Exploring the Effect of Different Waste Fillers in Manufactured Sustainable Plastic Aggregates Matrix on the Structural Lightweight Green Concrete

Abstract

The infrastructure demands for mega cities, urbanization and environmental concerns are pushing for smart and sustainable solutions. Structural lightweight concrete is gaining popularity in the concrete industry because of its intrinsic properties of resisting the load and being lighter in weight. Therefore, in this study, a green structural lightweight concrete was targeted by fabricating a plastic-based aggregate incorporating different industrial by-products to reduce the carbon tracks along with an alternate lightweight structural material. Thus, the compatibility of the different industrially by-products (dune dust, fly ash, and quarry dust) with plastic to produce a sustainable structural lightweight aggregate was evaluated in this study. The major physical characteristics of manufactured aggregates along with fresh, hardened, and durability properties of concretes were studied. Results revealed that altering the filler type had altered the texture and size of the developed aggregate. The aggregates developed with dune dust showed the largest particle size, bulk specific gravity, and strength while the ones with fly ash had the smallest size and water absorption. The decrease in the strength was found to be 24.7, 43.6, and 29% for dune dust, fly ash, and quarry dust respectively, once the filler percentage was increased from 50 to 70%. Additionally, all the concretes incorporating developed aggregates have evidently demonstrated their likely usage in structural lightweight applications by complying with ASTM C330/C330M-14 for compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength values, in addition to the improved durability behavior.