Experimental Investigation Of Abrasion Resistance Of Concrete Modified With Plastic

Abstract

Waste plastic presents a persistent disposal problem and the thesis investigates its reuse through plastic-coated coarse aggregate in pavement concrete. Waste plastic bottles were shredded to 2.5-4.36 mm, the aggregates were heated to about 140°C, and the molten plastic was used to form a coating on the aggregate surface. The study compared raw and plastic-coated aggregates through impact, crushing, and Los Angeles abrasion tests, and evaluated M40 concrete prepared at a reported mix proportion of 1:1.3:2.6 with a water-cement ratio of 0.36. Compressive strength was measured on 150 mm concrete cubes at 7, 14, and 28 days, while abrasion resistance of concrete cylinders was assessed by the Cantabro test in a Los Angeles abrasion machine without steel balls. The reported average compressive strengths of conventional concrete were 28.11, 34.94, and 38.57 N/mm² at 7, 14, and 28 days, respectively; corresponding values for concrete with plastic-coated aggregate were 13.06, 23.978, and 39.03 N/mm². The Cantabro tables report abrasion values of 99.52% and 98.14% for raw-aggregate cylinders and 99.44% and 98.47% for plastic-coated-aggregate cylinders. The thesis concludes that plastic-coated aggregates provided improved abrasion resistance and satisfactory compressive performance while supporting reuse of waste plastic in pavement concrete.