Improving Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Members Containing Waste Plastic by Adding Shredded Paper

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  Daoud S. Manshad   |      Fareed H. Majeed   |      Majed A. Khalaf   |   

doi: https://doi.org/10.33971/bjes.23.2.15

This study is to investigate the effect of partially replacement of coarse aggregate by waste plastic and using the paper sludge as additive material at concrete, on the hardened concrete properties and its impact on structural behavior of the reinforced concrete members (slab, column, and beam). Plastics and paper are widely used in daily life in huge amounts. Both incineration and landfilling are options for disposing of plastic and paper waste, but either one could be harmful to the environment. Therefore, reducing waste or increasing its value can reduce pollution and reduce disposal costs. The variables of the experimental program include the ratio of waste plastic and paper sludge, the used ratios for plastic and paper were (5%, 10%, and 15%) by volume. Hardened concrete properties were investigated for concrete include: flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, and splitting tensile strength. For each structural reinforced member, the (Load – Deflection) curve has been extracted. The study shows that the plastic waste negatively affects most of concrete properties. The research indicates that using waste plastic in reinforced concrete members with percentage of (5% and 10%) by volume as a partially replacement of coarse aggregate giving acceptable results. However, when adding (5%) by mixture volume of waste paper in reinforced concrete members, the load-deflection behavior and ultimate load-bearing capacity have been improved. In general, using waste plastic and paper sludge in concrete mixtures lead to reduction in ultimate load ranging between (4.62%-10.82%) for slab under point load, (4.85-18.99%) slab under distributed load, (3.72%-12.21%) column, and (1.78%-7.16%) beam specimens respectively.