The use of waste materials as aggregates in concrete construction : crushed waste-glass fines in concrete

Abstract

The materials used in the construction industry are constantly developing on the basis of practical experience, new requirements and fields of application as well as new scientific findings. Old construction methods are disappearing and new ones are coming into use. Criteria which were only of secondary importance on the selection of construction materials in earlier times have now become a top priority. Some of these criteria are health hazards, recycling, disposal, conservation of new materials and energy saving. Demand for concrete for construction is on the increase, and at some time or another, there will be a shortage of natural aggregates in many areas, especially in a small island like Malta. Consequently, there is a real and urgent need to consider using less satisfactory materials, which are of borderline quality. Borderline aggregates are those having deficiencies which do not make them clearly unacceptable but which leave some uncertainty about the extent of adverse effects on either strength or other engineering properties of concrete. In fact, there are many waste materials which can be used in the production of concrete. Some of these materials have been tried successfully whilst others are still to be tried regarding the feasability of using them in concrete construction. Many standard specifications for concrete, including BS 8110, permit the use of aggregates not complying with standards, provided there is satisfactory data on the properties of concrete made with them. From environmental considerations, it is desirable that more waste materials should be used instead of natural aggregates. Such use produces benefit by reducing industrial dereliction, conserving supplies of natural aggregates and reducing the need to open new quarries. Each of these, in itself, would justify the use of waste materials, and taken together, they present an overwhelming case for encouraging, whenever possible the use of such materials in place of natural aggregates. In pursuit of this aim, the purpose of this dissertation was to review the use of these waste materials in concrete. In fact, this dissertation presents a state of the art review on applications and properties of several waste materials. Laboratory investigations were also carried out on the use of crushed fine glass aggregate in concrete. Encouraging and interesting results are reported.