Hundloe, Kyle (2020) An assessment of durability and mechanical properties of post-consumer polypropylene fibre reinforced concrete. [USQ Project]
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Abstract
In the 21st century, plastic usage has increased exponentially. The reality of this growth means that there is also a rise in plastic waste unless measures are put in place. One method suggested is using the waste plastic as a fibre reinforcement in concrete. This study aims to collate past literature of waste polypropylene as a fibre reinforcement in concrete and determine whether Standards from around the world have adequate assumptions into how this form of concrete behaves.
The study found that there was a lack of data for waste polypropylene and that future experimental investigations must take place to understand the fibre reinforced concrete’s mechanical properties with confidence. While some properties lacked sufficient data, other properties contained just enough data points to estimate how the material behaved. Suggested Standard updates based on these estimations can be found in Appendix F.
Due to the lack of literature to analyse, a small experimental study was created to introduce more data points to the theoretical investigation. Within this study, the inclusion of fibres did not impact the compressive strength or elastic modulus enough to justify comments except that homogenous fibre dispersion is required for optimum performance. Tensile and flexural strength both saw the concretes failure mode change from brittle to ductile. An analysis under a scanning electron microscope found that the fibre-to-concrete bond was due to the embossed fibre surface and micro channels running longitudinally along the fibre length.
Further research is essential in allowing post-consumer polypropylene fibre reinforced concrete to gain traction in the engineering and construction industries.
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Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | USQ Project |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Civil Engineering and Surveying (1 Jul 2013 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Lokuge, Weena |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Aug 2021 04:47 |
| Last Modified: | 26 Jun 2023 04:06 |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/43060 |
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