Property Characterization of

Various Shapes of Polyethylene

Terephthalate (PET) Plastic
Fiber in Fiber Reinforced
Concrete Block
CELESTIAL DREAMERS
JOED L. AALA JR.
EZEKIEL LENIN G. ARANZANSO
MICHAEL JOHN R. CRISOSTOMO
MARA L. LARAYA
GERRY LOUIS M. OCAÑA

Department of Civil Engineering,

College of Engineering, Technological
University of the Philippines-Manila
Ayala Boulevard, Ermita, Manila,
Philippines
Abstract
Plastic wastes scattered almost
everywhere, causing toxic effects in our
environment. Recycling plastic wastes is
just one of the solutions being used to
reduce the abundance of plastic wastes.
Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) is a
composite material consisting of cement-
based matrix with an ordered or random
distribution of fiber which can be steel,
nylon, polythene etc.
This study used different shapes of
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastics
as reinforcing fibers, such as ring-shaped,
C-shaped and twisted shape. Fibers were
added at a dosage of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%.
After conducting strength tests
(compressive, flexural, split tensile), the
best fiber shape at an optimum fiber
content will undergo Prism test, where
concrete blocks are placed in wall-like
manner.  Properties studied include
compressive strength, flexural strength
and split-tensile strength. The study used
M20 concrete mix and relevant tests were
carried out as per ASTM standards.
Keywords – plastic fibers, fiber reinforced
concrete, polyethylene terephthalate (PET),
I. INTRODUCTION
Plastic is a material consisting of a wide range
of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic
compounds that are malleable and so can be
molded into solid objects. As the world’s
population increases, wastes also increases.
One of the largest wastes that are produced
are plastics.
In concrete technology, it is popular today to
reinforce the concrete with small, randomly
distributed fibers. One way to recycle plastic
wastes is to make it a fiber and use them for
fiber reinforced concrete.
II. ABOUT THE STUDY
A. Objective of the Proposed Study
The main objective of this proposed study is
to characterize the properties of varying
shapes of PET plastic fiber for fiber reinforced
concrete. the following were also proposed.
1. To determine the physical properties of the
raw materials,
2. To determine the physical properties of
varying shapes of PET plastic fiber-reinforced
concrete such as specific gravity, water-
cement ratio, and water absorption.
3. To determine the mechanical properties of
varying shapes of PET plastic fiber-reinforced
concrete such as compressive, tensile, and
flexural strength.
4. To determine the most suitable mix design
with varying PET plastic shape (C shape, and
twisted shape).
B. Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will benefit the
society considering that plastic waste
disposal cannot be controlled. Using of
plastic fibers recycled from plastic wastes on
its specific type will greatly contribute on
saving almost ninety percent (90%) of carbon
dioxide emissions and fossil fuel production
compared to the use of steel reinforcement.
(McDonald, 2015).
It is discovered that plastic is acceptable to be
a fiber material. The greater demand for the
development of human civilization justifies
the need for more cost effective and
economical materials in terms of
construction. Thus, this led the researchers to
find alternative ways that will continuously
improve concrete structures from a low-cost
material.
In addition to the numerous plastic sources,
the methods obtained from this study will
help not only to improve concrete design
mixtures but also to treat plastic waste and
reuse it. Different sectors will be more aware
for the potential of plastic waste disposal. In
terms of construction, firms will use plastic as
fiber reinforcement to increase the strength
of concrete structures.
This study will help local concrete producers
to find out how to apply the results more
broadly. This presents information for
people, engineering students and
professionals, designers, and other
researchers that ensembles their interests of
studies related to concrete technology and
design.
C. Materials and Methods
Materials used
Plastic fibers        : PET bottles
Cement                :
Fine aggregate     :
Coarse aggregate :
Methodology
Collecting and cleaning the PET bottles
needed for research
Preparation of plastic fibers (twisted, C –
shape, ring shape) using plastic bottle
cutting tool and blower
Acquiring of raw materials
Determination of the properties of the raw
materials
Preparation of the casting molds
Casting and curing of the basic test
specimens for determination of strength
(cylinders, cubes, prisms)
Testing of the structural model (concrete
blocks) for the results
D. Experimental Plan
Different batches of concrete mixes were
performed for different fiber shapes,
contents, trials, and different curing days.
0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, of the volume of sand were
substituted by plastic fibers with twisted and
C – shapes. For controlling the results, plain
and concrete with ring shaped fibers were
also included in batches. Three trials per
percentage of substituted plastic fibers (for
every curing day also – 7th, 14th, 28th) were
made to make the results more precise.
Slump test was conducted on fresh concrete
to determine the workability of the mixture.
On hardened concrete, the tests performed
were compressive test, split tensile test and
flexure test after 7, 14, and 28 days. Figure 2. Twisted shape fibers, C-Shaped
The collected polyethylene terephthalate fibers, Ring shape fibers (from left to right)
(PET) bottle wastes and the plastic fibers
produced are shown in the figures.
E. The Mix Design

Table 2.1 Aggregate Characteristics

Table 2.1 Desired Properties for Concrerte

Mix

Figure 1. Collecting and Cleaning waste PET

bottles
 III. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
A. Test on Specimens
Concrete specimens were cured for 7, 14 and
28 days to achieve maximum strength. The
specimens were subjected to compressive,
flexural and split tensile strength test to
characterize their mechanical properties with
the inclusion of plastic fibers. Concrete blocks
with the best fiber shape with optimum fiber
content determined from previous tests were
then subjected to prism test as per ASTM C
1314. Test set-ups are seen in figures 3.1 to
3.4.
Figure 3.3 Specimen in split tensile failure

Figure 3.1 Test specimen in compressive

failure
Figure 3.4 Test masonry prism in failure
Table 2.3 Mix Ratio

B. Compressive Strength Test

10 cm-diameter by 20 cm-long concrete
cylinder were subjected to compressive
strength test. Cracks observed were in
coincidence with ASTM C 39 figures of typical
fractures. Concrete specimen showed a
decrease in compressive strength as plastic
Table 2.3 Total Concrete Volume per Batch
fibers are added.
Figure 3.2 Specimen in flexural failure
 D. Flexural strength test
As seen, concrete with twisted and c-shaped Flexural strength of 10 cm x 10 cm x 50 cm
fibers fails due to imminent appearance of concrete under 7, 14, and 28 days of curing. It
voids, leading to weakening of the specimen. is seen that there is a significant increase in
Ring-shaped fibers, however, exhibited a flexural strength of concrete in every dosage
small amount of improvement up to 0.83%. of plastic fiber. There is sudden failure occurs
in plain concrete, whereas slow cracking is
present in a sample with plastic fiber.
According to the results, ring-shaped fibers
increased the concrete’s flexural strength by
6.38% and twisted-shaped fibers by 15.96%.
C-shaped fibers weakened the flexural
strength by 1.60%.

Figure 3.5 28th Day Split Tensile Strength

Test

It was found out that the optimum fiber

Figure 3.4 28th Day Compressive Strength
content for both twisted and C-shaped fibers
Test
were 1%, with strengths of 3.40 MPa and 2.94
MPa, respectively. The trend is shown in 3.6
C. Split Tensile Strength Test
10 cm-diameter by 20 cm-long concrete
cylinder were subjected to split-tensile tests.
Cracks observed were in coincidence with the
reports of Petroski and Ojdrovic (2011).
Significant increase in split tensile strength Figure 3.7 28th Day Flexural Strength Test
was observed.
Addition of 1.0% ring-shaped fibers 1.0%
It was found out that the optimum fiber
twisted shaped fibers increased the split
content of concrete samples with twisted
tensile strength to 4.08% and 7.09%,
fibers is 1% with a flexural strength of 4.12
respectively. By contrast, C-shaped fibers did
MPa. As for C-shaped fibers, the optimum
not significantly improve the split tensile
fiber content is 0.5% at a strength of 3.70
strength of the concrete mix but exhibited a
MPa. The trend is shown in figure 3.8
same trend as to twisted fibers. Figure 3.6 Comparison of Split Tensile
Strength to Fiber Content

Figure 3.8 Comparison of Flexural Strength
to Fiber Content
E. Prism Test
100 mm x 150 mm x 200 mm concrete blocks
were grouted and arranged in stacks of three
layers. After capping the prism, it is subjected
to compressive load as per ASTM C 1314
procedures. During loading on plain concrete
prism, cracks appear suddenly, and pieces of
the prism fall apart, whereas concrete blocks
with 1.0% plastic fiber, cracks slowly develop.
Table 3.1 shows the corrected prism
compressive strength, applied with correction
factors shown in table 3.2
Table 3.1 Corrected Prism Strength Test
Results
Table 3.2 Height to Thickness Correction
Factor for Masonry Prism Strength
IV. CONCLUSION
The following conclusions were drawn based
on the results of the study
1. The sand used in this study has a specific
gravity of 2.40, SSD specific gravity of 2.86,
surface moisture of 10.49% and fineness
modulus of 3.04. Gravel, in the other hand,
has a specific gravity and SSD specific gravity
of 2.40 and 2.44, respectively. It also has a
surface moisture content of 1.0%. The
aggregates used conforms to ASTM C 33
standards and is suitable for concrete mix.
2. Flexural strength of concrete is improved
by the inclusion of various shapes of plastic
fibers. Ring-shaped fibers, as proposed by
Khalid, 2018, increased the flexural strength
by 6.38% and twisted-shaped fibers by
15.96%. C-shaped fibers weakened the
flexural strength by 1.60%. It was found in
the previous chapter that the optimum fiber
content for twisted fibers is 1.0% and 0.5%
for C-shaped fibers. Twisted fibers produced
the greatest improvement to the flexural
strength
3. Split-tensile strength of concrete also
increases by the inclusion of various shapes
of plastic fibers. As mentioned in the previous
chapter, twisted fibers exhibited the greatest
improvement to the split tensile strength by
7.09% among the proposed fiber shapes,
with an optimum content of 1%.
4. Compressive strength of concrete is not
efficiently improved as dosages of plastic
fibers is increased, as seen in the previous
chapter. Ring-shaped plastic fibers improved
the concrete compressive strength by 0.83%.
Compressive strength started decreasing
with further inclusion of the proposed fiber
shapes (twisted and C-shaped).
5. It was found out that among the proposed
plastic fiber shapes, twisted shaped fibers
were the most suitable fiber shape,
exceeding that of ring-shaped fibers
proposed by previous literature, in terms of
flexure and tension in concrete. Compressive
strength is not efficiently affected with the
inclusion of the plastic fibers. In addition,
twisted-shaped exhibited an ease in
manufacturing, compared with the other two.
6. Plastic fibers, especially those containing
twisted fibers, exhibited slow cracking
phenomenon. This can serve as a safe
warning, comparing to concrete`s brittle
sudden failure.
7. Compressive strength of concrete prism
block decreased by 2.94%.
8. The flexural strength and split-tensile
strength of concrete greatly improved with
the addition of plastic fibers. PET plastic fiber-
reinforced concrete block can be applied on
places where flexure in a main concern.
IV. SCOPE FOR FUTURE STUDIES
After the completion of the foregoing findings
of the study, the following were recommended:
1. Conduct a research for an easier
manufacturing of twisted plastic fibers.
2. To try using admixtures and/or chemical
binders for plastic fibers to improve the
concrete`s strength even further, especially
its compressive strength.
3.To try other concrete mixes and water-
cement ratio to avoid voids that may lead to
concrete failure.
4. To use other type of mortar to be used to
bind concrete blocks together.
5. To subject the concrete block prism to a
test where flexure and/or tension is the main
stress involved.