A new type of lightweight concrete was produce using plastic hollow spheres as a

replacement to coarse aggregate. Nine samples of concrete specimen were

prepared, three of
which were mix of normal concrete, three were plastic sphere with sand coating
and another
three were concrete with plastic sphere without sand coating. The size of plastic
spheres used
was 25 mm and width was 2 mm. In order to improve the interfacial strength
between
spheres and cement matrix, the surface of spheres was coated with sand using
epoxy adhesive
SIKADUR 30. The new concrete cylinder was tested to determine compressive
strength,
density and stress-strain relationship. It was found that by using plastic spheres
as aggregate
replacement the density of the concrete was 27.8% compared with concrete
using coarse
aggregate. The average strength of the concrete using plastic spheres was 9.39
N/mm
compared to the concrete using natural coarse aggregate which is 17.89 N/mm.
Meanwhile,
the strength of concrete using sand coated plastic spheres was higher than the
concrete
without sand coating by 37.4%. The average density of the new lightweight
concrete was
1383.65 kg/m. This density can be categorized as lightweight concrete.
However, because
the strength is 9.39 N/mm, the concrete cannot be used as structural element.
The stressstrain relationship indicates that the new lightweight concrete is more ductile
without plastic
sphere. The results of this study indicate that plastic spheres may provide as a
suitable
alternative to produce structural lightweight concrete.