Utilization of Waste Low Density Polyethylene in High Strengths Concrete Pavement Blocks Production
Utilization of Waste Low Density Polyethylene in High Strengths Concrete Pavement Blocks Production
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1. Introduction
Cement and aggregates, which are the most indispensable constituents used in concrete production are also vitae
materials needed for the construction industry. This has led to a continuous and increasing demand of natural
materials used for their production. Meanwhile, waste materials and by-products are being generated in vast
quantities causing detrimental effect to the environment. It is therefore imperative to utilize these waste materials
and by-products in construction applications. Recently, there have been successful applications of using local
waste materials as a partial replacement for cement or aggregates in manufacturing concrete products in some
parts of the world. Numerous researches on application of waste tyres as fine and coarse aggregates are available
in the literature (Eldin and Senouci, 1993; Topcu, 1995; Toutanji, 1996; Khatib and Bayomy, 1999; Ling, 2011;
Ohemeng and Yalley, 2013), which demonstrated the feasibility of using gargantuan amounts of waste tyre in
concrete products.
Among the waste materials, plastic is one of the most common environmental issues in the contemporary world.
Disposal of these plastics is considered to be a big challenge due to its non-biodegradable nature. Most of these
plastics ended up in landfills and give the worst effect when they are burnt. In order to mitigate these hurdles,
several researchers have made significant efforts to utilize waste plastics in concrete mixes. The density of
plastic concrete is anticipated to be lowered than ordinary concrete due to the low specific gravity of plastics. Al-
Manaseer and Dalal (1997) reported that the bulk density of plastic concrete decreased as the plastic content
increased. The density was reduced by about 2.5%, 6%, and 13% when plastic content of 10%, 30%, and 50%
respectively were used. Choi et al. (2005) investigated the effect of waste PET bottles aggregate on properties of
concrete. The waste plastic could reduce the weight by 2 – 6% of normal weight concrete. Marzouk et al. (2007)
studied the use of consumed plastic bottle as sand replacement and was noticed that the density lowered when
the PET aggregate exceeded 50% by volume of sand. Suganthy et al. (2013) also mentioned a decreased in
weight of concrete as the plastic content increased. It was noticed that there was linear relationship between
decrease in weight and increase in plastic content.
Several authors have also reported on the strengths of plastic concrete. It is observed that increase in plastic
aggregate content reduces the strengths of plastic concrete. Batayneh et al. (2007) mentioned that the
incorporation of ground plastic in concrete had effect on its compressive strength. The compressive strength was
reduced by about 23%, 35%, 50%, and 71% when fine aggregate of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% respectively were
substituted with plastic. Naik et al. (1996) investigated the effect of post-consumer waste plastic in concrete as a
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soft filer. The test results showed lower compressive strength of the mix made with plastic than the reference
mixture without plastic. Choi et al. (2005) also noticed a reduction in both compressive strength and splitting
tensile strength. The compressive strength was lowered by 33% when compared to that of normal concrete. For
the splitting tensile strength, increased in plastic content resulted in its reduction regardless of the water cement
ratio used. Marzouk (2007) further reported a reduction of compressive strength in plastic concrete when the
sand was replaced by plastic. Al-Manasser and Dalal (1997) again studied the effect of plastic on concrete mix.
It was noticed that the splitting tensile strength decreased as the plastic content increased. Batayneh et al. (2007)
also reported that the splitting tensile strength and the flexural strength of concrete mix slumped as the plastic
content went up. The splitting tensile strength was lowered by about 56% when 20% of the aggregate content
was replaced by plastic. The flexural strength was also decreased by about 40% when 15% of the aggregate was
substituted with plastic.
The information presented shows that little attention has been given to the potential use of low density
polyethylene (LDPE) as aggregate in concrete mixes, particularly for concrete pavement blocks. Therefore, the
current research is aimed at investigating the possibility of utilizing LDPE as partial replacement for sand in the
manufacturing of concrete pavement blocks (CPBs). The use of waste LDPE in CPBs will contribute to
providing environmentally friendly solution for the plastic disposal problems in Ghana and the world as a whole.
2. Experimental Studies
2.1 Materials
The materials used to develop the plastic concrete pavement blocks (PCPBs) in this study consist of ordinary
Portland cement (OPC), fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (stones), ground plastic (GP) and water. Figure 1
shows samples of the cement, sand, stones, and ground plastic used.
2.1.1 Cement
Ordinary Portland cement (CEM I 42.5 N) produced by Ghana cement works (Ghacem) that conformed to EN
197-1 and labelled OPC was used. The mean particle size (μm) and specific gravity of the OPC were 4 and 3.14
respectively. Table 1 displays the chemical composition of the OPC.
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nominal size, and were tested as per IS: 383 – 1970. Table 2 shows the physical properties of the materials used
whilst Figure 2 displays the graph of % passing of various materials used and sieve sizes. Potable water was used
for the preparation and curing of the PCPBs specimens.
100.00
90.00
80.00
PERCENTAGE PASSING %
70.00
60.00
stones
50.00
plastic
40.00
sand
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Sieve sizes (mm)
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2.2 Methods
2.2.1 Proportion of the Mix
The mix proportion was 1: 1.5: 3 (cement: sand: coarse aggregate). The percentage weight of the ground plastic
was 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% by volume of sand. Different water cement ratios (0.30, 0.35,
0.40, and 0.45) were used for the experiment. The plain concrete was used as a control test and denoted as Aj,
where j is the water cement ratio. The rest of the batches with ground plastic were denoted as Bi/j. Where B is
the batch with certain % of plastic, i is the volume percentage of ground plastic and j is the W/C ratio. Table 3
exhibits the mix proportion of the aggregates used for the PCPBs.
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formula; σ = 3/2 (LF / BD2), where σ is the flexural strength (N/mm2), L is the span length (mm), F is the
maximum applied load (N), B is the average width of the specimen (mm), and D is the average thickness (mm).
For the splitting tensile test, line loads were applied to the top and bottom of the PCPB using two steel bars.
Plywood strips were inserted between the bars and the blocks to ensure even load distribution. Upon failure, the
maximum applied load was recorded and the splitting tensile strength was calculated from the formula; T =
(0.868 × K × F) / (L × D). Where T is the splitting tensile strength (N/mm2), F is the load at failure (N), L is the
length of the failure plane (mm), D is the thickness of the specimen at the failure plane (mm), and K is the
correction factor for the thickness, calculated from the equation, K = 1.3 – 30 (0.18 – t/1000)2, t is the thickness
of specimen.
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50
45
Compressive strength
0%
40
10%
35
20%
(N/mm2)
30
25 30%
20 40%
15
50%
10
5 60%
0
7 14 28
Curing age (days)
Figure 4: Compressive strength of different curing ages for W/C ratio of 0.45
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(N/mm 2)
3 30%
40%
2
50%
1 60%
0
7 14 28
Curing age (days)
Figure 5: Splitting tensile strength of different curing ages for W/C ratio of 0.45
6 0%
Flexural strength
5 10%
20%
(N/mm 2)
4
30%
3
40%
2
50%
1 60%
0
7 14 28
Curing age (days)
Figure 6: Flexural strength of different curing ages for W/C ratio of 0.45
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12
R2 = 0.9915
Reduction in density (%)
10
Reduction in
8
density (%)
6
Linear
(Reduction in
4
density (%))
0
0 20 40 60 80
Plastic content (%)
20 % increase in
% increase in water
water
absorption
15 absorption
Linear (%
10 increase in
water
5 absorption)
0
0 50 100
Plastic content (%)
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60 Cs = 0.1244d - 277.96
(N/mm 2)
30
Linear
20
(Compressiv
10 e strength
(N/mm2))
0
2300 2400 2500 2600 2700
3
Density (d) (kg/m )
Figure 9: Relationship between density and compressive strength for W/C Ratio of 0.45
Table 6: Pearson correlation showing the statistical significance of the correlation between density
and compressive strength
Compressive
Density strength
Density Pearson Correlation 1 .982**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 7 7
Compressive strength Pearson Correlation
.982** 1
4. Conclusions
The tests results of this study demonstrate that there is great potential for the utilization of waste low density
polyethylene in concrete pavement block mixes, including 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. Based on these
results, the following can be concluded:
Both physical and mechanical properties of plastic concrete pavement blocks were affected when plastic was
used as a replacement for sand. Decrease in density, compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile
strength was observed when part of the sand was substituted with plastic. The rate of reduction in density and
strengths increased as the percentage of plastic increased. However, the water absorption of PCPBs increased as
the plastic content increased.
Although, the strengths of PCPBs decreased as the plastic content increased, compressive strengths of 20N/mm2,
30N/mm2, and 40N/mm2 which are satisfactory for pedestrians walk ways, light traffic and heavy traffic
situations respectively could be achieved if 10% - 50% plastic contents are used. The amount of waste plastic
being accumulated in the world has created a big challenge for their disposal. Utilizing them in concrete
pavement blocks will help to mitigate their effects.
References
Al-Manaseer, A.A. & Dalal, T.R. (1997), “Concrete Containing Plastic Aggregates”, Concrete International
19(8), 47 – 52.
American Society for Testing and Materials (2006), “Standard Test Method for Density, Absorption, and Voids
in Hardened Concrete”, ASTM C642, Philadelphia.
Batayneh, M., Marie, I. & Asi, I. (2007), “Use of Selected Waste Materials in Concrete Mixes”, Waste
Management 27(12), 1870 – 1876.
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ISSN 2224-5790 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0514 (Online)
Vol.6, No.5, 2014
British Standard Institution (1983), “Method for Determination of Density of Hardened Concrete”, BS 1881, Part
114, BSI London.
British Standard Institution (1986), “Method for Testing Compressive Strength of Concrete”, BS 6717, Part 1,
BSI London.
British Standard Institution (2001), “Precast Concrete Paving Blocks”, BS 6717, Part 1, BSI London.
Choi, Y.W., Moon, D.J., Chung, J.S. & Cho, S.K. (2005), “Effects of Waste PET Bottles Aggregate on
Properties of Concrete”, Cement and Concrete Research 35(4), 776 – 781.
Edin, N.N. & Senouci, A.B. (1993), “Rubber-Tyre Particles as Concrete Aggregate”, ASCE Journal of Materials
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IS: 383-1970, “Specifications for Coarse and Fine Aggregates from Natural Sources for Concrete”, Bureau of
Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.
Khatib, Z.R. & Bayomy, F.M. (1999), “Rubberized Portland Cement Concrete”, ASCE Journal of Materials in
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Marzouk, O.Y., Dheilly, R.M. & Queneudec, M. (2007), “Volarisation of Post-Consumer Waste in Cementitious
Concrete Composites”, Waste Management 27, 310 – 318.
Naik, T.R., Singh, S.S., Huber, C.O. & Brodersen, B.S. (1996), “Use of Post-Consumer Waste Plastics in
Cement-Based Composites”, Cement and Concrete Research 26, 1489 – 1492.
Ohemeng, E.A. & Yalley, P.P.K. (2013), “Models for Predicting the Density and Compressive Strength of
Rubberized Concrete Pavement Blocks”, Construction and Building Materials 47, 656 – 661.
Suganthy, P., Chandrasekar, D. & Kumar, S.P.K. (2013), “Utilization of Pulverized Plastic in Cement Concrete
as Fine Aggregate”, International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology 2(6), 1015 – 1019.
Topcu, I.B. (1995), “The Properties of Rubberized Concrete”, Cement and Concrete Research 25(2), 304 – 310.
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and Concrete Composites 18(2), 135 – 139.
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