Concreto convencional com areia pet: estudo de propriedades mecânicas e físicas

Abstract

One of the major concerns today is the conservation of natural resources and the environmentally sound disposal of unused consumer goods. Plastic is one of the most widely used materials in the world due to its variety of colors and the ability to be molded to various shapes, it is mainly used in product packaging. Increased consumption of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles has generated an environmental problem, mainly due to their improper disposal and long decomposition time. The construction industry has been conducting studies with incorporation of disposable materials in Portland cement matrices in order to improve their properties, destine a sustainable end to waste products and reduce aggregate consumption, preserving nature reserves. The present work aims to analyze the viability of partial replacement of natural fine aggregate by PET aggregate in conventional concretes. Some mechanical properties (axial compressive strength and surface hardness) and some physical properties (thermal conductivity and ultrasonic wave propagation velocity) were evaluated. Replacement of fine aggregate (natural sand) by PET sand was carried out by volume at 10%, 15% and 30%. A 0% PET trace was also performed to be used as a reference. In the tests performed, it was concluded that the axial compression strength and surface hardness showed loss of efficiency with the increase of PET percentage in the concretes. The thermal conductivity and the ultrasonic wave propagation velocity presented satisfactory results. From the obtained values, it can be concluded that concretes with up to 30% of PET have potential to be used in concrete partitions and concretes with up to 10% of PET have sufficient strength to be used as structural concrete.