This study employs statistical and experimental procedures to assess the applicability of crushed waste glass to replace natural sand in shotcrete production for use in tunneling, mining and excavation industries as a support system. Mechanical strength under different uniaxial and biaxial load combinations, fracture properties, and ultra-high-speed photography of the crack growth mode in the newly developed shotcrete mixes were studied and compared against the control mix at 0% waste glass inclusion. Results suggest that shotcrete mixes containing synthetic glass aggregates exhibit similar or higher strength properties (compared with conventional shotcrete with natural aggregates) at early and late ages in both fresh and hardened shotcrete samples. Under biaxial stress conditions, in particular, the new glass shotcrete designs demonstrate a higher load-bearing capacity of up to 35% increase. Compared to conventional shotcrete, replacing sand with recycled glass aggregates further exhibited the need for less water and binder consumption owing to the glass water-reducing effect. This in return could leave more water available for improved workability in the mixture hence producing a more cost-effective and eco-friendly shotcrete product. From the results, no impairment of performance was recorded by substituting sand with crushed waste glass even at a high substitution percentage of up to 100%; suggesting high improvement potential of crushed waste glass re-use in the shotcrete industry.
There is an ever-increasing amount of waste glass generated worldwide that is currently sent to landfill, and has a high potential for re-use. In Australia alone, the consumption of glass is 1.36 million tonnes, with the state of New South Wales producing the highest amount. Traditional landfilling and stockpiling of waste glass are not an environment-friendly solution, and the re-use of waste glass has become an important research topic in Australia and worldwide. This Project employs an experimental study to estimate waste glass re-cycling in shotcrete production. Mechanical strength and fracture properties of the new mix designs are compared against the controlled mixes at 0% waste glass inclusions. From the results, no impaired performance was recorded by substituting sand with crushed waste glass even at a high percentage ratio of up to 100%. While further research is needed, the promising early results highly encourage the applicability of crushed waste glass for sustainable shotcrete design, a topic that is yet relatively under-researched.
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