Deformability of Mortars Incorporating Polyurethane Foam Waste under Cyclic Compression Fatigue Tests

An experimental analysis is performed on the fatigue behaviour of composite specimens made with Portland cement, sand, water, and polyurethane foam wastes. Different mixtures were firstly prepared through the substitution of different amounts of sand by equivalent volumes of polyurethane. The test pieces underwent cyclic compression tests, to study the deformability of different strengths of mortars under fatigue. A total of 2,000 cycles of loading and unloading, estimated at between 55% and 65% of the breakage load were applied to each specimen. The experimental results indicate that the elastic properties of the polyurethane mortars remained practically constant in comparison with the standard mortar samples. In addition, a comparative study of the mechanical properties of these mortars was conducted before and after each fatigue test. Their compressive strength showed no reduction in ultimate compressive resistance, indicating good resistance to fatigue.