Mechanical Properties of Virgin and Recycled Polymer for Construction Pile Application

Abstract

Annual polymer waste generated in Malaysia has increased significantly to more than 1 million tonnes. The prolonged degradation periods required by diverse industrial polymer waste streams are a matter of significant concern, with some taking up to 1000 years to fully degrade. Pursuing a similar environmental concern, the use of bakau piles as supports for lightweight structures in Sarawak, including drainage systems, roads, sewerage, and other water-related structures, has become a matter of concern due to the deforestation of mangrove forests. Both bakau deforestation and polymer waste issues are significant environmental and global concerns. The idea of mitigating mangrove degradation and the non-biodegradable nature of polymer waste has led to the conceptualization of an alternative solution whereby recyclable thermoplastic polymer piles are utilized to supplant bakau piles in providing support for lightweight structures during civil engineering construction projects. Therefore, the study of polymer piles is conducted to examine their mechanical properties in the form of virgin (V) and recycled (R) thermoplastic polymers. In this study, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are considered, and the possibility of being utilized in pile application has been discussed. Based on the results, all virgin types of thermoplastic polymers (HDPE, PP, and PVC), 50%V:50%R for PP, PP(R), and PVC(R), respectively, exceed the bakau ultimate tensile strength. Thermoplastic polymer piles showed great potential to be the substitution for bakau piles to serve in the construction industry, with the recorded experimental tensile and compressive strength tests.