Mechanical properties of concrete containing polyethylene terephthalate in shredded form

Abstract

The growing consumption and consequent accumulation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles has emerged as a significant environmental challenge. This work deals with the impact of shredded-form PET inclusion on the properties of concrete. PET waste was incorporated into the concrete at six different ratios by volume: 0 % (reference), 1 %, 3 %, 5 %, 10 % and 20 %. Two different types of cement were used: CEM II 32.5 and CEM II 42.5. The results indicate that the workability of concrete decreases as the PET ratio increases. Furthermore, the impact of PET on the compressive strength of concrete is not detrimental up to 5 % of PET content. Higher PET content resulted in a considerable decline in compressive strength. The splitting tensile strength improves with an increase in the PET ratio. The flexural strength is also enhanced with the inclusion of PET up to 10 %. Lastly, empirical equations were provided by collecting and analysing the data from the literature for the compressive, tensile, and flexural strength of PET-containing concretes.