Durability performance of concrete incorporating waste metalized plastic fibres and palm oil fuel ash

Abstract

With the rising quantity of waste generation from numerous processes, there has been growing attention in the consumption of waste materials in the production of construction materials to attain possible advantages. In this study, the durability performance of concrete comprising waste metalized plastic (WMP) fibres and palm oil fuel ash (POFA) was investigated. Properties studied include air content of fresh concrete in addition to sorptivity, water absorption, chloride penetration, and drying shrinkage of hardened concrete. Six concrete mixes containing 0–1.25% WMP fibres with a length of 20 mm were cast for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Further, six concrete batches with the same fibre content were made, where 20% POFA substituted OPC. The incorporation of WMP fibres and POFA increased the air content of concrete mixtures. Furthermore, water absorption, sorptivity, and chloride penetration of concrete reinforced with WMP fibres were reduced with volume fractions of up to 0.75% for both OPC and POFA-based mixtures. The positive interaction amongst WMP fibres and POFA consequently led to the reduction in drying shrinkage of the concrete. The influence of POFA on the durability performance of concrete was noticed to be more significant at longer curing periods. The results of the study revealed that there is a promising future for the utilisation of WMP fibres in the production of sustainable and durable concrete.