Experimental and numerical investigations of the influence of partial replacement of coarse aggregates by plastic waste on the impact load

The effect of partial replacement of coarse aggregate by plastic waste on the performance of concrete under impact three-point bending loading was investigated experimentally and numerically. Specimens were prepared for 5%, 10% and 20 % replacements by volume of coarse aggregate. For each case, three beams of 100 mm wide, 50 mm deep and 400 mm long were loaded to failure in a drop-weight impact machine by subjecting it to 30 N weight from 400 mm height, while another three beams of the same size were tested under static load. The load-displacement of beams of concrete with plastic waste subjected to static and impact loads were studied. The dynamic beam behaviour was also analysed numerically using the finite-element method (FEM) based LUSAS software. In general, the experimental results reveal that the impact tup, inertial load and bending load increase with the increase in the percentage of coarse aggregate replacement by plastic waste, while the static peak bending load always decreases. The concrete with plastic waste is stronger and more energy-absorbing under impact loading, than under static loading. The predicted load against displacement behaviours of both ordinary concrete and concrete with plastic waste, are well matched with the experimental results.