Performance Evaluation of the Polyurethane-Based Composites Prepared with Recycled Polymer Concrete Aggregate.

Wenbo Ma,Yanbing Zhao,Zenggang Zhao,Shuaicheng Guo,Caiqian Yang,Zhiren Wu

doi:10.3390/ma13030616

Wenbo Ma, Yanbing Zhao + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030616

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Abstract

Currently the investigation on recycled cement concrete aggregate has been widely conducted, while the understanding of the recycled polymer concrete aggregate is still limited. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap through the experimental investigation on mechanical and durability performance. Specifically, the remolded polyurethane stabilized Pisha sandstone was collected as the recycled polymer concrete aggregate. The remolded Pisha sandstone was then applied to re-prepare the polyurethane-based composites. After that, the mechanical performance of the prepared composites was first examined with unconfined and triaxial compressive tests. The results indicated that the Pisha sandstone reduces the composite’s compressive strength. The reduction is caused by the remained polyurethane material on the surface of the remolded aggregate, which reduces its bond strength with the new polyurethane material. Aiming at this issue, this study applied the ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) to enhance the bond performance between the polyurethane and remolded sandstone. The test results indicated both the unconfined and triaxle compressive strength of the polyurethane composites were enhanced with the added EVA content. Furthermore, the durability performance of the EVA-modified composites were examined through freeze-thaw and wet-dry cycle tests. The test results indicated the EVA could enhance the polyurethane composites’ resistance to both wet-dry and freeze-thaw cycles. Overall, the modification with EVA can compensate for the strength loss of polyurethane composites because of the applied remolded aggregate and enhance its sustainability.

Highlights

The demolishing of the aged infrastructure has led to numerous construction waste, which has led to severe environmental burden [1], including the occupation of landfill [2] and pollution of underground water [3]
The further compressive tests were conducted with the Remolded Pisha sandstone/W-OH
The triaxle compressive tests were further conducted with the remolded Pisha sandstone, original

Summary

Introduction

The demolishing of the aged infrastructure has led to numerous construction waste, which has led to severe environmental burden [1], including the occupation of landfill [2] and pollution of underground water [3]. Recycling of construction waste as aggregate or supplementary cementitious materials is a promising way to resolve environmental burden [4]. The study on recycling of construction waste has been widely conducted, including the study on the recycled concrete aggregate [5,6], recycled asphalt pavement [7,8], recycled asphalt shingles [9], and etc. The polyurethane materials have been widely applied to stabilize sandstone for water conservation. The aging of polyurethane stabilized sandstone had led to numerous waste polymer concrete and deteriorated its water conservation ability. This study aims to resolve these issues by recycling the waste polymer concrete as aggregate to re-prepare polyurethane-based composites for sustainable water conservation applications

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Results

Conclusion