Influence of Recycled Glass Ceramic Waste On Physical and Mechanical Properties of Foamed Concrete

Abstract

Concrete is the most used man-made material and foamed concrete is a type of concrete widely known with high workability, low density and excellent thermal and sound insulation properties. Its global market has also been predicted to increase. Growing of population and economy, along with urbanization generate wastes which increase yearly. One of the solutions to reduce waste in landfills is by using waste in manufacturing. Glass, classed as a form of ceramic waste (GCW) has been left in the landfills unrecycled due to the challenges it causes. The primary purpose of this research is to find the optimal GCW composition as a quartz sand additive for Foamed Concrete-based Glass Ceramic Waste (FC-GCW) which will reduce the amount of unrecycled GCW that ends upin landfills while producing a sustainable product. The samples were prepared by grinding the GCW and mixing varying percentages of GCW (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30%) with a consistent quantity of cement, quartz sand, water, and foam. Physical (density, water absorption, porosity and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX)) test and analysis and mechanical (compressive strength) test were performed on the samples. During physical tests, the density increased as the GCW percentage increased, but water absorption andporosity decreased. FC-GCW 20% had appropriate density, water absorption, and porosity values of 0.887 g/cm3, 22.6 %, and 88.9%, respectively, which demonstrated that the material is lightweight and porous.For EDX analysis between FC-GCW control and FC-GCW 20%, it was found that when GCW was included, the weight percentage of Oxygen and Calcium decreased while the weight percentage of Silica increased, showing GCW increased Silica content, and pozzolanic reaction occurred to from Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) gel.For mechanical testing, it was discovered that FC-GCW 20% had the highest average compressive strength of 0.94 MPa and 2.01 MPa for 7 and 28 days, respectively. This research's contribution can be applied to areas where low densities are preferred and low compressive strength is required, such as of road sub-base, fire breaks, raising floor level, void fill, harbour fill, bridge abutments and ground stabilization.