Performance of reinforced concrete with waste plastic and rubber fiber

Abstract

Concrete is the most commonly used construction material. Its usage newlineby the communities across the globe is second to water. On the other hand, newlineaccumulation of unmanaged or non-decomposable waste like plastics, rubber, newlinetin, etc., from industries results in an increasing environmental threat. newlineConsequently, the use of unmanaged materials for preparation of concrete is newlinebeing actively encouraged. But the studies on the use of plastic and rubber as newlinefibers in cement concrete is limited. newlineThe present work concentrates on the mechanical and durability newlineproperties of Plasti-Fiber Reinforced Concrete (PFRC) and Rub- Fiber newlineReinforced Concrete (RFRC) prepared from hand shredded plasti- fibers of newlinesize 10mm x 50mm consisting Polyethylene (PE) plastic bags of 40 microns newlineand polyethylene teraphthalite (PET) bottles in the ratio of 1:4 and cycle tyre newlinerubber respectively. The shear behaviour of PFRC and RFRC beams have newlinebeen studied. newlineIn the first phase, compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile newlinestrength, impact strength and modulus of elasticity of M25 grade PFRC and newlineRFRC with 0.25% and 0.5% fibers were evaluated and compared with the newlineconventional concrete at the age of 7 and 28 days. It was observed that newlineincrease in the dosage of plasti-fiber decreased the compressive strength and newlineflexural strength of PFRC, but the increase in split tensile strength, impact newlinestrength and modulus of elasticity was directly proportional to the increase in newlinepercentage of plasti- fiber added. On the contrary the increase in compressive newlinestrength, flexural strength, split tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and newlineimpact strength was directly proportional to the increase in dosage of rub newlinefiber.In the second phase, the durability and shear behaviour of PFRC and newlineRFRC beams were studied. The percentage of weight loss and strength loss in newlinePFRC and RFRC specimens when exposed to alkali or acids were found to be newlinelow. This is because the fibers which contributes to the weight and strength of newlinethe fiber reinforced concrete is not affected by the alkali or aci