Valorization of coarse rigid polyurethane foam waste in lightweight aggregate concrete

Abstract

This study examines the mechanical properties and the durability parameters of lightweight aggregate concretes (LWAC) incorporating rigid polyurethane (PUR) foam waste as coarse aggregates (8/20 mm). The influence of both the increasing incorporation of PUR foam waste and the presence of superplasticizer on the workability, bulk density, mass loss, drying shrinkage, compressive strength, dynamic modulus of elasticity, total porosity, gas permeability and chloride diffusion coefficient of the different concretes, has been investigated and analyzed. The results showed that the use of PUR foam waste enabled to reduce by 29-36% the dry density of concrete compared to that of the normal weight concrete (made without foam waste). The reduction of density was due to the increase of total porosity in the lightweight concretes, which also induced higher gas permeability and chloride diffusion coefficient. These negative effects on durability of concrete were lowered by improving the characteristics of the cementitious matrix. The mechanical properties of the LWAC ranged between 8 and 16 MPa for the compressive strength and between 10 and 15 GPa for the dynamic modulus of elasticity; the concrete mixture with the higher performances almost satisfied the mechanical and density criteria of structural lightweight concrete. These results consolidate the idea of the use of PUR foam waste for the manufacture of lightweight aggregate concretes.

Waste polyethylene terephthalate as an aggregate in concrete

“…Different types of plastic waste have been used as aggregate, filler or fibre in cement mortar and concrete after mechanical treatment. They include: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, polyvinyl chloride, PVC pipes, high density polyethylene, HDPE, thermosetting plastics, mixed plastic waste, expanded polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, polycarbonate, and glass reinforced plastic [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] . The details about the generation of PA as well as the properties of concrete containing PA are presented in a recent review 22 .…”

Desarrollo de una losa de piso de hormigón liviano con agregados reciclados de acetato de vinil etileno para reducir el impacto sonoro en los sistemas de piso

“…La preocupación principal en las propuestas de nuevos materiales cementicios son las diferencias producidas por la mayor absorción de agua de los agregados de peso liviano y aún se discute sobre los ensayos más específicos para caracterizarlos (Deshpande y Hiller, 2011). Especialmente para el uso en sistemas de piso con losa de concreto, los estudios sobre la influencia que ejerce la porosidad de los agregados de peso liviano (Deshpande y Hiller, 2011;Ribeiro et al, 20014), el tipo de agregados de peso liviano usado (Branco y Godinho, 2013;Ben Fraj et al, 2010), and of polymeric waste grain size (Herrero et al, 2013); indican que la caracterización de estos agregados puede determinar el control sobre el comportamiento acústico del sistema de piso respecto del ruido de impacto.…”

Comparaison performantielle à court et à long termes de mortiers légers à base de déchets de mousse de polyuréthane rigide et de billes de polystyrène expansé

“…La densité absolue de la mousse de PUR dans l'air a été évaluée, à environ 45 kg/m 3 [2], tandis que celle des billes de PSE est de 44 kg/m 3 , selon les indications du fournisseur.…”

“…Cette étude s'intègre dans ce contexte, en proposant la fabrication de mortiers légers à base de particules fines de mousse de polyuréthane rigide (PUR) [2,3]. Pour cela, deux mortiers contenant 25 et 50% de mousse PUR en remplacement du volume de sable ont été fabriqués et caractérisés au jeune âge et à âge mature.…”