Abstract
Concrete and plastic are a major source of environmental contamination and unsustainability. This study has been employed to come up with the eco-friendly concrete by using the plastic waste to promote the sustainability. Gamma radiations were used to enhance the micro-structure of plastic waste to increase the mechanical properties of resulting concrete. The crystallinity and chemical properties of regular and irradiated plastic were studied using x-ray diffraction (Xrd) and x-ray fluorescence (Xrf), respectively. Enhancement in the crystallinity and chemical properties were observed in the irradiated plastic. Different compositions by weight were opted for replacement of cement and fine aggregate for both regular and irradiated plastic waste with silica fume and superplasticizers. A set of experiments were performed on concrete and the effect of plastic waste on the compressive strength and split tensile strength of concrete was examined. Untreated replacement of plastic waste has shown to decrease the compressive strength and anomalous behavior was observed in case of split tensile strength. Both the mechanical properties were enhanced by replacing the cement and fine aggregates with irradiated plastic waste including silica fume and superplasticizers. This study contributes towards sustainable development of green concrete by lowering the carbon emissions and overcoming the fine aggregate scarcity problem. Moreover, as plastic is ductile and inclusion of plastic in concrete lowers the overall weight of the structure; impact of an earthquake is reduced.