistivity, De is the changes in the compres-
were demolded after 1 day curing in the curing cham-
sive strain and r0 and Dr are the original bulk resistiv-
ber under the temperature of 25°C 6 2°C and 95%
ity and resistivity changes, respectively.
relative humidity, and then further cured for another
27 days.
2.4. Testing methods
2.3. Self-sensing behaviour The flowability of the composites was determined by
the diffusion diameters in flow table, based on ASTM
The self-sensing behaviours of CRC-filled cement mor- C1437 (standard test method for flow of hydraulic
tar were evaluated through the relationship between cement mortar). The uniaxial compression tests were
bulk resistivity alterations to compressive stress in a carried out to depict the basic compressive strength
cyclic compression test, which was conducted by the and to evaluate the adhesion between CRC and cement
compression machine AGX50. The schematic illustra- matrix. To reduce the errors from individual differ-
tions of the compression machine, specimen, strain ences, ultimate compressive strength was achieved from
gauge and multimeter are displayed in Figure 3. The the average strength of three identical specimens by the
CRC-filled cement mortar was dried in oven at the compression machine of UH500 in UTS Tech Lab. The
temperature of 50°C for 1 day. The stress magnitude loading process is applied by deformation controlled
was 4 MPa, possessing six cycles to assess the repeat- mode, with the loading rate preset at 0.2 mm/min for
ability. The bulk resistivity was measured by a digital all CRC-filled cement mortar. The scanning electron
multimeter Siglent SDM3045X based on the following microscope (SEM) was conducted to observe the rela-
equation (1) tive locations between CRC particles.
RS
r= ð1Þ
L 3. Results and discussions
where R is the measured electrical resistance in ohm The flowability, compressive strength and electrical
(O), S is the cross-sectional area of specimens to copper resistivity of the CRC-filled cement mortar at three
meshes in square metre (m2) and L is the distance different W/B ratios were first studied, followed by
between two copper meshes in metre (m). To assess the the piezoresistive performances. Afterwards, the
6 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

rubber content was low (10%), the superiorities of the

hydrophobic rubber crumbs played the major role on
the improved workability. However, the effect gradu-
ally weakened as the increased rubber crumbs induced
higher inter-particle friction and led to the worse
flowability.

3.2. Compressive strength

The compressive strength of the CRC-filled cement
mortar at W/B ratios of 0.40, 0.42 and 0.45 is depicted
in Figure 5(a). The plain cement mortar without any
rubber fillers was used as the control group to study the
effect of CRC on the compressive strength of cement
mortar. It was seen that the compressive strength of
Figure 4. Flowability of conductive rubber crumbs–modified plain cement mortar decreased with the increase in W/B
cement mortar with different W/B ratios and rubber contents. ratios. As for the CRC-filled cement mortar, similar to
the previous studies on the conductive rubber fibres–
filled cement paste (Dong et al., 2019b), the compres-
piezoresistive mechanism was proposed based on the
sive strength of the cement mortar showed a monotone
various relationships between CRC.
decrease with the increase in CRC content. In the case
of the cement mortar filled with 40% CRC, the ultimate
3.1. Flowability compressive strengths decreased to less than 20 MPa
regardless of the W/B ratios. Furthermore, when the
The flowability of rubber-modified cement mortars was CRC content was higher than 20%, the cement mortar
normalized, and it is expressed as a ratio of the mea- at the W/B ratio of 0.42 started to possess the highest
sured diameter to the diameter of the cement mortar compressive strength compared to that of the cement
without rubber crumbs at the W/B ratio of 0.4. The mortar at the W/B ratios of 0.40 and 0.45.
flowability of plain cement mortar and rubberized Figure 5(b) displays the reduction rate of compres-
cement mortar with various rubber contents and W/B sive strength for the CRC-filled cement mortar. It could
ratios is shown in Figure 4. Generally, it was observed be observed that the cement mortar at the W/B ratios
that the flowability of modified cement mortar of 0.40 and 0.45 went through slight larger compressive
increased with the increase in W/B ratio. However, it strength reduction than the cement mortar at the W/B
shows that the effects of rubber crumbs on the flow- ratio of 0.42. It indicates that the content of CRC in
ability were not always decreased, since the flowability the cement mortar made less adverse effect on the
for the composites with 10% rubber replacement ratio cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.42. Despite the
slightly increased. Afterwards, with the increase in rub- characteristics of poor water absorption for CRC, it
ber crumbs replacement ratio, gradual decrease in flow- was reported that the added rubber crumbs cause
ability was observed for all composites at various W/B higher inter-particle friction and influence the workabil-
ratios. ity of cementitious composites (Güneyisi et al., 2004).
There are several reasons for the first improved Therefore, the dense structures of composites might be
workability followed by the decreased flowability with influenced when the workability is weakened. In other
the increase in rubber replacement ratio. It was found words, it demonstrates that both the defects caused by
that the hydrophobic rubber crumbs have poor water the weakened workability and the added CRC were
absorption ability compared to the fine aggregate, so responsible for the rapid compressive strength reduc-
that the cement particles involved in hydration have tion for the cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.40. As
more opportunities to react with the water molecule for the cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.45, it seems
and that is why the mixtures performed higher flowabil- that the compressive strength reduction was mainly due
ity (Su et al., 2015). Based on the study of Güneyisi to the combined actions by the excessive water content
et al. (2004), the added rubber crumbs have the possibil- and the increasing CRC. Overall, it could be deduced
ity to increase the inter-particle friction between rubber that the cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.42 was
crumbs and other mix components such as aggregate, more suitable to be filled with CRC, in which the com-
which contributes to the decreased workability for the pressive strength was slightly higher than the counter-
rubber crumbs–modified cement mortar. In addition, parts at W/B ratio of 0.40 or 0.45 when the filled CRC
the poor particle grading of rubber crumbs, as illu- content was larger than 10%. The reason might be due
strated in Figure 1, also contributed to the poor flow- to the relative better workability than the composites at
ability (Raffoul et al., 2016). In this study, when the W/B ratio of 0.40.
Dong et al. 7

(a) (b)
Figure 5. (a) Compressive strength and (b) reduction rate of strength for CRC-filled cement mortar at various W/B ratios.

substitution of cement matrix and fine aggregate to the

rubber crumbs. In particular, the boundaries between
cement matrix to rubber crumbs, sand to rubber
crumbs and especially the interfaces among rubber
crumbs (connected rubber crumbs) can generate high
stress concentration and damage the mechanical prop-
erties of composites.

3.3. Electrical resistivity

Figure 7(a) and (b) displays the electrical resistivity for
the rubberized mortar filled with various contents of
CRC at W/B ratios of 0.40, 0.42 and 0.45 with/without
Figure 6. Cross-sectional morphology of rubberized cement
mortar with (a) 20% CRC and (b) 40% CRC. drying treatment. For the composites without drying
treatment, it was seen that the electrical resistivity of
the mortar decreased with the increase in W/B ratios.
The lower resistivity for the composites at W/B ratios
To explain the reduced compressive strength, of 0.45 was mainly due to the higher water content in
Figure 6 shows the cross-sectional morphology of rub- the cement matrix. In terms of the effect of CRC, the
berized cement mortar filled with different contents of electrical resistivity of the rubberized mortar slightly
rubber crumbs. Since there were rare discrepancies varied when the added CRC reached 10%, where the
among composites at various W/B ratios, only the decreased resistivity for the composites at W/B ratios
composites at the W/B ratio of 0.42 were selected to of 0.40 and 0.45 and the increased resistivity for the
illustrate their macro-morphology. Generally, it was composites at W/B ratio of 0.42 could be observed.
seen that the rubber crumbs were evenly distributed in The discrepancy represented that the low replacement
the cement matrix for composites with both 20% and ratio of fine sand by CRC nearly made no differences
40% CRC. In addition, more number of separated rub- on the electrical resistivity of the rubberized cement
ber crumbs could be observed in the rubberized mortar mortar, in which the rubber crumbs were completely
with 20% CRC, while a larger amount of connected separated and enclosed by cement matrix. Afterwards,
rubber crumbs was found in the mortar with 40% with the increase in CRC content, the electrical resistiv-
CRC. These rubber crumbs possessing low strength ity of mortar monotonously decreased by more than
and elastic modulus, especially for the connected one order of magnitude when the CRC replacement
crumbs which nearly have no cohesion in the bound- ratio reached 40%. In terms of the dried composites in
aries, can easily produce a deformation under the exter- Figure 7(b), all the mortar showed dramatic increase in
nal forces. As a result, the stress concentration can be the electrical resistivity and the discrepancy between
caused in the boundary of the cement matrix to rubber composites at various W/B ratios greatly reduced after
crumbs, which leads to the generated cracks along the the drying treatment. It was obvious that the resistivity
rubber crumbs. Overall, the reduced compressive reduction mainly originated from the decreased water
strength mentioned above was exactly sourced from the content and pore solutions in the composites.
8 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

(a) (b)
Figure 7. Electrical resistivity for the rubberized cement mortar with various contents of CRC at different W/B ratios: (a) without
drying and (b) after drying.

Figure 8. Schematic diagram of conductive passages in rubberized cement mortar before and after drying treatments.

Therefore, since the mortar with higher W/B ratio of composites reinforced with commonly used conductive
0.45 contains larger water content, the drying treatment nanomaterials, it was seen that there never existed sud-
could decrease the water content to the utmost, and den and swift electrical resistivity reduction with the
that was why the resistivity increase reached the maxi- rising content of CRC from 10% to 40% for the com-
mum compared to the counterparts at lower W/B posites no matter drying or not. In other words, it
ratios. Moreover, it was observed that the mortar with means that the conductive passages penetrating the
30% rubber crumbs substitution rate illustrated much whole specimens never generated with the increase in
faster resistivity reduction than that with 20% rubber CRC. Even though the separated conductive passages
crumbs substitution rate. This was due to the fact that might be elongated and partially connected by means
more rubber crumbs could bring more air bubbles and of the contact CRC distributed in the cement matrix,
pores in the mixture, which were filled with conductive the electrical resistivity of the rubberized mortar could
solutions before drying and exhibited better conductiv- be reduced. As the rubberized mortar filled with 40%
ity. However, the pore solutions were considerably CRC had larger number of connected rubber crumbs
decreased after the specimens were dried and displayed as shown in Figure 6, it further demonstrated the fact
even higher resistivity than the mortar with lower rub- that the connected rubber crumbs should be responsi-
ber content. Still, it was seen that the rubberized ble for the decreased electrical resistivity.
cement mortar after drying gently decreased with the Figure 8 represents the effects of CRC to increase
increase in rubber crumbs, especially when the substitu- the electrical conductivity of the modified cement mor-
tion rate reached 40%. Different from the cementitious tar, incorporating the above-mentioned cross-sectional
Dong et al. 9

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 9. Fractional changes in resistivity for the rubberized cement mortar at a W/B ratio of 0.40 under cyclic compression: (a)
10% CRC, (b) 20% CRC, (c) 30% CRC and (d) 40% CRC.

morphology of rubberized cement mortar on the electrical conductivity probably improved with the dry-
macro- and microscales. Different from the initially ing process due to the decreasing surrounded water
existed conductive passages filled by conductive solu- content to reduce the contact resistance between nano-
tions, the added CRC in the mortar could work as particles (Dong et al., 2019c), the water loss content
another solid electron and ions carrier and promote the and disappeared conductive passages connecting
free movements of conductive ions. Moreover, the nearby rubber crumbs caused the worse conductivity
introduction of rubber crumbs in the mixing process for the rubberized cement mortar. It can demonstrate
could bring additional air bubbles and increase the por- that the enhanced conductivity of cementitious compo-
osity, which were normally filled with conductive solu- sites was not only simply due to the connected rubber
tions and elongate the conductive passages. Another crumbs but also with the assistance of conductive pore
characterization of rubberized cement mortar was due solutions.
to the different thermal and physical properties
between rubber crumbs and cement matrix. Hence, the
microcracks had higher possibility to appear between 3.4. Piezoresistive behaviour
two rubber crumbs. It means that the pore solutions 3.4.1. W/B ratio of 0.40. Figure 9 displays the electrical
that filled cracks could be easily connected in the assis- resistivity changes in CRC-filled cement mortar at the
tance of CRC, which directly leads to the electrical W/B ratio of 0.40 while subjected to uniaxial cyclic
resistivity reduction. Generally, the more CRC in the compression. Generally, the FCR decreased with the
cement mortar, the more numbers of connected micro- applied load and increased to the initial value during
cracks and the longer conductive passages the compo- the unload stage. It was observed that all the CRC-
sites possessed. In terms of the effect of water content, filled cement mortar showed repeatable electrical resis-
it could be deduced that the initial conductive passages tivity after six cycles of compression, demonstrating
disappeared due to the decreased pore solutions after that the rubberized cement mortar had excellent piezo-
drying treatment. Different from the cementitious com- resistive repeatability. In addition, the cement mortar
posites filled with conductive nanoparticles, whose filled with 40% CRC was provided with highest FCR,
10 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

Figure 11. Similar to the counterparts at the W/B ratio

of 0.40, the cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.42 illu-
strated excellent repeatability on the electrical resistiv-
ity when subjected to six cycles of compression. Even
though, there were very small permanent reduction in
the electrical resistivity for the cement mortar filled
with 30% and 40% CRC. It might be originated from
the permanent deformations for the cement mortar,
due to the weakened compressive strength and elastic
modulus caused by rubber crumbs. As for their magni-
tude of resistivity variations, higher FCR was observed
than that of the cement mortar at the W/B ratio of
0.40. Also, the cement mortar filled with more CRC
Figure 10. Fractional changes in resistivity as a function to exhibited higher amplitude to change their electrical
compressive strain for the rubberized cement mortar at a W/B resistivity under compressive stress. It was observed
ratio of 0.40. that the cement mortar filled with 10%–40% decreased
their electrical resistivity under uniaxial stress of 4 MPa
by the average values reaching approximately 2.45%. by approximately 1.99%, 2.37%, 2.45% and 2.58%,
However, for the counterpart filled with 10% CRC, the respectively. Since all the cement mortars are dried
FCR at the stress peak was only 1.48%. It can be before the piezoresistive test, the relatively higher FCR
deduced that the cement mortar filled with higher con- for the cement mortar at the W/B of 0.42 is more likely
tent of CRC had higher tendency to alter their electri- due to the larger deformation of the cement mortar,
cal resistivity in the same stress environment. The rather than the influence by pore solutions.
cement mortars filled with 20% and 30% CRC, whose Figure 12 illustrates the relationship between FCR
FCR was very similar, reached approximately 2.07% and compressive strain for the CRC-filled cement mor-
and 2.14%, respectively. tar at the W/B ratio of 0.42. Not only the compressive
Based on equation (2), GF calculated for piezoresis- strain of the cement mortar increased with the increase
tive sensitivity evaluation is equal to the slope of the in CRC content but also the strain of cement mortar
curves of FCR to compression strain. Therefore, the itself became higher than that of the cement mortar at
FCR as a function to the compressive strain for the the W/B ratio of 0.40. It demonstrated the above expla-
cement mortar filled with different contents of CRC is nation that the permanent resistivity reduction might
plotted, as shown in Figure 10. It was seen that the be due to the permanent deformation of cement mor-
compressive strain of cement mortar increased with the tar, since they had larger compressive strain, especially
increase in CRC, illustrating the better deformability for the composites filled with 30% and 40% CRC.
for the cement mortar filled with more CRC. This is However, the GFs for the rubberized cement mortar
consistent to the previous studies on the rubberized were figured out, with the values of 84.2, 87.9, 65.0 and
cement mortar, due to the lower elastic modulus of rub- 54.9 for the 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% CRC-filled
ber crumbs (Khaloo et al., 2008; Pham et al., 2018; cement mortars, respectively. It shows that the cement
Siddika et al., 2019). Moreover, the GFs were calcu- mortar filled with 20% CRC was provided with largest
lated from the fitting lines, with the values of 72.2, 77.6, piezoresistive sensitivity, similar with the results of the
62.7 and 57.6 for the cement mortar filled with 10%, cement mortar at the W/B of 0.40.
20%, 30% and 40% CRC, respectively. It was found
that the cement mortar filled with 20% CRC possessed
3.4.3. W/B ratio of 0.45. Figure 13 shows the FCR for
the best piezoresistivity. In comparison with the com-
the rubberized cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.45
mercial strain gauge which has the GF of 2, the 20%
under the stress magnitude of 4.0 MPa. Generally, all
CRC-filled cement mortars are given nearly 39 times
the cement mortars expressed satisfactory repeatability
higher sensitivity to monitor the compressive deforma-
on the electrical resistivity. However, slight resistivity
tions. In particular, the reason for the decreased sensi-
increases along with the loading procedure were
tivity for the cement mortar filled with more than 20%
observed for the cement mortar filled with 10% and
CRC is mainly due to the considerable increase in com-
20% CRC. Cement mortar filled with 30% and 40%
pressive strain.
CRC showed much better repeatability on the electrical
resistivity. In terms of capacity to alter electrical resis-
3.4.2. W/B ratio of 0.42. The electrical resistivity changes tivity, the cement mortar at the W/B ratio of 0.45 had
under cyclic compression for the rubberized cement lower FCR to compressive stress than that of the mor-
mortar at the W/B ratios of 0.42 is depicted in tar at the W/B ratio of 0.42, with the average values of
Dong et al. 11

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 11. Fractional changes in resistivity for the rubberized cement mortar at a W/B ratio of 0.42 under cyclic compression:
(a) 10% CRC, (b) 20% CRC, (c) 30% CRC and (d) 40% CRC.

mortar with lower W/B ratios, higher compressive

strain was observed for the cement mortar at the W/B
ratio of 0.45. In addition, since the FCR was relatively
lower, the GFs for the cement mortar filled with 10%,
20%, 30% and 40% CRC reached approximately 69.0,
72.2, 66.4 and 56.3, respectively.

3.5. Mechanism discussion

Since the majority of water content was dried before
piezoresistive test, the electrical resistivity changes in
the CRC-filled cement mortar are mainly from the elec-
trical resistivity changes between nearby CRC. As a
result, the microstructural morphology of the CRC-
Figure 12. Fractional changes in resistivity as a function to
filled cement mortar is illustrated in Figure 15, where
compressive strain for the rubberized cement mortar at a W/B
ratio of 0.42.
the relative positions between nearby CRC and their
relationship to the electrical resistivity changes can be
explained. Generally, the relative positions of CRC in
1.58%, 2.09%, 2.32% and 2.38% for the cement mor- the cement mortar can be divided into (1) the state of
tar filled with 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% CRC, complete isolation, (2) the closely neighbouring state
respectively. and (3) the complete contact state.
The relationship between FCR and the compressive
strain for the composites at the W/B ratio of 0.45 is 3.5.1. Complete isolation. The morphology of the
shown in Figure 14. In comparison with the cement complete isolation between CRC can be found from
12 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 13. Fractional changes in resistivity for the rubberized cement mortar at a W/B ratio of 0.45 under cyclic compression: (a)
10% CRC, (b) 20% CRC, (c) 30% CRC and (d) 40% CRC.

compression are mainly induced by the deformation of

cement matrix. Based on the literature, the dense micro-
structures of the cement matrix under cyclic compres-
sion do cause electrical resistivity changes. However,
the FCR for the cement matrix itself is very low, even
for the cement mortar that never dried before the piezo-
resistive test (Dong et al., 2019e; Zhang et al., 2019).
Therefore, for the 10% CRC-filled cement mortar with
a large proportion of the electrical resistivity changes
originating from the compressed cement matrix, lowest
FCR is monitored in comparison with the cement mor-
tar with higher contents of CRC, because most CRC
particles are isolated in the cement mortar.

Figure 14. Fractional changes in resistivity as a function to

compressive strain for the rubberized cement mortar at a W/B 3.5.2. Neighbouring state. Another relative position
ratio of 0.45. between CRC of neighbouring state can be illustrated
in Figure 15(b), with different magnifications in the
magnified images. It shows that CRC-3 is completely
Figure 15(a) with different magnifications in subimages isolated from CRC-4 and CRC-5 by cement matrix,
from 1 to 3. It was observed that the cement matrix similar with the relationship between CRC-1 and CRC-
totally intrudes into the space between CRC-1 and 2. However, for CRC-4 and CRC-5, their locations are
CRC-2. In these situations, since the CRC particles are much closer and nearly get contact. Since the distance
never in contact with each other in the cement mortar, between these rubber crumbs is really close, the cement
the electrical resistivity changes under uniaxial matrix becomes difficult to intrude into the gaps during
Dong et al. 13

(a)

(b)

(c)
Figure 15. Microstructural morphology of CRC-filled cement mortar: (a) complete isolation, (b) neighbouring state and
(c) complete contact.

the casting procedures, resulting in micropores or loose 3.5.3. Complete contact. As for the complete contact state
microstructures in this area. Hence, the intrusive of CRC in the cement mortar, CRC-6 and CRC-7 had
cement matrix with loose microstructures is easily dam- excellent connections with each other, as shown in
aged after subjected to uniaxial compression, as shown Figure 15(c). Larger magnification on the interfacial
in Figure 15(b-3). In such a situation, the neighbouring transaction zones (ITZs) of the connected CRC indi-
CRC have higher possibility to connect with each other cates that only a small amount of cement matrix can
under compression and cause the electrical resistivity intrude into the boundary region without the presence
reduction. In this study, the CRC in the neighbouring of fine aggregate, as shown in Figure 15(c-2). It has
state gradually increased with the increase in CRC. been reported that the self-sensing cementitious compo-
That is why the FCR of CRC-filled cement mortar sites with the absence of aggregate normally are pro-
increased with the increased CRC content. However, vided with higher piezoresistivity and self-sensing
due to the loose microstructures of cement matrix in ability (Dong et al., 2019e), hence the complete contact
the gaps between neighbouring CRC, permanent elec- state of CRC with only a thin film of cement paste in
trical resistivity reduction might occur because of the the boundaries can significantly alter the electrical resis-
damaged nonconductive cement matrix and the connec- tivity under uniaxial compression. In addition, for the
tion between neighbouring CRC. That is why several cement mortar with excessive content of CRC, it can be
cement mortar permanently decreased the electrical predicted that there generates a thoroughly connected
resistivity after the uniaxial compression. CRC without the intruded cement matrix. Since the
14 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

CRC have better elasticity and deformability compared caused by the pores or loose microstructures in
to the cement matrix, the cement mortar under uniaxial the gaps of the neighbouring CRC.
compression makes the nearby CRC compress with 5. The optimal GF of CRC-filled cement
each other and alters the contact resistivity between mortar reached approximately 87.9 for the
CRC. Also, the compressed CRC themselves can cement mortar filled with 20% CRC at the W/B
slightly lower the electrical resistivity due to the closer ratio of 0.42. The piezoresistive sensitivity of
conductive fillers and thus contribute to the FCR for the CRC-filled cement mortar was 44 times
the cement mortar under uniaxial compression. Overall, higher than the commercial strain gauge. It has
the piezoresistivity of dried CRC-filled cement mortar good prospects for application in the concrete
is mainly brought by the aforementioned three conduc- self-sensing structures and self-sensing pavements.
tive mechanisms. The predominance of electrical con- 6. Three relative positions among CRC in the
ductivity by CRC is increased in the cement mortar cement mortar were proposed, and they were
with the increase in the CRC content, which causes the complete isolation, neighbouring to the con-
higher FCR under uniaxial compression. nection state. As for the complete isolation, the
piezoresistivity mainly came from the resistivity
changes in the cement matrix. The neighbouring
4. Conclusion state caused pores or loose microstructures in
Cementitious composites filled with CRC were first the ITZs of CRC, which led to easier contact
investigated in this study, in terms of flowability, com- between nearby CRC and decreased the electri-
pressive strength and self-sensing behaviours. The cal resistivity. The complete connection reduced
related conclusions can be drawn up as follows: the contact resistance between CRC under uni-
axial compression, which led to the higher FCR
1. The flowability of cement mortar containing of the mortar with high content of CRC.
CRC was first increased and then decreased
with the increase in rubber crumb replacement Declaration of conflicting interests
ratio for fine aggregate. Based on the current The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
results, the CRC content of 10% and 20% respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this
could be applied for the cement mortar with article.
acceptable workability, since they either
improve or slightly hinder the flowability of the
Funding
composites.
2. The compressive strength of the CRC-filled The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
cement mortar decreased with the increase in port for the research, authorship and/or publication of this
CRC content. For the cement mortar with 40% article: This study was financially supported by the Australian
Research Council (ARC; Grant No. DE150101751);
CRC, the ultimate compressive strength was
University of Technology Sydney Research Academic
lower than 20 MPa for all cement mortar Program at Tech Lab (UTS RAPT); University of
regardless of the W/B ratios. It indicates that Technology Sydney Tech Lab Blue Sky Research Scheme; the
the filled CRC content is better controlled Systematic Projects of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Disaster
within 30%, which possesses both satisfactory Prevention and Structural Safety, Guangxi University, China
compressive strength (.25 MPa) and self- (Grant No. 2019ZDX004); and State Key Laboratory of
sensing efficiency. Subtropical Building Science, South China University of
3. The electrical resistivity of the rubberized Technology, China (Grant No. 2019ZA06).
cement mortar almost remained constant when
filled with 10% CRC, while it gradually ORCID iD
decreased with the increase in CRC content
Wengui Li https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4651-1215
from 10% to 40%. The former was due to the
isolated rubber crumbs, and the latter was References
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