Estudo de propriedades mecânicas e de durabilidade de concretos com EVA

Abstract

Construction is one of the sectors that consumes the most natural resources and also the one that generates the most solid waste. In recent decades, the environment has suffered significant environmental impacts due to increased waste generation, which has prompted many researchers to seek alternative materials for use in cementitious materials. The recycling and use of some waste in construction can be advantageous, mainly because it can offer a reduction in the use of non-renewable natural resources and costs. Among the residues commonly studied are EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate), which is a material with low specific mass, good thermal and acoustic performance, and has been used as a light aggregate for the production of concrete and mortars. With the aim of reducing the disposal of waste in the environment and seeking an alternative to its use, this work aims to reuse the EVA residue in concrete. Four traces were developed, one of them being a reference (without EVA) and the others with volume substitution of the natural aggregate by EVA at levels of 60%, 70% and 80%. The concrete quality control was performed by analyzing some of its properties: physical properties (specific mass), mechanical properties (tensile strength by diametral compression and resistance to axial compression) and durability (capillary absorption and absorption by total immersion ). The analysis of the performance of the concretes allowed to conclude that the specific mass of the concretes decreases with the increase of the EVA content in the mixtures, and that this is inversely proportional to the two mechanical properties studied (diametral compression traction and resistance to axial compression). In the properties of durability, it was concluded that the lower absorption by capillarity was obtained for concretes with EVA (in comparison with the reference mixture), and there was no significant difference between the traces with EVA. The total immersion absorption test showed that this property is directly proportional to the EVA content in the traces. It can be concluded that concrete produced with EVA aggregate replacement can be applied to non-structural elements, as they presented axial compressive strength values ranging from 2.17 MPa to 6.85 MPa.