Performance of Concrete Modified With Discarded Glass at Elevated Temperatures for Sustainable Construction

Abstract

This study examines the residual strength of concrete produced with crushed discarded soda-lime glass as aggregates after exposure to elevated heating. The natural aggregates, which comprise both the coarse and fine aggregates were partially and completely replaced by 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the discarded glass. The control and samples containing crushed discarded glass aggregates were prepared at constant water-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.50 and the cube samples were exposed to temperatures of 60, 150, 300 and 500°C after curing in water for 90 days. The heating was increased at a constant heating rate of 10°C/min. The strength of the concrete samples was measured before and after exposure to heating after air-cooling of the heated samples. Moreover, scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination was carried out on selected samples to investigate the extent of change in the concrete bonding, especially at higher heating. Test results depict reduction trend in the characteristic strength of the tested samples as the level of heating increases, while the SEM micrographs reveal clear decomposition in the concrete interfaces. However, it was noticed from the results that concrete containing crushed discarded glass show better performance in terms of strength compared to the reference concrete at certain temperature exposure indicating a modified concrete with improved post-fire resistance.