Sustainable Concrete Designs Using Landfill Waste
Disciplines
Civil Engineering | Construction Engineering and Management | Environmental Engineering
Abstract (300 words maximum)
A considerable percentage of global waste and emissions is due to the construction industry, more particularly in the production of cement. Therefore, researching ways to reduce cement consumption and create more sustainable construction practices is vitally important. The primary goal of this project is to identify materials that are currently polluting landfills and can be a viable substitution for aggregate in concrete mixes by way of testing their compressive strength. Our team worked closely with the Research and Development Team from Belter Tech, a company based in Atlanta whose mission aligns with ours: to offer solutions to sustainable practices within the construction industry. Their team provided us with a number of recycled materials and cement used in this study. The recycled materials we analyzed consisted of shredded heat-treated plastics, shredded raw plastics, PIR insulating foam, shredded tires, and purified zeolite. To conduct our research, we abided by the standards set by ASTM International through every step of our investigation. We began by brainstorming concrete designs, varying the materials and percentage of them in each sample. Following a specified mixing and molding process to ensure consistency among each sample, we carefully created each concrete cube. We then tested the compressive strength of each specimen 3, 7, and 28 days after molding. What we have seen so far and what we anticipate seeing is that several of these materials provide feasible alternatives for aggregate as it relates to the compressive strength of concrete, and further chemical as well as other long term physical tests could confirm practical uses of these recycled materials in the construction sector.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
SPCEET - Civil and Environmental Engineering
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Metin Oguzmert
Sustainable Concrete Designs Using Landfill Waste
A considerable percentage of global waste and emissions is due to the construction industry, more particularly in the production of cement. Therefore, researching ways to reduce cement consumption and create more sustainable construction practices is vitally important. The primary goal of this project is to identify materials that are currently polluting landfills and can be a viable substitution for aggregate in concrete mixes by way of testing their compressive strength. Our team worked closely with the Research and Development Team from Belter Tech, a company based in Atlanta whose mission aligns with ours: to offer solutions to sustainable practices within the construction industry. Their team provided us with a number of recycled materials and cement used in this study. The recycled materials we analyzed consisted of shredded heat-treated plastics, shredded raw plastics, PIR insulating foam, shredded tires, and purified zeolite. To conduct our research, we abided by the standards set by ASTM International through every step of our investigation. We began by brainstorming concrete designs, varying the materials and percentage of them in each sample. Following a specified mixing and molding process to ensure consistency among each sample, we carefully created each concrete cube. We then tested the compressive strength of each specimen 3, 7, and 28 days after molding. What we have seen so far and what we anticipate seeing is that several of these materials provide feasible alternatives for aggregate as it relates to the compressive strength of concrete, and further chemical as well as other long term physical tests could confirm practical uses of these recycled materials in the construction sector.