Influence of Waste Polystyrene Foam on the Engineering Properties of Concrete Made from Local Materials

Abstract

One of the waste materials currently used in the manufacture of lightweight concrete is polystyrene. However, the effects of this material on most concrete properties have not been studied in Libya. In this paper, experimental data for plain concrete were obtained by replacing natural sand with waste polystyrene foam (WPSF) in volume ratios of 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%. The properties of concrete, such as slump, air content, density, water absorption, compressive strength, flexural strength, free shrinkage, and UPV, were determined experimentally. The findings indicate that as the amount of WPSF in the concrete mix increases, the slump, density, compressive strength, and flexural strength as well as the elastic modulus and UPV of the plain concrete decrease. Conversely, an increase in the replacement level of natural sand by WPSF leads to an increase in air content, water absorption, and free shrinkage. Even though the incorporation of WPSF did not enhance most of the established engineering properties of concrete, the results obtained still fall within the acceptable limits for concrete use in all engineering applications. As such, this type of concrete may be suitable for construction applications that require less thermal and acoustic insulation.