Industrial and Biological Wastes Compacted Cement Structures for Green Construction

Abstract

This research aims to enhance the flexural strength and unconfined compressive strength of cement compacted sand using fly ash from municipal solid waste (MSW) with polypropylene fiber and glass fiber. This MSW combustor fly ash by-product and is produced during the combustion of municipal solid waste in solid waste combustor facilities. Incineration has overtaken landfill mining as the most important option for disposal of the increasing volumes of MSW generated in Thailand. The research purposes this new green material and studies its properties which are first peak strength, peak strength, peak strength ratio, toughness, ductility index, equivalent flexural strength and crack behavior. The samples were prepared by adding 5% of cement by weight, varying the fly ash replacement to cement ratio of 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25 and 100:0 by weight, with varied polypropylene fiber and glass fiber of 0,0.5,1,1.5 and 2% by volume. Then all samples were cured for 28 days to reach their maximum capacity. From the results, the research recommends the fly ash replacement to cement ratio of 25:75 with the polypropylene fiber of 1.5% and glass fiber of 1.0 % by volume showing the maximum flexural strength. The synthetic fiber under investigation has a non-compact interfacial zone that SEM results in only a partial-contact interfacial surface, making them hydrophobic materials. These need to form a strong enough bond with a higher fiber content to produce a hardening-deflection response. The sample has been proven to be sustainable construction material. These support Thailand’s future cement demand while lowering the cement industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.