GRD Journals- Global Research and Development Journal for Engineering | Volume 2 | Issue 8 | July 2017

ISSN: 2455-5703

A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using

Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
Md. Shuja Ull Haq
UG Student
Department of Civil Engineering
Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar

Ahtesham Khurrum Akash Suryan

UG Student UG Student
Department of Civil Engineering Department of Civil Engineering
Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar

Rahul S Vinodkrishna M. Savadi

UG Student Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering Department of Civil Engineering
Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar

Abstract
The increase of population in world has led to the generation of large amount of waste products such as waste plastic. These waste
plastic will remain in the environment for hundreds of years, this has become inevitable problem in the present world. There is an
immediate need for solution for such problem. To bring down the waste products many methods has been proposed and one of
them is usage of these waste plastic in concrete which may reduce the environmental problems up to certain extent. This work
aims to study possibility of disposing waste plastic as fine aggregate in concrete. In this study waste plastic mix concrete is also
reinforced with steel fiber to get advantages of fiber reinforced concrete. For this an experimental study was carried out with M25
grade of concrete to evaluate the workability and mechanical property of waste plastic mix concrete with and without the addition
of steel fiber. Sand is substituted with plastic waste at a dosage up to 15% by mass and we found that 5% dosage is an optimum
percentage without considerable reduction in strength. Results show that adding steel fiber we can improve the quality of waste
plastic mix concrete. Thus it can be concluded that replacement of sand by waste plastic up to 5% can be utilized so that disposal
of used plastic can be done and hence deficiency of natural aggregate can be managed effectively.
Keywords- Waste Plastic, Steel Fiber, Workability and Mechanical Property

I. INTRODUCTION
The increase of population in world has led to the generation of large amount of waste products such as waste plastic. These waste
plastic will remain in the environment for hundreds of years, this has become inevitable problem in the present world. There is an
immediate need for solution for such problem. To bring down the waste products many methods has been proposed and one of
them is usage of these waste plastic in concrete which may reduce the environmental problems up to certain extent.
It is possibility of disposal of these wastages in mass concrete such as in heavy mass concreting in PCC in pavements
where the strength of concrete is not a major criterion under consideration .The waste plastic is one component of Municipal Solid
Waste (MSW). Since the plastic is very low biodegradable material the disposal of the waste plastic causes big problems to the
environment. As from many years the research concern that the use of by-products from industry may augment the properties of
concrete. In the modern decades, the use of by-products such as silica fume, glass culvert, fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace
slag (GGBS) etc., efforts have been made to use in civil construction. The application of the industrial by-products in concrete is
as partial replacement of cement or partial replacement of aggregate. The use of these waste plastic in concrete can control the
environmental problems or constraints if safe disposal of these products. In the present study the recycled plastic used to prepare
the coarse aggregate there by providing sustainable option to deal with plastic waste. Concrete is the versatile material for civil
engineering construction. The major problem in construction industry is the unavailability of construction materials. Sustainable
concrete has received great attention in today's scenario of scarcity of resources. Various attempts have been made to reduce the
use of fine aggregate, course aggregate and other ingredients of concrete which are non-renewable. So search for new construction
materials and a method to dispose plastic waste introduce a new concept called waste plastic mix concrete (WPC).
This paper reports the workability and strength characteristics of waste plastic mix concrete with and without the addition
of steel fiber for specimen of 25MPa.workability test, Compressive strength and split tensile strength were performed for concrete
cubes and cylinders.

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 A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
(GRDJE/ Volume 2 / Issue 8 / 001)

II. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

A. Cement
Portland pozzolana cement conforming to IS. 1489 part 1 1991 was used.
Properties of cement:
1) Specific gravity-2.9
2) Normal consistency-40%
3) Initial setting time-35min
4) Final setting time-320min

B. Fine Aggregate
Natural sand passing through 4.75mm IS sieve confirming zone-2 of IS 383: 1970 and having specific gravity of 2.68 was used.

C. Course Aggregate
Crushed aggregate of size 20mm and conforming to IS 2386:1963 (part I, II and III) and having specific gravity 2.83 was used.

D. Waste Plastic
Plastic aggregate were obtained from the local municipal were the plastic is crushed to a particle of size 4.75mm and confirming
to grading zone II.

Fig. 1: waste plastic

Fig. 2: Grinded Plastic

E. Super Plasticizer
Super plasticizer used in this study is CONPLAST SP 430 was used confirming to IS 9103-1999 and ASTM 494 type F was used
to improve the workability of concrete.

F. Steel Fiber
Steel fibers are added into the concrete to improve the compressive strength of the concrete which is the main drawback of waste
plastic concrete.

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 A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
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Fig. 3: Crimped Steel Fibers

G. Water
Water confirming to IS: 456-2000 was used for mixing as well as curing of concrete specimens.

III. METHODOLOGY
In the present study the mix design for strength M25 was developed based on trial batches. Nine numbers of cubes each with 5%,
10% and 15% replacement of sand by waste plastic have been cast for assessing the compressive strength of concrete. Then six
numbers of cubes each with 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% of fiber in 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic have been cast for assessing
the compressive strength of concrete. The Table 1 represents the concrete mix proportion. Figure 2 represents the fibers used in
the present investigation.
Compressive strength of the cubes containing waste plastic for 5%, 10%and 15% is first evaluated using compressive
testing machine and then compressive strength of cubes containing waste plastic and fibers is evaluated using the 0.5%, 1% and
1.5% proportion of fibers.
Table 1: concrete mix proportion
Grade Mix Proportion w/c
M25 1:1.7:2.9 0.55

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Test such as Workability test and Mechanical property such as cube and cylinders compressive strength and split split tensile
strength were investigated. Three specimens were cast for each test and average value was recorded.

A. Workability Test
The concrete slump test of normal concrete and waste plastic mixed concrete with 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% replacement of sand
by waste plastic was performed and the following results were obtained. The tests measures ease with which concrete can be
compacted hundred percent having regard to mode of compaction and place of deposition.
Workability of Normal concrete:

1) Workability of Normal Concrete

Fig. 4: Slump test for normal concrete

As the slump value of normal concrete is 30mm, a slump of 100mm was achieved by 0.55% of W/C ratio.

2) Workability with Addition of Waste Plastic

Workability for concrete for addition of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% replacement of fine aggregate with waste plastic.

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 A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
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Fig. 5: shows slump 100mm of concrete with replacement of sand by waste plastic

A slump of 100mm was achieved for concrete with 5%, 10% and 15% replacement of waste plastic with w/c ratio 0.55 with
addition of super-plasticizer to cement which is tabulated in table 2.
Table 2: The slump for 5%, 10%and 15% replacement
Sl.no Particulars w/c ratio % of super-plasticizer Slump in mm
1. 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 0.55 0.25% 100mm
2. 10% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 0.55 0.6% 100mm
3. 15% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 0.55 1.5% 100mm

3) Workability Test for Concrete with 20% Replacement of Sand by Waste Plastic
It was found that workability with 20% replacement of sand by waste plastic was not possible even after addition of super plasticizer
up to a limit of 3%,which is 1% more than the IS recommendation.
Hence, it can be concluded that as the percentage of plastic increases water cement ratio increases and workability
decreases. Plastic cannot be used above 15% by mass of the fine aggregate.

Fig. 6: Concrete after 20% replacement of sand by waste plastic

B. Compressive Strength for Waste Plastic Concrete

The average of three samples was taken as the representative value of compressive strength of concrete for each batch and is
tabulated in Table 5.3. From the Table 3 it can be concluded the compressive strength of normal concrete is 37.66Mpa, as when
waste plastic is replaced with fine aggregate in percentages, the compressive strength decrease with increase in percentage of
replacement of waste plastic. Further steel fibers have to be added to compensate the reduction in compressive strength.

Fig. 7: Failure of cube in compressive strength testing machine

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 A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
(GRDJE/ Volume 2 / Issue 8 / 001)

Table 3: Compressive Strength Results

3DAYS 7 DAYS 28 DAYS
SL.NO Specimen
N/mm2 N/mm2 N/mm2
Control 13.49 27.65 37.66
01
Specimen
9.80 22.98
02 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 31.11
8.12 20.22
03 10% replacement of sand by waste plastic 28.88
5.56 12.83
04 15% replacement of sand by waste plastic 20.40
The compressive strength of normal concrete is 35MPa, as when waste plastic is replaced with fine aggregate in
percentages, the compressive strength decrease with increase in percentage of replacement of waste plastic. Further steel fibers
have to be added to compensate the reduction in compressive strength.

C. Compressive Strength of Waste Plastic Concrete with Fiber

Considering the optimum dosage of plastic as 5% further work was carried with the addition of various amount of fibers.
To compensate the loss in compressive strength steel fibers are added to increase the reduced compressive strength.0.5%, 1%,
1.5% of steel fibers are added to the concrete with 5% replacement of sand with waste plastic.
Table 4: Compressive Strenght Test Results for Waste Plastic Concrete with Steel Fiber
SL. 3DAYS 7 DAYS 28 DAYS
Specimen
NO N/mm2 N/mm2 N/mm2
Control 13.49 27.65 37.66
01
Specimen
9.80 22.98
02 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 31.11
9.98 19.45
03 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic and 0.5% of steel fiber. 32.41
11.02 21.93 33.61
04 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic and 1% of steel fiber.
05 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic and 1.5% of steel fiber. 12.28 23.02 34.12

Fig. 8: Compressive strength of Normal concrete, waste plastic concrete with and without steel fiber

Where,
NC-Normal Concrete.
5%WPC -5% of Replaced of Sand By Waste Plastic in Concrete.
1.5%FMWPC-1.5% of Fiber in Waste Plastic Concrete.

D. Split Tensile Strength of Normal and Waste Plastic Concrete

This test was conducted as per IS 5816-1970 [13].The split strength of cubes was evaluated by testing of standard cylinder of size
100 mm 200 mm after 28 days. The cylinders were tested in a compression testing machine of 2000 KN capacity.
The average of three samples was taken as the representative value of tensile strength of concrete for each batch and is
tabulated in Table 5. From Table 5 it can be concluded the tensile strength of normal concrete is 4.18Mpa, as when waste plastic
is replaced with fine aggregate in percentages, the tensile strength decreases with increase in percentage of replacement of waste
plastic.
Table 5: Split Tensile Strength Test Results for Normal & Waste Plastic Concrete
Specimen 3DAYS 7DAYS 28 DAYS
SL.NO
N/mm2 N/mm2 N/mm2
Control 1.49 3.07 4.18
01
Specimen

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 A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
(GRDJE/ Volume 2 / Issue 8 / 001)

1.08 2.55
02 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 3.45
0.90 2.24
03 10% replacement of sand by waste plastic 3.20
0.61 1.42
04 15% replacement of sand by waste plastic 2.26

E. Split Tensile Strength of Fiber Mixed Waste Plastic Concrete

To compensate the loss in tensile strength in waste plastic concrete, steel fibers are added to increase the reduced tensile
strength.0.5%, 1%, 1.5% of steel fibers are added to the concrete with 5% replacement of sand with waste plastic.
Table 6: Split Tensile Strenght Test Results for Waste Plastic Concrete With Steel Fiber
SL. 3DAYS 7 DAYS 28 DAYS
Specimen
NO N/mm2 N/mm2 N/mm2
Control 1.49 3.07 4.18
01
Specimen
1.08 2.55
02 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic. 3.45
1.25 2.43
03 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic and 0.5% of steel fiber. 4.05
1.37 2.74 4.2
04 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic and 1% of steel fiber.
05 5% replacement of sand by waste plastic and 1.5% of steel fiber. 1.535 2.88 4.27
Taking the optimum dosage of plastic as 5% in waste plastic concrete and into which steel fiber were added up to 1.5%
in 0.5 interval. It was found that as the percentage of fiber was increased split tensile strength characteristic is also increased up to
certain limit equal to normal conventional concrete.

Fig. 8: Split tensile strength of Normal concrete, waste plastic concrete with and without steel fiber

Where,
NC-Normal Concrete.
5%WPC -5% of Replaced of Sand By Waste Plastic in Concrete.
1.5%FMWPC-1.5% of Fiber in Waste Plastic Concrete.

V. CONCLUSION
The compressive strength and workability of waste plastic mix concrete with and without addition of fibers was investigated and
the following conclusions were obtained,
1) Addition of waste plastic reduced the workability of concrete, so it was necessary to use super plasticizer to achieve desired
slump.
2) It was found that workability with 20% replacement of sand by waste plastic was not possible even after addition of super
plasticizer.
3) It was noticed that there was reduction of compressive strength in waste plastic concrete of about 15-18% compared to normal
concrete.
4) With the addition of steel fibers in waste plastic concrete it was found that the compressive strength was only reduced to %.

VI. SCOPE FOR FURTHER WORK

In the present study the mechanical characteristics such as compressive strength & workability was limited to mix with concrete
of M25.The study can be extended to higher grades of normal concrete and waste plastic concrete. The studies were restricted to
limited number of tests; other tests like durability, flexural can be conducted.

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 A study on Partial Replacement of Sand using Waste Plastic and Steel Fibers
(GRDJE/ Volume 2 / Issue 8 / 001)

In this work, the compensation of lose in compressive strength was done by addition of steel fibers, similar studies can
be conducted by using other fibers such as carbon fibers and glass fibers.

REFERENCES
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[5] Raghatate Atul M.;Use of plastic in a concrete to improve its properties Vol: 01/Issue 3/April-June, 2012/ pp.109-111, International journal of advanced
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[6] Nabajyoti Saikia, Jorge de Brito: Use of plastic waste as aggregate in cement mortar and concrete, Feb 2012 Construction and Building Materials by elvier
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[7] Safi, B.; Saidi, M and Aboutaleb: The use of plastic waste as fine aggregate in the self-compacting mortars: Effect on physical and mechanical properties,
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[8] IS 10262: 2009- Guideline for concrete mix proportioning.
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[10] IS 456-2000 Plain and reinforced concrete code of practice.

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