Strength and Durability of Concrete Using Sand Replacement with Plastic Waste Aggregate
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Abstract
This paper aims to study the effect of plastic waste as a partial fine aggregate replacement in concrete on compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, abrasion resistance, thermal conductivity, rapid chloride penetration, and bulk chloride diffusion of concrete with natural aggregate. There were three types of plastic waste aggregate: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Fine aggregate was partially replaced by plastic waste aggregate at 10%, 20%, and 30% by volume of fine aggregate. The water-to-binder ratio of 0.50 was used. The study results found that the compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength of concrete decreased as the amount of plastic waste aggregate replacement increased. Concrete containing 10% PVC achieved the highest strength values and had a compressive strength of 210 kg/cm², being applied for the construction of pavement and bicycle paths. By considering durability, it was found that utilizing plastic waste aggregates improved the abrasion resistance of concrete, particularly with 30% PVC, which provided the highest resistance. Thermal conductivity decreased significantly with the incorporation of plastic waste aggregates, with 10% PVC achieving the lowest value of 0.148 W/mK, representing an 83.3% reduction compared to the controlled concrete. Concretes containing 10% of PET or PP had high chloride penetrability, whereas concrete containing 10% PVC had moderate chloride penetrability.
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