Proceedings »
Plastics are materials with multiple desirable properties including low density, durability, low fabrication cost, and ability to be molded in different forms, which favor their application in the automotive, aeronautical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Further, plastics are categorized as recyclable, reusable, and disposable. As a consequence, the broad demand of plastic products have caused a dramatic accumulation of this material waste. In effect, in Puerto Rico not all plastics are recycled and most end in the landfills and the ocean. To counter this environmental problem, different concrete bricks was designed with replacement of aggregates with plastic chips. This research particularly focused on the ones with the denominations of PET carbon, parts of plastic pallets, and unsorted plastic mixtures. The concrete mix designs for the brick are composed of Portland cement, sand, plastic, and water. Mechanical characterization is performed via compressive tests according to the ASTM C55 14a standard. As expected, the use of plastic in large quantities reduces the compressive strength of the bricks. Nevertheless, depending of the plastic type used the minimum strength, as established in the standard, could be achieved. The maximum plastic percentage should not be higher than 30% by brick volume to obtain a manageable and strong brick. The compressive test results exceeds 2,000 psi, minimum value for the concrete solid bricks. In conclusion, the results of this research justify the use of plastic in concrete masonry bricks. As future work, mixes for structural concrete with the incorporation of fly ash and plastic will be studied. This studies contemplate the used of silica nanoparticles to improve concrete performance. This work was made possible with the generous support of Reciclaje del Norte Ltd. and the National Science Foundation under grant number HRD 1345156 (CREST program).
Author(s):
Jossmarlyn Montanez Rivera
Civil Engineering
CREST
Puerto Rico
Hildelix Soto Toro
Civil Engineering
CREST
Puerto Rico
Oscar Marcelo Suárez
Department of Engineering Sciences and Materials
CREST
Puerto Rico