EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF SHREDDED

PLASTIC FIBRES IN HARDENED CONCRETE MIX

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

By

SHASHI KUMAR (1558007) BIPRAJIT SAHA (1558055)

DIBAKAR JHA (1558140)
NILIMESH SASMAL (1558067)
ROMI KRITIKA (1558102)
RISHAV DASGUPTA (1558117)
RAJNISH KUMAR (1558050)
UJJWAL KUMAR (1558085)
RANABIR SAHA (1558158)
LOVELY BHATTACHARYA (1558149)
SUMIT KUMAR SINGH (1558059)
MD. AATIF IMRAN (1558099)
ANIKET GOSWAMI (1558110)
DEEPANSHU (1558019)
BANESWAR DAS (1558052)
SHAFIQUL ISLAM (1558114)
FURQUAN AHMED (1558113)

Supervisor
PROF. SAURAV KAR & PROF. PUJA BASUCHAUDHURI

Department of Civil Engineering

Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata
MAY 2018

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

It is with immense pleasure that we express our sincere sense of gratitude and humble appreciation to Prof.
Saurav Kar and Prof. Puja BasuChaudhuri for their valuable guidance, whole-hearted co-operation,
constructive criticism and continuous encouragement in the preparation of this thesis. Without his support
and guidance, the present work would have remained a dream.
We would also like to thank Prof. (Dr.) Tapas Sadhu, Head of Department of
Civil Engineering Department, Heritage Institute of Technology for providing necessary facilities.
We take this opportunity to thank all our scholar friends & family for their valuable support and
encouragement throughout the preparation of this work. We also thank all those who have directly or
indirectly helped in completion of this work.

November, 2018
HIT, Kolkata.

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 DECLARATION

We hereby certify that the work which is being presented in the report entitled “Experimental Studies on
effect of shredded plastic fibers on hardened concrete” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in Department of Civil Engineering of Heritage Institute of
Technology, Kolkata is an authentic record of our own work carried out during the period from August 2018
under supervision of Prof. Saurav Kar and Prof. Puja BasuChaudhuri.
The matter embodied in this project has not been submitted by us for the
award of any other degree of this to any other University or Institute.
This is to certify that above statement made by the student is correct to the best of
our knowledge.

PROF. SAURAV KAR

(Supervisor)

PROF. PUJA BASUCHAUDHURI

(Supervisor)

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

HERITAGE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

KOLKATA

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NAME PAGE NO.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT 3

DECLARATION 4

ABSTRACT 5

CHAPTER 1:
1.1 INTRODUCTION 6
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF WORK 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8-10

CHAPTER 3: SCOPE OF WORK 11

CHAPTER 4:
4.1: PLASTIC AS A DAILY WASTE 12-15
4.2: USES OF PLASTIC WASTE IN CONSTRUCTION 16-18
INDUSTRY

CHAPTER 5:
5.1 VARIOUS TESTS CONDUCTED 19-28

CHAPTER 6:
6.1 RESULTS 29-30
6.2 DISCUSSIONS 31

CHAPTER 7: REFERENCES 32-33

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 ABSTRACT

Everyday huge amount of waste products are generated from manufacturing industries, service industries
and municipal solid wastes. Increasing awareness about environmental pollution has tremendously
contributed to the concerns related to disposal of general wastes. Solid waste disposal and management is
one of the major environmental concerns in the world. The rate of generation of waste products is
continuously increasing. Today, almost 15 % of the total plastic waste remains untreated. Disposal of non-
destructible plastic waste is a big problem.
It is observed that plastic fiber waste has a huge application in concrete mixes as well as
concrete asphalt. Utilization of plastic waste provides a considerable development of mechanical properties
for structural and road material. It reduces landfill problem and is also energy saving. The main aim of this
paper is to partly substitute and reuse non-destructible plastic waste with some development of mechanical
properties of hardened concrete.
This present study highlights an elaborate review on the effect of utilization of waste and
recycled plastic waste materials on fresh and hardened concrete. Experimental studies are being conducted
on the effect of addition of various percentages of shredded plastic fibers content in M 25 concrete mixes.
The various percentage of shredded plastic content used in the concrete mix are 1%, 3%, 5% , 7 % and
10% by weight. Various parameters like compressive strength, flexural strength and tensile strength test of
various concrete mixes are observed. It is expected that addition of shredded plastic fibers will lead to an
improvement in the mechanical properties of hardened concrete. Keyword: shredded plastic fiber, solid
waste, tensile strength, concrete mix.
Keyword: shredded plastic fiber, solid waste, tensile strength, concrete mix.

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 CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1.1: INTRODUCTION

The valorization of waste in civil engineering is an important sector to the extent that the products to be
obtained are not subjected to rigorous quality standards too. The valorization of waste affects two major
impacts, environmental impact is solved by disposing of such waste and the economic impact is the use of
that in industry or in the field of construction, this waste has the advantage of being available large
quantity and low value. The cementing materials, by their performance in terms of mechanical strength
and durability dominate the market of construction materials. The addition of polymeric waste to concrete
corresponds to a new perspective in research activities, integrating the areas of concrete technology and
environmental technology.
Industrial and domestic waste has a significant percentage of polymeric materials in its
constitution, which occupies a considerable volume on landfills. Therefore its recycling is interesting to
research and development of technologies for minimizing the problems caused by this waste.
Several studies have been conducted on the use of plastic waste in concrete.
The effect of plastic wastes aggregate on properties of concrete could reduce the weight
by 2– 6% of normal weight concrete and the compressive strength was reduced up to 33% compared to
that of normal concrete. The decrease of compressive strength was in function of increase in the plastic
content. For a 20% substitution of sand by the waste, the compressive strength was reduced up to 70%
compared to that of normal concrete. It was found that the addition of plastic waste (fractions < 10%) in
volume inside of cementitious matrix does not imply a significant variation of the concrete mechanical
features.
The density and compressive strength were decreased when the PET (Poly Ethylene
Terephthalate) aggregates exceeded 50% by volume of sand.
The present study focused on the use of plastic fines aggregates resulting from the
crushing of plastic bags waste rejected into nature and to find new ways of valorization in the field of
construction. We will present, therefore, the fresh and hardened states properties of the concrete:

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workability, bulk density, ultrasonic pulse velocity testing, compressive and flexural strength of the
concretes.

CHAPTER 1.2: OBJECTIVES OF WORK

The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of re-cycling a plastic bag waste material that is now
produced in large quantities in the formulation of concrete as fine aggregate by substitution of a variable
percentage of sand (10, 20, 30 and 40 %).
The influence of the plastic bag waste on the fresh and hardened states properties of the
concrete: workability, bulk density, ultrasonic pulse velocity testing, compressive and flexural strength of
the different concretes, has been investigated and analyzed in comparison to the control concrete.
The results showed that the use of plastic bag waste improves the workability and the
density, reduces the compressive strength of concrete containing 10 and 20 % of waste by 10 to 24 %
respectively, which have a mechanical strength acceptable for lightweight materials, remains always close
to reference concrete (made without plastic bag waste). The results of this investigation consolidate the
idea of the use of plastic bag waste in the field of construction, especially in the formulation of concrete.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

The current concrete construction practice is thought unsustainable because, not only it is consuming enormous
quantities of stone, sand, and drinking water, but also two billion tons a year of portland cement, which is not
an environment friendly material from the standpoint of energy consumption and release of green-house gases
(GHG) leading to global warming. Furthermore, the resource productivity of portland-cement concrete
products is much lower than expected because they crack readily and deteriorate fast. Since global warming
has emerged as the most serious environmental issue of our time and since sustainability is becoming an
important issue of economic and political debates, the next developments to watch in the concrete industry will
not be the new types of concrete, manufactured with expensive materials and special methods, but low
The valorization of waste in civil engineering is an important sector to the extent that
the products to be obtained are not subjected to rigorous quality standards too.
The valorization of waste affects two major impacts, environmental impact is solved by
disposing of such waste and the economic impact is the use of that in industry or in the field of construction,
this waste has the advantage of being available large quantity and low value (Hassani et al.. The cementing
materials, by their performance in terms of mechanical strength and durability dominate the market of
construction materials. The addition of polymeric waste to concrete corresponds to a new perspective in
research activities, integrating the areas of concrete technology and environmental technology.
Industrial and domestic waste has a significant percentage of polymeric materials in its constitution, which
occupies a considerable volume on landfills. Therefore its recycling is interesting to research and development
of technologies for minimizing the problems caused by this waste.
Several studies have been conducted on the use of plastic waste in concrete. The works
of Rebeiz showed that the resins based on recycled PET can be used to produce a good quality of precast
concrete (Rebeiz 2007). Many studies have been conducted on the use of scrap tire/rubber in mortar and

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concrete, and a research work has been published by Siddique a review paper (2008) on the use of recycled
plastic in concrete (Siddique, Khatib & Kaur 2008).

In the other study, Choi et al. (2005) investigated the effect of plastic waste (PET bottles) as
aggregate on properties of concrete. The results obtained in this study showed that these wastes could reduce
the weight by 2–6% of normal weight concrete and the compressive strength was reduced up to 33% compared
to that of normal concrete. Sikalidis et al. (2002) investigated the utilization of municipal solid wastes (MSW)
for the production of mortar. Batayneh et al. (2007) have shown, in their work that the decrease of compressive
strength was in function of increase in the content plastic content. For a 20% substitution of sand by the waste,
the compressive strength was reduced up to 70% compared to that of normal concrete.
Also, researchers [Remadnia et al.2009, Yazoghli-marzouk et al. 2007) have also
studied the use of consumed plastic bottle waste as sand-substitution aggregate within composite materials for
building applications. These authors showed that the density and compressive strength were decreased when
the PET aggregates exceeded 50% by volume of sand. Also, It was found that the addition of plastic waste (fractions
< 10%) in volume inside of cementitious matrix does not imply a significant variation of the concrete
mechanical features.
Plastic, one of the most significant innovations of 20th century, is a ubiquitous material.
A substantial growth in the consumption of plastic is observed all over the world in recent years, which also
increases the production of plastic-related waste. The plastic waste is now a serious environmental threat to
modern civilization. Plastic is composed of several toxic chemicals, and therefore plastic pollutes soil, air and
water. Since plastic is a non-biodegradable material, land-filling using plastic would mean preserving the
harmful material forever. The hazards that plastics pose are numerous. They may block the drainage system of
a city. The blocked drains provide excellent breeding grounds for disease-causing mosquitoes and water borne
diseases besides causing flooding. Plastic garbage can reduce the rate of rain water percolating and deteriorate
the soil fertility if it is mixed with soil. Plastic waste dumped into rivers, streams and seas contaminates the
water and marine life. Aquatic animals can consume plastic waste, which can damage their health.
Some marine life has been found with plastic fragments in the stomachs and plastic molecules in their
muscles.

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 The ‘‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’’ mainly consists of plastic waste and it is believed to
constitute 90% of all rubbish floating in the oceans. The UN Environment Programme estimated in 2006 that
every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. More than one million sea birds and
approximately

100,000 sea mammals die each year after ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic debris. The threat of
plastic waste seems to be ever increasing. Many countries have restricted the use of plastic bags and many are
in the process of doing so. Land-filling of plastic is also dangerous due to its slow degradation rate and bulky
nature. The waste mass may hinder the ground water flow and can also block the movement of roots. Plastic
waste also contains various toxic elements especially cadmium and lead, which can mix with rain water and
pollute soil and water.
Recycling plastics is a possible option. As plastic is an organic hydrocarbon-based material, its
high calorific value can be used for incineration or in other high temperature processes. But, burning of
plastics releases a variety of poisonous chemicals into the air, including dioxins, one of the most toxic
substances. Plastic waste can also be used to produce new plastic based products after processing.
However it is not an economical process as the recycled plastic degrades in quality and necessitates new
plastic to make the original product.
Although these alternatives are feasible except for land-filling, recycling of plastic waste to
produce new materials, such as cement composites, appears as one of the best solution for disposing of plastic
waste, due to its economic and ecological advantages. A vast work has already been done on the use of plastic
waste such

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 CHAPTER 3

SCOPE OF WORK

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. These materials are often used in
residential driveways, paving and curb, walls, house foundations and gutter applications. Sustainable
concrete structures are beneficial as it consumed less energy, release less greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere, and cost less to build and to maintain over the given period of time. Solid waste management is
one of the major environmental concerns in the country today.
This experimental work investigates the utilization of waste plastics as replacement for fine
aggregates in concrete and as well as an additive in concrete mix in order to increase it’s flexural as well as
tensile strength.
Since, traditional plastic bag is now part of our daily lives. It is particularly a significant
source of pollution and harmful to the environment. Billions of bags are thrown daily in nature. The end of
life of plastic bags is particularly: it appears that recycling is not profitable from point of view of ecological
and economic, lightweight to be transported and recycling, consume more resources than it would restore.
Most of these bags are not sorted or cleaned or recycled: tend to fly. Given their very long life can be found
everywhere in the natural environment. It degrades after several decades or even centuries, in which land life,
air or water is seriously damaged. The major problems caused by the existence of plastic waste in landfills, in
urban and countryside areas, impose a concern of increasing scale for reasons of hygiene and environment.
Techniques of waste prevention, avoiding storage of their own recovery and disposal, receive the highest
priority.
Hence, an attempt has been made to decrease the plastic waste by reusing shredded plastic fibres,
plastic aggregates in concrete in addition with traces of nylon fibres (commercially available).

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 CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4.1: PLASTIC AS DAILY WASTE

The basis for this research was to investigate the effects of using recycle materials, in varying amounts, on
the fresh and hardened concrete properties. The concrete mixtures designed ranged from a 25% replacement
to one 100% replacement with recycled materials. In addition, a standard concrete mixture using cement and
virgin aggregates was designed for comparison purposes.
Concrete is the most commonly used building material in construction today. Everything
related to construction is open for scrutiny in today’s eco-conscience society. People today are more in tune
and informed about the negative effects humankind leave behind for future generations. Builders today are
under constant pressure to become more ‘‘earth friendly’’ and are constantly looking for more ways to
incorporate recycled materials into their products.
The potential use of recycled materials in concrete is a growing interest. Although the
use of recycled materials in concrete is not a new advancement, typical replacement values have commonly
been on a small order as well as the combined use of recycled materials into a single concrete mixture.
Aside from cement, concrete is composed of several other ingredients, mainly
aggregates. Although important in varying degrees to a concrete mixture, aggregates by and large are a filler
material. In fact, it is the bond between the aggregate and cement that is the weakest link in the concrete
matrix. Typically, it is only in high strength concretes where aggregate strength becomes a contributing
factor. Quality aggregate sources are becoming more difficult to find.
Many aggregate sources used in the past have been depleted and concrete batch plants
are forced to use lesser quality aggregates. To acquire aggregates from the earth, considerable energy must be
used to quarry and refine the rock before being suitable for use in concrete. Mining operations are always at

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the forefront of environmental debate not only from the destructive aspect, but from an aesthetic standpoint.
For these reasons, aggregates are of primary interest with regards to potential replacement with recycled
materials.
This research investigates the effects that these recycled materials will have on the
fresh and hardened properties of concrete. Concrete mixtures containing recycled materials were designed
and batched for this research. The amounts of recycled materials used in each concrete mixture were varied,
and their fresh and hardened properties compared to a control mixture composed of natural aggregates. To
develop this recycled plastic waste, the natural coarse aggregates were replaced with plastic waste, the
natural fine aggregates and the cement.
As it is known to us that plastic waste such as carry bags given in mall as well as packed food
that are all of 40 micron in thickness are easily available in market. The main purpose of this test is to find
the tensile strength property of concrete, as we know that concrete is weak in tension but durable in
compression. Through these experiments tensile strength as well as flexural strength of concrete cube as well
as beam could be known.

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As per experiment done in lab is a mould of 150mm X 150mm X 150mm is used as well as 700mm X
150mm X 150mm for beam is used. The mix for 1% partial replacement of plastic waste with coarse
aggregate containing:
For cube used 150mm X 150mm X 150mm: 1 Nos

 Cement 1.44 kg

 Sand 3.6 kg

 Water content 0.73 lit

 Stone chips 4.752 kg

 Plastic Waste 0.048 kg

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 An Excess of 20% has been taken with every concrete mix materials due to the purpose of waste after
mixing doesn’t occur. The mix for 5% partial replacement of plastic waste with coarse aggregate is given
below:
For cube used 150mm X 150mm X 150mm: 2 Nos

 Cement 2.80 kg
 Sand 7.2 kg
 Water content 1.449 lit
 Stone chips 9.12 kg
 Plastic Waste 0.48 kg

After preparation of the concrete mix they are placed in the cube in three layers, each layers has been
compacted with the tamping rod of about 25 times and finally the cube has been placed to the vibratory
machine for the purpose to achieve full compaction in order to expel the entrapped air from the concrete mix.
Using Plastic fibre in concrete mix in order to achieve flexural strength i.e. related to the tensile
strength property of concrete at a certain amount could provide strength to the design mix. In order to do so a
mix has been prepared containing addition of plastic fibre in a proper proportion on volume of beam.

Similarly, using plastic waste in concrete mix in order to achieve flexural strength i.e. related to
the tensile strength property of concrete at a certain amount could provide strength to the design mix. In
order to do so a mix has been prepared containing addition of plastic waste in a proper proportion on volume
of beam. The plastic waste (40 micron) used is properly shredded at a length of 5cm.

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 CHAPTER 4.1: USES OF PLASTIC WASTE IN

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Nowadays, human apply all of its potentiality to consume more. The result of this high
consumption is nothing unless reducing the initial resources and increasing the landfill. In recent times,
human from the one hand is always seeking broader sources with lower price and from the other hand is
following the way to get rid of the wastes. The waste today can be produced wherever humans footprints be
existed, and remind him that they have not chosen the appropriate method for exploitation of the nature. At
the present time, the possibility of utilizing the renewable resources such as solar, geothermal has been
provided for us more than before, and development of the renewable and alternative energies is making
progress. Plastic have become an essential part of our day to day life since their introduction over hundred
years ago. The only way to reduce the hazards of plastic is reduce and reuse.

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 The building and construction sector in Europe consumes around 10 million tonnes of plastics
each year (20% of total European plastics consumption), making it the second largest application for plastics
after packaging. Plastic pipes, for instance, account for the majority of all new pipe installations, with well
over 50% of the annual tonnage. And this share continues to grow.
Although plastics are not always visible in buildings, they are used in a wide and growing range
of applications, including insulation, piping, window frames and interior design.
Recycling is the practice of recovering used materials from the waste stream and then
incorporating those same materials into the manufacturing process. Recycling is one of the prominent is used
in these environmentally conscious era (Hai-Yong Kang et al 2005). These are three main arguments for
recycling:-
 Firstly, it preserves the precious natural resources;
 Secondly it minimizes the transportation and its associated costs; x
 Thirdly, it avoids the environmental load caused by waste materials, i.e. space requirements

 Recycling methods and construction applications:

1. Chemical modification
2. Mechanical recycling
3. Thermal processing
4. Fillers

1) Chemical modifications - Plastics can be recycled by chemical modification or depolymerisation .the

two ways to achieve depolymerisation i.e. hydrolysis (chemical decomposition) and pyrolysis (thermal
B.T. Ashwini Manjunath / Procedia Environmental Sciences 35 ( 2016 ) 731 – 739 733 decomposition).
e.g.: PET (polyethylene terephthalate), MMA (methyl methacrylate).

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 2) Mechanical recycling - Mechanical recycling of plastics refers to processes which involve melting,
shredding or granulation of waste plastics. Plastics must be sorted prior mechanical recycling (HDPE)
high density polyethylene and thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO).
3) Thermal processing- It consists of heating a thermoplastic at very high temperatures, thus making the
plastic flow. The plastic is then converted into new product as it cools. This method doesn’t involve the
modification of the chemical composition of the plastic e.g. PET
4) Fillers - Plastic waste can also be used as fillers with virgin resins or other materials like concrete or as
fill materials in road construction.
Advantages of using the plastics in concrete:
 The growth in the use of plastic is due to its beneficial properties, which include:
 Extreme versatility and ability to be tailored to meet specific technical needs.
 Lighter weight than competing materials reducing fuel consumption during transportation.
 Durability and longevity.
 Resistance to chemicals, water and impact.
 Excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties.
 Comparatively lesser production cost.

At melting point the bonding capacity increases as the temperature increases.

The following are the main disadvantages of using the plastics in concrete:
 Plastics are having low bonding properties so that the strength of concrete gets reduced such as
compressive, tensile and flexural strength.
 Its melting point is low so that it cannot be used in furnaces because it gets melt as its comes in
contact with the heat at high temperature.

OBJECTIVES :

 To identify that plastic waste can be disposed by using them as construction material.
 Replacement of plastic waste as coarse aggregate.
 To limit the amount of toxic substances in certain plastic product.
 To develop and improve the technology for plastic waste management.
 To reduce the pollution due to recycling of plastic waste in the un-organized section.

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  To determine the compressive and flexural strength of concrete containing e-plastic + shredded
plastic waste as well as aggregate.

CHAPTER 5

VARIOUS TESTS CONDUCTED

Several tests have been done for the materials also. Tests for cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregates have
been done.
TESTS OF CEMENT

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 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF CEMENT

AIM: To determine the specific gravity of given sample of hydraulic cement.

Reference: IS: 269 -1989 and IS: 4031-1988.
APPARATUS: Physical balance, specific gravity bottle of 50ml capacity, cleans kerosene.

INTRODUCTION: Specific gravity is defined as the ratio between weight of a given volume of material
and weight of an equal volume of water. To determine the specific gravity of cement, kerosene is used
which does not react with cement.

PROCEDURE:
1. Clean and dry the specific gravity bottle and weigh it with the stopper (W1).
2. Fill the specific gravity bottle with cement sample at least half of the bottle and weigh with stopper
(W2).
3. Fill the specific gravity bottle containing the cement, with kerosene (free of water) placing the stopper
and weigh it (W3).
4. While doing the above do not allow any air bubbles to remain in the specific gravity bottle.
5. After weighing the bottle, the bottle shall be cleaned and dried again.
6. Then fill it with fresh kerosene and weigh it with stopper (W4).
7. Remove the kerosene from the bottle and fill it with full of water and weigh it with stopper (W 5).

8. All the above weighing should be done at the room temperature of 27c + 10 c.
OBSERVATIONS:

DESCRIPTION OF ITEM TRIAL1 TRIAL2

Weight of empty bottle (W1) 116 gm 116 gm

Weight of bottle + Cement (W2) 247 gm 199 gm

Weight of bottle + Cement + Kerosene (W3) 429 gm 392 gm

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 Weight of bottle + Full Kerosene (W4) 337 gm 337 gm

Specific gravity of Kerosene (Sk) = (W4 – W1 ) / (W5 – W1 )

Specific gravity of Cement (Sc) = (W2 - W1 )/ ((W4 - W1)-(W3-W2)) X Sk
Sc = (W2 - W1) X (W4 - W1) / ((W4 - W1)-(W3-W2))*(W5 - W1)

RESULT:
1.) AVERAGE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF GIVEN SAMPLE OF CEMENT = 2.495.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY AND WATER ABSORPTION OF COARSE AGGREGATE

AIM: To determine the specific gravity & Water absorption of coarse aggregate.

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APPARATUS: Physical balance, Container of 1L capacity, A well ventilated thermostatically control
oven in order to maintain the temperature of 100 to 110 0C

INTRODUCTION: The Specific Gravity & Water Absorption of an aggregate is generally required for
calculations in connection with cement concrete design work for determination of moisture content and for
the calculations of volume yield of concrete. The specific gravity also gives information on the quality and
properties of aggregate. The specific gravity of an aggregate is considered to be a measure of strength of
quality of the material. Stones having low specific gravity are generally weaker than those with higher
specific gravity values. Specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of aggregate relative to the weight of
equal volume of water.

PROCEDURE:
1. Take 500g of dust free aggregate.
2. Find the weight of the empty container (W1).
3. Take coarse aggregate in the container up to approximately half of the container and find out the weight
(W2).
4. Fill the container with water up to the level of the coarse aggregates so that all void space inside the
aggregates filled with water. Find its weight (W3).
5. Fill the container with water after emptying it from mix of coarse aggregate and water. Water should be
up to the mark, up to which coarse aggregate is filled. Find its weight (W4).
7. Again take the sample and placed in a container and immersed in distilled water for 24 hours at room
temperature.
8. Remove the sample from water and remove surface water and taking the weight of sample (W5).
9. Placed the aggregate in the oven at a temperature of 1000C to 1100C for 24 hours.
10. Remove the sample from oven and cooled in an air tight container and take the weight (W6).
11. Repeat the same process for another trail by taking the aggregate up to the full of the container and by
filling the water up to same point.

OBSERVATIONS:

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 DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE1 SAMPLE2

Weight of empty bottle (W1) 250gm 252gm

Weight of bottle + Aggregate (W2) 848gm 1007gm

Weight of bottle + Aggregate +Water (W3) 1608gm 1707gm

Weight of bottle + Water (W4) 1218gm 1227gm

Weight of wet sample (W5) 300gm 500gm

Weight of oven dry sample (W6) 295gm 490gm

Specific gravity of Aggregate = (W2 - W1) / ((W4 - W1)-(W3-W2))

Water absorption of aggregate = ((W6 – W5) /W5) *100
RESULTS:
1.) Average specific gravity Aggregate =2.81
2. Average water absorption of Aggregate =1.8

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 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF FINE AGGREGATE

AIM: To determine the specific gravity of given Fine Aggregate.

APPARATUS: 10 Kg capacity balance with weights, Specific gravity bottle, Hot plate.

INTRODUCTION: Specific gravity is defined as the ratio between weight of a given volume of Sand and
weight of an equal volume of water.

PROCEDURE:
1. Weight the empty Specific gravity bottle = W1
2. Fill the specific gravity bottle with sand sample at least half of the bottle and weigh with stopper. =W2
3. Add distilled water to fill up to ¾th of the specific gravity bottle.
4. Apply heat the contents for 10 minutes, to remove the entrapped air.
5. Fill the Specific gravity bottle with distilled water and take the weight = W3
6. Remove the mix of sand and water from bottle and fill it with water then weigh it = W4
OBSERVATIONS:

DESCRIPTION OF ITEM TRIAL1 TRIAL2

Weight of empty jar (W1) 116 gm 116 gm

Weight of jar + Sand (W2) 318 gm 320 gm

Weight of jar + sand +water (W3) 514 gm 512 gm

Weight of jar + water (W )

4 382 gm 382 gm

Specific gravity = Weight of solids / Weight of equal volume of water = (W2 - W1) / ((W4 - W1) - (W3 - W2))

RESULT:

1.) Average specific gravity of given sample of sand =2.82

FINENESS MODULUS OF FINE AGGREGATES

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 AIM: To determine the fineness modulus of given fine aggregates.

APPARATUS: IS test sieves of 4.8mm, 2.4mm, 1.2mm, 600micron, 300micron, and 150 Micron.

INTRODUCTION: Fine aggregate is sand used in mortars. The size of the fine aggregate is limited to
maximum 4.75 mm. beyond which it is known as coarse aggregate. Fineness modulus is only a numerical
index of fineness, giving some idea about, the mean size of the particles in the entire body of concrete.
Determination of fineness modulus is considered as a method of standardization of grading of aggregates i.e.
the main object of finding fineness modulus is to grade the given aggregate for the most economical mix
and workability with minimum quantity of cement. It is obtained by sieving known weight of given
aggregate in a set of standard sieves and by adding the percent weight of material retained on all the sieves
and dividing the total percentage by 100.
PROCEDURE:
1. Take 1 Kg of sand sample in a clean dry plate.
2. Arrange the sieves in order of No. 4.75, 2.4, 1.2, 600, 300 and 150 keeping sieve 4.8mm at top and 150
micron at bottom.
3. Fix them in the sieve shaking machine with the pan at the bottom and cover at the top.
4. Keep the sand in the top sieve i.e. 4.8mm, carry out the sieving in the set of sieves and arranged before for
not less than 10 minutes.
5. Find the weight retained in each sieve.
OBSERVATIONS:
S.No SIEVE SIEVE %WEIGHT %WEIGHT CUMULATIVE % WEIGHTS
SIZE RETAINED (gm) RETAINED PASSING RETAINED
1. 4.75 mm 0 0 100 0
2. 2.36 mm 0 0 100 0
3. 1.18 mm 0 0 100 0
4. 600 micron 6 0.6 99.4 .6
5. 300 micron 696 69.6 70.4 70.2
6. 150 micron 281 28.1 71.9 98.3
7. 7.P PAN17 17 1.7 1.7 98.3100 100

1.) Fineness Modulus: Sum of Cumulative percentage Wt. retained /100.

RESULT: The fineness modulus of given fine aggregate =2.69

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

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 AIM: To determine the compressive strength of concrete cube
(dimensions: 150 mm X 150 mm X 150 mm)

Apparatus for Concrete Cube Test

1.) Compression testing machine
 Mixing of Concrete for Cube Test
 Mix the concrete either by hand or in a laboratory batch mixer

 Hand Mixing
1.) Mix the cement and fine aggregate on a water tight none-absorbent platform until the mixture is
thoroughly blended and is of uniform colour.
2.) Add the coarse aggregate and mix with cement and fine aggregate until the coarse aggregate is uniformly
distributed throughout the batch
3.) Add water and mix it until the concrete appears to be homogeneous and of the desired consistency

 Sampling of Cubes for Test

1.) Clean the mounds and apply oil.
2.) Fill the concrete in the molds in layers approximately 5 cm thick.
3.) Compact each layer with not less than 35 strokes per layer using a tamping rod (steel bar 16mm diameter
and 60cm long, bullet pointed at lower end).
4.) Level the top surface and smoothen it with a trowel

 Curing of Cubes
The test specimens are stored in moist air for 24 hours and after this period the specimens are marked and
removed from the molds and kept submerged in clear fresh water until taken out prior to test.
 Precautions for Tests
The water for curing should be tested every 7 days and the temperature of water must be at 27+-2 0 C.
 Procedure for Concrete Cube Test
1.) Remove the specimen from water after specified curing time and wipe out excess water from the
surface.
2.) Take the dimension of the specimen to the nearest 0.2m
3.) Clean the bearing surface of the testing machine

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 4.) Place the specimen in the machine in such a manner that the load shall be applied to the opposite sides
of the cube cast.
5.) Align the specimen centrally on the base plate of the machine.
6.) Rotate the movable portion gently by hand so that it touches the top surface of the specimen.
7.) Apply the load gradually without shock and continuously at the rate of 140 kg/cm 2/minute till the
specimen fails.
8.) Record the maximum load and note any unusual features in the type of failure.
CALCULATIONS OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
Size of the cube =15cmx15cmx15cm.
Area of the specimen (calculated from the mean size of the specimen)=225 cm 2
Compressive strength = (Load in N/ Area in mm2 ).
FROM TABLE 1, IS 10262:2009,

Assume standard deviation for M25 concrete- 3

Target Strength F 1ck =f ck +1.65 s
= 25+(1.65 X 4)
= 31.6 N/m m2

Maximum water content for 50 mm slump = 186 lit [ for 20 mm aggregate]

3 % increase for every 25 mm slump
Maximum water content for 100 mm slump= 186+186*6%
=197 lit
E Efficiency of super plasticizer, water reduction upto 25% could be achieved
Actual water content= (197 – 25% of 197)
= 147.75 lit= 148 lit
C Cement content= 148/.44
= 337kg/m3> 320 kg/m3

 For, w/c ratio of 0.50, the volume of C.A. is 0.42. the volume of C.A is 0.62 (T-3, zone-11,
IS:10262:2009)
 But, here w/c ratio is 0.44. Therefore, w/c lowered by =(0.50-0.44=0.06)
 Volume of coarse aggregate= (0.62+ ((0.01/0.05) X 0.06) = 0.632.
 C.A. is angulr and concrete is to be pumped, C.A. can be reduced by 10 % from Cl. 4.4.1.
Final volume of C.A per unit volume of total aggregate = 0.632 – (0.632*10%)
 = 0.5688
 volume of fine aggregate per unit volume of total aggregate = 1-0.5688
= 0.4312

MIX CALCULATIONS:

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 a) Volume of concrete = 1m3 .
b) Volume of cement = (337/3.16)* (1/1000) = 0.1069 m3
c) Volume of water = (148/1000) = 0.148 m3
d) Volume of chemical admixture (super plasticizers @ 2% by weight of cementious material)
= (337 X 2%) X (1/(1000 X 1.18)) = 0.006 m3
e) Volume in all in aggregate (e) = 1- (0.0169+ 0.1480 +0.006) = 0.7391 m3 .

7.) Mass of coarse aggregate = e X Vol of C.A X Specific gravity of C.A X 1000
= 0.7391 X 0.5688 X 2.81 X 1000
= 1182kg
8.) Mass of fine aggregate = e X vol of F.A X specific gravity of F.A X 1000
= 0.7391 X 0.4312 X 2.8 X 1000
= 893kg
SITE CORRECTION:
1. Water absorption (F.A) = 1% 0f 893kg = 8.93 kg/m3
2. Water absorption (C.A) = 1.867% of 1182kg = 22.07 kg/m3
 Actual amount of water = 148 + (8.93+22-07) = 179 kg/m3
 Actual amount of fine aggregate = 893 – 8.93
= 884.07 kg/m3
 Actual amount of coarse aggregate = 1182-22.07
= 1160 kg/m3
PROPORTIONING OF MATERIAL
Cement: 337 kg/m3
Water: 179 kg/m3
Fine aggregate: 884 kg/m3
Coarse aggregate: 1160 kg/m3
Cement: F.A: C.A = 1:2.62: 3.44
Dimension of the mould: (0.15 X 0.15 X 0.15) = 0.003375m3

In one mould proportioning of material will be

 Cement content = 337 X 0.003375 = 1.137375 taken as 1.2 kg
 Water content = 179 X 0.003375 = 0.604125 lit
 Fine aggregate = 884 * 0.003375 = 2.9835 taken as 3 kg
 Coarse aggregate = 1160 X 0.003375 = 3.915 taken as 4 kg

FIBRES CONTENT IN BEAMS

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 Volume of concrete = 0.02025m3
Wt. of plastic : ( 0.02050 X 2400) = 49 gm
Wt. of cement : 7 kg
Coarse Aggregates (C.A) : 20.4 kg
Fine Aggregates (F.A) : 15.3 kg.
Water : 4litres.

SHREDDED PLASTIC WASTE FIBRES CONTENT IN BEAMS

1. Volume of beam : (0.70 X 0.15 X 1.2) = 0.0189 m3
2. Weight of beam : (0.0189 X 2400) = 45.36 X0.1% = 0.045 kg
3. Wt of cement : (0.0189 X 337) = 6.066 kg
4. Coarse agg : (0.0189 X 1160) = 20.88 kg
5. Fine agg : (0.0189 X 884) =15.91 kg
6. Water content : (179 X 0.0189) =3.20 lit

CHAPTER 6

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

CHAPTER 6.1 RESULTS

DIFFERENT VALUES OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

SAMPLE SPECIMEN No. of days of Compressive Strength Obtained

Curing (σcomp N/mm2)

Control MIX (CM) 28 24.67 24.21

CM+ P5 (5% replacement of 7 7.11 8.55

Plastic)
28
CM+ P1 (1% replacement of
Plastic) 28 20.44 21.34

Concrete Grade:- M25 GRADE

CONCRETE MIX CALCULATIONS:

CEMENT TYPE- OPC 43 Grade
CONCRETE MIX- M 25
MAX NOMINAL SIZE OF AGGREGATE- 20 mm
MIN CEMENT CONTENT- 320 kg/m3
WORKABILITY- 100 mm slump
w/c RATIO- 0.45
TYPE OF AGGREGATE- ANGULAR AGGREGATES.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS (FROM TESTS OF CEMENT):-

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 Specific gravity of coarse aggregate 2.81

Specific gravity of fine aggregate 2.8

Water absorption of coarse aggregate 1.687 %

Water absorption of fine aggregate 1%

Fineness modulus of sand 2.26 %

Specific gravity of cement 2.495

DIFFERENT VALUES OF FLEXURAL STRENGTH TEST (TWO POINT LOADING):

Serial No. SPECIMEN No. of days PLASTIC F FLEXURAL

Of of CURING (gm) STRENGTH
PERIOD (σflex)
45
1. B1 28 7 MPa

49
2. B2 28 6.5 MPa

----
3. B3 28 10 MPa

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 CHAPTER 6.2: DISCUSSIONS

The compressive strength value of all waste plastic concrete mixture tends to decrease below the values for

the reference concrete mixture with increasing the waste plastic ratio at all curing ages.

As percentage of plastic increases workability also increases because the plastic which is used as aggregate

is smooth as well as water absorption capacity of plastic is also low.

By partially replacing the coarse aggregate with 5% of plastic (in the form of plastic

aggregates as an additive) in concrete the compressive strength found at 7 days is equal to 7.11 MPa which

is almost half of the reference mix. But partially replacing of coarse aggregate with 1% of plastic waste (in

the form of plastic aggregates as an additive) in concrete mix and testing at 28 days, the strength achieved

(24MPa) which is almost equal to the reference concrete mix. Even it is also observed that while using 5 %

addition of shredded plastic waste fibres in concrete, compaction of concrete was not proper. Hence, this

shows that addition of some type of superplasticizer is necessary to increase the bonding between concrete

particles and plastic fibres.

The flexural strength at each curing age is proven to increase with the increase of the

waste plastic and aggregate ratio. Even use of (shredded plastic waste + nylon fibres) proved to be the best

combination to attain maximum flexural strength value of 10 MPa. This trend can be attributed to the

decrease in adhesive strength between the surface of waste particles and the cement paste.

By using recycled waste plastic in concrete can reduce the landfill and environment

issues. This type of aggregates replacement is useful where aggregates are in crisis. By this we conserve the

natural resources.

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 CHAPTER 7

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[12] Siddique R, Khatib J & Kaur I, 2008, ‘Use of recycled plastic in concrete: a review’ Waste Manage,
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