The inadequate disposal of household appliances by consumers and industries have annually been generating enormous amounts of polymeric waste (PW). So, the interest in reuse of PW in civil construction has increased. The production of new cementitious materials, such as concrete with PW, proves to be a promising solution to inappropriate disposal of this waste. In this study, self-compacting concrete (SCC) was developed with partial replacement of the coarse aggregates by polymeric waste (PW) from the recycling of refrigerators. In the SCC reference mixture, Portland cement, silica fume, sand, gravel and superplasticizer were used. The study also grouped the gravel as replaced by 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of PW. In order to analyze the samples, the following tests were used: spreading, viscosity, passing ability, compressive strength, tensile strength, microstructure, modulus of elasticity, specific gravity, absorption, voids index and electrical resistivity. The SCC found showed adequate homogeneity and viscosity, staying within the normative parameters. The mechanical resistance was above 20 MPa; specific mass between 1870 to 2260 kg/m3; modulus of elasticity ranged from 34 to 14 GPa; and electrical resistivity between 319 to 420 ohm.m. Due to the mechanical resistance, the SCC with PW can be used for structural purposes and densely reinforced structures such as pillars, beams and foundation elements.
Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) have gained the attention of the engineering field for applications in cementitious composites. Recently, many studies have addressed using these materials as an alternative to controlling recurrent pathologies, especially retraction in the hardening stage. This study conducted a literature review in the Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify relevant studies for future research in this area. Analyses were performed using the RStudio software program, where data on the number of publications, the main authors and journals, the most used keywords, and most common countries of publication were analyzed. Furthermore, bibliographic coupling and co-citation analyses were carried out. The results indicate that the most published authors were De Belie, Snoeck and Liu J., and the most cited authors were Jensen, Schrofl and Snoeck. Although Brazil is among the fifteen most published countries, it was not among the most cited, showing lacks in studies. In total, 343 articles were found in the Scopus database and 369 in the Web of Science.
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