Investigation of fresh state, mechanical and durability properties of cementitious systems reinforced with different plastic waste fiber materials: An experimental study

Abstract

Utilization of fibers obtained from waste plastics in mortar mixtures was investigated in this study. For this purpose, fibers obtained from polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene and polypropylene type plastic waste were used in mortar mixtures at the rate of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by volume. 10 mortar mixtures were produced. Flowability, unit weight, compressive strength and flexural strength of the produced mixtures were investigated. Also, water absorption and porosity ratio, capillary water absorption, sulfate resistance and abrasion resistance of some selected mixtures were investigated. Regardless of the waste plastic fiber type a decrease of 1.8% to 8% in flow performance of the mixture was detected. This effect became more pronounced for all waste fibers as the fiber content increased. Also, this negative effect is more dominant in polypropylene fiber mixtures. It was determined that the mixtures with the highest compressive strength value were the mixtures containing high density polyethylene fiber, and an increase of 3.8% was achieved compared to the control mixture. The transport properties of mortar mixtures were negatively affected by the use of fiber. Mixtures containing high density polyethylene fiber are more effective on mechanical performance of systems and more resistant to abrasion compared to other fibers.