Journal Article Review

Fakhruddin, R Irmawaty, R Djamaluddin, and D A Rudy (2021), “Flexural Behavior of

Reinforced Concrete Beams using PET Plastic as Partial Replacement of Coarse Aggregate,”
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 871 (2021) 012021. Reviewed by Tom
Andrei Tan and Angelie Yabut.

In this article, Fakhruddin et al. investigates the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete
beams using Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic as partial replacement of course
aggregate. Researchers argues that there is potential for using plastic wastes in conjunction with
other building materials, such concrete.

To address this argument, Fakhruddin et al. investigated the flexural behavior of

reinforced concrete beams using Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic as partial replacement
of course aggregate. Under a static load, two control beams (CB) and two PET plastic
beams were tested. Beams were 3300 mm long and 150 mm by 250 mm in size. To further
improve the tensile strength of the regular concrete and PET concrete, 0.5% 3D steel fiber by
weight of cement was added to the entire mixture. All beams' load-displacement and strain
graphs were created, and their stiffness, flexural strength, and failure mode were compared and
analysed. The concrete mix proportions and mixing design was taken based on the experimental
results carried by Irmawaty (2019), and the concrete mixing method was developed based on
ASTM C1116/C1116M. During the beam test, cylinder specimens were examined for
compressive strength. The tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM C39. The results
shows that there is a reduction in compressive strength brought on by the PET plastic material
was found to be ineffective by the addition of 10% PET to concrete. The strength of PET
concrete was 38.7% lower than that of regular concrete. In addition, a 10% PET content beam
has a 23.1% lower ultimate load capacity than the control beam. Moreover, the deflection at peak
load was decreased. The concrete's load-deflection response somewhat altered when PET was
added. When 10% PET is employed, where all beams failed under flexure, the failure mode is
not change.

The study of Fakhruddin et al. was very commendable that they thought of using plastic
wastes in conjunction with other building materials such as concrete. With their study, they have
addressed the dilemma concerning the increase in the regular use of various plastic containers,
such as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) around the world. However, we would argue that the
results of this study is limited only to the concrete beams with aggregates replaced or added by
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). As mentioned in the study, there are various types of plastics
that can be replaced or added to the concrete beams such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE),
and polypropylene (PP). These plastic types has different characteristics and properties that may

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 have a different result from this study. Secondly, the study of Manasser et al. (1997), concrete
containing plastic aggregates from car bumpers has a more ductile behavior than comparable
concrete made with conventional aggregates. This ductile behaviour is important in reducing
crack formation in concrete structures. With this study, the ductility of a concrete with plastic
aggregates would be enhanced if plastic aggregates from car bumpers would be used. Lastly, the
shredding size of the plastic must also be studied as this may affect the flexural behaviour of a
concrete beam. Since they study the replacement of a PET plastic, they must try using different
shredding size if the PET plastic, may be finer or larger in size.

Generally, the study provided significant information about the flexural behavior of
reinforced concrete beams using PET plastic as a partial replacement of coarse aggregate.
Results of this study may be used to similar studies in the future. This proves that the use of PET
plastics as a partial replacement to coarse aggregates in concrete beams are ineffective in terms
of its flexural behaviour

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