“Sustainable Concrete With Recycled Aggregates And Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Waste: Experimental Study On Strength, Durability, And Cost”

Abstract

Concrete is presently the most common building materials in the world, but due to its natural aggregate composite requirements and cement manufacturing, it is playing its significant role to exhaust natural resources and to cause greenhouse emissions. In solving these sustainability issues, the paper explores the possibility of using the Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) and Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) waste as a partial replacement of natural coarse aggregates in M25-Grade concrete. The project will seek to consider the mechanical and the durability factors of such sustainable mixes and establish whether they are economically viable to come up with an optimum level of replacement. Concrete mixes of 0, 10, 20 and 30 percent RCA-FRP combi replacements were prepared respectively. Some experimental tests were carried out: compressive strength at 7 and 28 days, water absorption, acid resistance according to the specifications of the IS and cost analysis based on DAR 2023 rates. It was found that, the control mix exhibited the maximum 28-day composite strength (31.15 N/mm²) followed by the 10 percent and 20 percent replacement mixes which reduced by 6.6 percent and 14.4 respectively but qualified the IS 456:2000 requirements. The proportion of 30 per cent fell to 24.36 N/mm² which is lower than the structural strength of M 25. Higher water absorption ranging between 2.40 and 3.03 percentage points was observed with an increase in the content of the RCA-FRP without exceeding the limit of 5 per cent. There was a display of 3-16 percent loss of strength due to exposure to acid but mixes up to 20 percent showed good resistance to it. At 30 percent replacement, the economic evaluation implied a cost saving of 3.3 percent. This implies that even at increment up to 20 percent of replacement one can find the best mix of structural performance, life and economics, which is a realistic way forward in pursuing sustainability in construction at the same time stepping down waste and saving resources.