Open Engineering 2023; 13: 20220468

Research Article

Aliaa Rasheed*, Shatha Sadiq and Aseel Shaaban

Effect of varied waste concrete ratios on the

mechanical properties of polymer concrete
https://doi.org/10.1515/eng-2022-0468 second element consumed after water on the planet due
received March 23, 2023; accepted May 10, 2023 to its efficiency and high quality of endurance. Hydraulic
Abstract: Polymer concrete (PC) was developed at the end cement, water, fine and coarse aggregates, air, and occa-
of the 1950s and gained popularity in the 1970s for precast sionally additives are often used proportionately to make
parts, flimsy floor coverings, and repairs. Due to its superior it. Polymer concrete (PC), made of polyester, is a composite
performance over traditional Portland cement concrete, material of aggregates joined by resins [1]. According to
which offers many benefits, including mechanical proper- reports, PC has been employed for building cladding and
ties, quick hardening, and durability. In this article, poly- other uses. Later on, it was often employed as a repair
meric concrete was made using a mixture of sand and medium because of its high strength, perfect binding to
epoxy, and different proportions of sand were replaced cement concrete and steel reinforcement, fast drying time,
with crushed concrete waste. This study found that the ideal and endurance [2]. Polymer-modified cement concrete has
ratio between resin and fine aggregate was 23% resin to 77% gained popularity and demonstrated superior deform-
fine aggregate in terms of the total weight of the combination to ability, cohesiveness, durability, wear resistance, and imper-
get the best dispersion of fine aggregate. Waste concrete replaced meability to regular concrete. However, when utilized for
5, 10, 15, and 20% of aggregate in PC, respectively. It was further specialty pavements, it is constrained by expensive polymer
demonstrated that increased waste concrete aggregate content in pricing, a convoluted production process, and low mechan-
PC increased the 28-day compressive strength by 7.7, 13.44, 16.8, ical indices in areas like bending-tensile strength, polymer
and 18.97%, respectively; flexural strength increased by 16.68, toughness, and impact resistance [3]. Unsaturated polyester
25.32, 37.16, and 47.71% at 28 days’ age; and direct tensile strength resin, epoxy resin, methyl methacrylate, polyurethane resin,
was higher than the reference mixture by values of 3.41, 17.21, furan resin, and urea-formaldehyde resin are the most often
23.54, and 30.38% at 28 days age. The findings recommended utilized resins for PC. The aggregates and fillers in PC
using recycled fine aggregate on PC and suggested a 20% replace- usually are more than 75% and often exceed 80%. These
ment ratio as an optimum percentage. aggregates are often considered to be harmless specks
throughout the polymer matrix. The aggregates used are
Keywords: polymer concrete, epoxy resin, waste concrete, often separated into two categories based on their particle
fine recycled aggregate size: coarse aggregates (having a 5 mm diameter or bigger)
and fine aggregates (having a 5 mm diameter or less) [4,5].
Today, epoxy resins – a group of low-molecular-weight pre-
polymers – are among the most widely used thermosetting
1 Introduction
reactive resins. They can interact with one another or with
other hardening substances. Depending on the hardener’s
Concrete is the most important building material, which
chemical composition and curing circumstances, it may
cannot be dispensed with during construction. It is the
acquire desirable characteristics such as excellent chemical
and mechanical toughness, extreme flexibility, high adhe-

* Corresponding author: Aliaa Rasheed, Department of Civil sive strength, and high thermal and electrical resistance. It
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology, Baghdad, has been claimed that epoxy resins have superior mechan-
Iraq, e-mail: [email protected] ical properties to polyester and vinyl [6,7]. However, because
Shatha Sadiq: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of using a polymer costs more than using Portland cement, poly-
Engineering, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq,
mers should only be used when the higher cost is justified by
e-mail: [email protected]
Aseel Shaaban: Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of
better performance [8].
Engineering, University of Technology, Baghdad, Iraq, Waste material reduction, reuse, and recycling have
e-mail: [email protected] received much attention. Typically, recycling technologies

Open Access. © 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2  Aliaa Rasheed et al.

are divided into four categories. The most common strate- Table 1: Physical properties of epoxy resin
gies involve returning something to its original form.
Processing an old product into a new one with a different Property Evaluation
level of physical and/or chemical qualities is known as Pot life 90 min @ 20°C
secondary recycling. Tertiary recycling entails pyrolysis 40 min @ 35°C
and hydrolysis, transforming trash into fundamental che- Specific gravity 1.04
micals or fuels. Quaternary recycling is the process of Viscosity 1.0 poise @ 35°C
burning garbage to produce energy [9,10]. According to Material’s datasheet.
Silva et al. [11], RCAs (recycled concrete aggregates) and
mixed recycled aggregates are the two primary types of
2.2 Sand
RAs that can be recovered from CDW. The first, which is
more frequently generated and is very heterogeneous, is
4.75 mm maximum grain size of Al-Ukhaider sand was
hardly ever suitable for use in structural concrete [12–14].
used. Before being added to the mixture, the sand was
On the other hand, due to their lower heterogeneity
dried for 24 h at 100°C in a furnace oven. The fine aggre-
and improved mechanical properties, RCAs are anticipated
gate’s gradation and characteristics are according to ASTM
to be utilized to manufacture structural concrete, as they
C33/C33M-18 [21] standards, as displayed in Table 2.
contain a minimum recycled concrete percentage of at
least 90% [15]. Although the RCAs can be considered similar
materials because they are made of original aggregate and 2.3 Waste concrete
mortar, they generally have distinct qualities because they
rely on the original concrete’s characteristics. It must be The waste concretes utilized in this investigation were
emphasized that concrete prepared with RCAs has lower thoroughly washed, dried, and then pulverized with a
density and workability in its fresh condition and lower hand-hammer crusher until they were the consistency of
mechanical qualities and durability performance [16,17]. Using sand. Figure 1 shows the crushed recycled waste concrete.
waste as a replacement for aggregate revealed that sawdust- The recycled waste concrete’s gradation is also according to
and PET-chopped concrete behaved better when compressed. ASTM C33/C33M-18 [21] standards, as displayed in Table 3.
The PC’s compressive strength with waste replacement was
greater than that of the control mix when sawdust and chopped
PET were incorporated at 25, 50, and 75%, respectively. When 2.4 Mix proportions
failing, both varieties of waste-replacement PC showed a steady
emergence of fissures until destruction [18,19]. Environmental Five mixtures were produced in the lab. Four different
and financial advantages abound when using RCA (recycled mixtures were produced to test the impact of waste con-
concrete aggregate) instead of NA (natural aggregate). The crete on specific mechanical characteristics of PC; the first
environment and the energy/fuel used for hauling can be pre- mixture acts as a control. Samples were chosen based on
served by lowering the consumption of NAs and the require- the weight ratios of regular sand, resin, and debris. According
ment to create new mining regions. However, using RCA to the optimal PC1 sample, the proportions of sand, epoxy
reduces building trash that often ends up in landfills [20]. The
study mainly aimed to examine the mechanical characteristics
of epoxy resin concrete prepared without and with waste con- Table 2: Sand’s grading and some characteristics
crete as an aggregate.
Sieve Cumulative Limits following
size (mm) passing (%) ASTM C33/C33M-13

4.75 100 95–100

2 Materials 2.36 88.84 80–100
1.18 73.59 50–85
600 55.34 25–60
2.1 Epoxy resins 300 21.94 5–30
150 4.83 0–10
A typical epoxy will have epoxy resin and hardener. The Specific gravity = 2.58
research herein used Nitofill EPLV, a low-viscosity epoxy Fineness modulus = 2.49
Absorption = 1.72%
injectable resin. Table 1 lists its physical properties. They
Sulfate content = 0.21
must be combined with a hardener to cure this problem.
 Effect of varied waste concrete ratios on the mechanical properties  3

Figure 1: Recycled waste concrete.

applying 25 blows per layer across three layers producing

Table 3: Recycled waste concrete grading 40 × 40 × 160 mm3 prisms and 50 × 50 × 50 mm3 cubes. The
samples were molded after 24 h of casting. Then, they were
Sieve Cumulative Limits following ASTM
dried at 23°C, the typical room temperature. Figure 2 illus-
size (mm) passing (%) C33/C33M-18
trates the demolding and curing process of PC specimens.
4.75 100 95–100
2.36 83.32 80–100
1.18 78.06 50–85
600
300
49.86
24.98
25–60
5–30
3 Results and discussion
150 6.34 0–10
Table 5 presents the PC testing results

resin, and scrap concrete were 72, 22, and 5%. The mixing
proportions for all mixtures are shown in Table 4.
3.1 Flow test

2.5 Casting, compaction, and curing The workability was determined using samples of refer-
ence mixes and specimens comprising varying percentages
All mixtures were blended following the requirements of of waste concrete. Figure 3 shows the flow table testing
ASTM C305-14 [22]. A normal rod condensed the concrete, process. The ASTM C 1437-01 [23] flow table test evaluated

Table 4: PC’s mixing ratios

Mix ID Sand (g) Resin (g) The weight percentage of the sand replacement ratio (%) Waste concrete (g)

Control 798 237 0 0

PC1 758 237 5 40
PC2 718 237 10 80
PC3 678 237 15 120
PC4 638 237 20 160
4  Aliaa Rasheed et al.

Figure 2: De-molding and curing of polymer mortar specimens.

Table 5: PC characteristics

Mix ID Flow (%) Compressive strength (MPa) Flexural strength (MPa) Direct tensile strength (MPa)

Days

7 14 28 7 14 28 7 14 28

Control 68 47.4 49.3 50.6 9.5 9.88 10.9 5.52 6.86 7.9
PC1 67 48.1 51.2 54.5 10.3 11.4 12.5 5.53 7.63 8.17
PC2 66.5 50.3 54.1 57.4 11.5 12.6 13.6 6.1 7.95 9.26
PC3 63 52.8 56.3 59.1 12.7 13.7 14.9 7.38 8.39 9.76
PC4 62.5 54.6 57.3 60.2 13.8 14.8 16.1 8.66 9.95 10.3

Figure 3: Flow-table testing process.

 Effect of varied waste concrete ratios on the mechanical properties  5

70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
PC-Ref. R.S.C 5% R.S.C 10% R.S.C 15% R.S.C 20%

Figure 4: Influence of waste concrete as a partial replacement of sand on the flow table percentage.

the mortar’s workability. Figure 4 shows the results of concrete, as indicated in Table 4 and Figure 6, while it will
using waste aggregate instead of regular concrete. The grow more significantly after 28 days with a value of 7.7%. The
flow ratio was slightly lowered due to the use of waste percentage of compressive strength at 7 days of age was
concrete. The flow ratio decreases as the proportion of equivalent to 6.12% when 10% of waste concrete was utilized.
waste concrete rises. This reduced flow ratio results from However, a 13.44% rise was seen at the 28-day curing age. As
waste concrete’s greater water absorption capabilities than the replacement rate increased, so did the material’s compres-
natural sand [24]. Therefore, increasing the concrete waste sive strength. The age-related compressive strength at 7 days
ratio in the mixture will decrease its flow ability, making it was equivalent to 11.39% and grew to 16.8% at 28 days when
more difficult to mold. However, in general, the specimens 15% of waste concrete was used. Most notably, with a 20% glass
with the used percentages of concrete waste exhibit accep- waste replacement rate, the compressive strength increased by
table workability in handling, placement, and finishing. 15.19% after 7 days and 18.97% after 28 days.

3.2 Compressive strength

The ASTM C109/C109M-20 standards [25] were followed for

the compression strength test. Using cubical molds with
dimensions 50 mm × 50 mm × 50 mm and a digital com-
pressive machine manufactured by ELE International with
a load rate of 15,000 kN/min (Figure 5), the average of three
samples was calculated for each testing age. As anticipated,
the replacement of the waste concrete had a favorable
impact on the compressive strength due to the waste con-
crete-aggregate particles still being well-ringed by the polymer
matrix and comparatively dispersed. To develop compressive
strength in the polymer mix, the waste concrete aggregate may
be used to strengthen micro-crack closure [26]. This occurrence
may cause all mixes’ enhanced compressive strength com-
pared to the control mix. This mechanism may be why all
mixes’ compressive strengths are higher than they were with
the control mix. The compressive strength will improve slightly
at 7 days with an increase of 1.48% when using 5% waste Figure 5: Compressive strength testing process.
6  Aliaa Rasheed et al.

contro
ol PC 1 PC 2 PC 3 PC 4
65

60

55

50

45

40
7 days 14 days 28 days

Figure 6: Influence of partial replacement of natural sand with waste concrete on the compressive strength.

3.3 Flexural strength

A third-point loading test using 40 × 40 × 160 mm3 prisms

was used to calculate the flexural strength, as specified by
ASTM C348-18 [27]. Figure 7 shows the flexural strength
testing process. The mean ages of three samples were pro-
vided for every testing age. According to the schedule, the
concrete waste substitution improved the flexural strength
and the proportion of waste concrete utilized in the mix
directly correlated with the rise in flexural strength. Figure 8
demonstrates that the flexure strength rose by 5% with waste
concrete. The percent increases were 8.42, 15.18, and 16.68%
after 7, 14, and 28 curing days, respectively, compared to the
reference mix. At 7 days, the flexure strength increases by
21.05%, at 14 days by 27.43%, and at 28 days by 25.32% when
the replacement rate is raised to 10% concrete waste. When
15% of the waste concrete was utilized, the flexural strength
Figure 7: Flexural strength testing process.
increased by 33.68% after 7 days, 38.97% after 14 days, and

control PC 1 PC 2 PC 3 PC 4
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7 days 14 days 28 days

Figure 8: Influence of partial replacement of natural sand with waste concrete on the flexural strength.
 Effect of varied waste concrete ratios on the mechanical properties  7

long, 25 mm thick, and 645 mm2 in cross-section at the mid-

point employing a piece of testing equipment with a 10 kN
capacity as illustrated in Figure 9. A mean of three speci-
mens was provided for every testing age. All mixes’ tension
strength increased to that of the control mix via micro-
reinforcement, which was used to adjust the placement
of particles vertically aligned with the direction of the
destructive force. It has been noted that there are a lot of
concrete particles in the matrix. Figure 10 shows that ten-
sile strength increased by 0.18, 11.22, and 3.41% at 7, 14, and
28 days, respectively, when 5% of waste concrete was sub-
stituted for the polymer mortar (reference mix). There was
a linear relationship between the percentage of replace-
ment and the age increment, with the highest age incre-
ment occurring at 7 days (10.51%), followed by a 33.7% rise
at 15% and a 56.88% increment at 20% compared with the
benchmark mix. It has been observed that the concrete
waste particles are numerous, and those stacked vertically
Figure 9: Direct tensile strength testing process.
on the path of the force of destruction may have served as
a type of micro-reinforcement that boosted the tensile
37.16% after 28 days. Finally, as the replacement rate rises, the strength.
increase in flexural strength also does so. When 20% concrete
waste is utilized, this strength increases by a disproportio-
nately significant amount when compared to the reference
combination, with values of 45.58, 40.71, and 47.71% at ages 7, 4 Conclusions
14, and 28 days, respectively, when compared to the reference
mixture. The conclusions that may be drawn from this examination
on a PC are as follows:
1) The properties of PC may be altered by including waste
concrete, although the exact effect is proportional to the
3.4 Direct tensile strength amount of waste concrete utilized.
2) PC mixes using crushed waste concrete had greater flex-
BS 6319-7:1985 standards [28] were followed to estimate the ural, compressive, and direct tensile strengths than those
direct tensile strength on dog bone-shaped samples 76 mm with regular sand. Also, increasing the replacement

contro
ol PC 1 PC 2 PC 3 PC 4
11

10

4
7 days 14 days 28 days

Figure 10: Influence of partial replacement of natural sand with waste concrete on the direct tensile strength.
8  Aliaa Rasheed et al.

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