Assessment of the PVC Waste Addition Effect on the Concrete Mechanical Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of using the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wastes as a concrete manufacturing material without pre-treatment. The purpose is also to contribute for restricting environmental pollution and exploitation of natural resources, through the stabilization and the solidification of PVC wastes in concrete. The aim of this experimental study is to evaluate experimentally the fresh and cured properties of PVC concrete based in comparison with ordinary concrete (OC). This study consists in collecting PVC waste, especially the used PVC pipes rejected in nature, and incorporate it into concrete by substitution of sand with different volume ratios (5%, 10% and 15%). In this study, two different shapes (Fiber and Fine) of PVC were considered. According to the test results, the addition of PVC waste in concrete as a partial replacement for natural sand conducts to decrease the workability of fresh concrete. It was noticed that, the concrete with PVC fiber shows a lower workability comparatively with fine PVC concrete. It was also observed that the PVC fiber improves the concrete compressive strength. It increases with increasing the replacement ratio of PVC waste. However, the increase in the ratio of fine PVC leads to a decrease in compressive strength. The better mechanical performance factor (MPF) was obtained for concrete mixes with high PVC fiber and moderate PVC fine ratios. The collected outcomes would contribute to helpful information for recycling PVC waste in concrete mixes.