Use of waste glass and demolished brick as coarse aggregate in production of sustainable concrete

Abstract

Reduction, recycling, and repurposing of waste materials continue to be an important part because they protect natural resources from further depletion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lead to a more sustainable environment. In this research, we have identified whether it is possible to use recycled glass waste and demolished bricks as a substitute for natural coarse aggregate in conventional concrete mixes. Crushed waste glass aggregate (WGA) and demolished brick (DB) are used in the concrete mix to replace the coarse aggregate in the mix was varied from 0%, 25%, 50% and 100% by weight. Three, seven, and twenty-eight-days curing of concrete cubes with dimensions of 150x150x150mm and concrete cylinders with dimensions of 100 mm diameter by 200 mm were used to conduct mechanical tests. A total of 80 concrete cube specimens and 40 concrete cylinder specimens were made for investigating the effect of WGA and DB. It is revealed by the slump tests result that the workability of concrete decreases with increasing amounts of glass and demolished brick. When comparing the hardened concrete to the control concrete, the compressive and split tensile strengths of the hardened concrete decreased as the waste glass content in the hardened concrete increased. But the concrete mix containing 50% waste glass and 50% demolished brick outperformed the control concrete by a significant margin and could be used to produce standard concrete with only minor modifications as compared to control concrete.