Mechanical and Physical Properties of Polyester Polymer Concrete Using Recycled Aggregates from Concrete Sleepers

Currently, reuse of solid waste from disused infrastructures is an important environmental issue to study. In this research, polymer concrete was developed by mixing orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin, artificial microfillers (calcium carbonate) and waste aggregates (basalt and limestone) coming from the recycling process of concrete sleepers. The variation of the mechanical and physical properties of the polymer concrete (compressive strenght, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, density, and water absorption) as analyzed based on the modification of different variables: nature of the recycled aggregates, resin contents (11 wt%, 12 wt%, and 13 wt%), and particle-size distributions of microfillers used. The results show the influence of these variables on mechanical performance of polymer concrete. Compressive an flexural strength of recycled polymer concrete were improved by increasing amount of polyester resin and by optimizing the particle-size distribution of the microfillers. Besides, the results show the feasibility of developing a polymer concrete with excellent mechanical behavior Carrión, F.; Montalban Domingo, ML.; Real Herráiz, JI.; Real, T. (2014). Mechanical and Physical Properties of Polyester Polymer Concrete Using Recycled Aggregates from Concrete Sleepers. The Scientific World Journal. 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/526346 Gorninski, J. P., Dal Molin, D. C., & Kazmierczak, C. S. (2004). Study of the modulus of elasticity of polymer concrete compounds and comparative assessment of polymer concrete and portland cement concrete. Cement and Concrete Research, 34(11), 2091-2095. doi:10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.03.012 Tawfik, M. E., & Eskander, S. B. (2006). Polymer Concrete from Marble Wastes and Recycled Poly(ethylene terephthalate). Journal of Elastomers & Plastics, 38(1), 65-79. doi:10.1177/0095244306055569 Gorninski, J. P., Dal Molin, D. C., & Kazmierczak, C. S. (2007). Strength degradation of polymer concrete in acidic environments. Cement and Concrete Composites, 29(8), 637-645. doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2007.04.001 Jo, B.-W., Park, S.-K., & Park, J.-C. (2008). Mechanical properties of polymer concrete made with recycled PET and recycled concrete aggregates. Construction and Building Materials, 22(12), 2281-2291. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2007.10.009 Hwang, E.-H., Kim, J.-M., & Yeon, J. H. (2013). Characteristics of polyester polymer concrete using spherical aggregates from industrial by-products. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 129(5