An experimental study on axial behaviour of recycled plastic aggregate concrete columns

Abstract

Plastic production and the resultant plastic waste is increasingly challenging due to population growth and urbanization. This study focuses on plastic reuse as an aggregate in concrete to explore the recycling avenue in the construction industry. In addition, the work focused on the mechanical properties of eco-friendly concrete that uses plastic waste as a partial substitution for coarse aggregate. From this method the negative impact of plastic waste on the environment not only reduced, but it also helps avoid exploitation of natural resources for natural aggregate production. Several past works have explored the use of plastic as an aggregate in concrete; however, most works were focussed on the material level behavior. In this study, compressive behaviour of reinforced concrete columns consisting of recycled plastic aggregate concrete and exposed to axial loads is investigated. This paper provides the axial loading test results of 5 columns consisting of Recycled Plastic Aggregate Concrete (RPAC). The replacement rate in the M40 grade concrete is kept at 12%. Compressive performance of RPAC columns such as strain, failure mode, reinforcement along longitudinal direction and ties spacing are analysed. The results clearly show the potential of recycled plastic aggregates for use in columns with structural performance equivalent to that of conventional aggregate concrete.