2007 Volume 56 Issue 3 Pages 287-293
Waste expanded polystyrene (waste EPS) can be recycled as an aggregate for concrete when it is melted and crushed. Despite the low bulk density of 1g/cm3, water absorption of the waste EPS aggregate is as low as 5 percentage and advantageous over the conventional lightweight aggregates. Mechanical properties of concrete specimens with a coarse aggregate of the crushed waste EPS melt were studied.
It was found that the unit mass of concrete using the waste EPS coarse aggregate was approx. 1.7 to 1.8t/m3, and that compressive strength of the concrete was approx. 15 to 33N/mm2. Brittleness index of the waste EPS aggregate concrete was smaller than that of normal aggregate concrete and conventional lightweight aggregate concrete. Use of crushed waste EPS as a lightweight coarse aggregate for concrete is a promising approach for the weight reduction of normal concretes.
