Effects of Marble Waste on Properties of Polymer Concrete

Abstract

The quantities of wastes, generated in industry are increasing every year. Their utilization became a priority for solving pollution problem and save energy and resources. The wastes are investigated as materials for obtaining new concretes with different applications. Polymer concrete is a composite material, in which the aggregates of different sorts are bound together by a resin. As in the case of cement concrete, different types of wastes (slag, glass, marble, etc.) can replace the aggregates or they can be added in the concrete composition as filler (silica powder, fly ash, calcareous powder, etc). The use of wastes presents some advantages such as: obtaining of new products at lower prices, in some cases with improved properties; consuming of wastes helps to clean the environment; preservation of natural resources which are replaced by wastes; etc.In the experimental study, marble waste is used for obtaining epoxy polymer concrete. The effects of this type of waste on the mechanical properties of polymer concrete were investigated. Two types of concrete were prepared: one with powder of marble as addition and the other type with aggregates of marble waste. The mechanical properties (compressive strength, flexural strength, split tensile strength) were experimentally determined and compared with the characteristics of epoxy polymer concrete (considered as reference mix). The microstructure of polymer concrete with marble waste was analyzed by SEM images. The marble waste influenced the mechanical properties of epoxy polymer concrete. Higher values of mechanical properties were obtained when the marble was used as aggregates. As addition in epoxy polymer concrete, the dosage and finesse of marble had influenced the values of mechanical properties.