Abstract
Polyethylene (PE) waste often piles up in the environment for up to 30 to 50 years, without complete degradation. This paper describes how PE waste can be used as a reinforcement in laterite bricks for sustainable building materials. The bricks are produced with different volume percentages (0-30 vol. %) of PE. The flexural/compressive strengths and fracture toughness values of the composite blocks are compared with those of mortar (produced from river sand and cement). The composite containing 20 vol. % of PE is shown to have the best combination of flexural/compressive strength and fracture toughness. The flexural/compressive strengths and fracture toughness values increase with increasing volume percentage of PE up to 20 vol. %, before decreasing to minimum values for composites with 30 vol.% of PE. The trends in the measured strengths and fracture toughness values are explained using composite and crack bridging models.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 04015104 |
Journal | Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2016 |
Keywords
- Compressive strength
- Crack bridging models
- Flexural strength
- Fracture toughness
- Laterite
- Polyethylene-reinforcement