Using plastic waste to produce lightweight aggregate for RC structures

This article compares the deflections of reinforced concrete beams with reinforcement degrees of ρ=1.02% and ρ=1.78%, made of lightweight aggregates, i.e. Certyd, LECA, and an innovative aggregate made of plastic waste. Two methods were used for the comparison experimental and computational. The computational part was performed using the finite element method (FEM) in ANSYS software. The adopted properties of lightweight concrete were sourced from the authors’ experimental research. A comparison of deflections based on the data obtained using both methods showed that, for reinforced concrete elements with a degree of reinforcement of ρ=1.02%, the smallest difference was obtained in the case of beams made of plastic waste concrete, while the highest difference was obtained for beams made of concrete with lightweight expanded clay aggregate. In the case of reinforced concrete elements with a degree of reinforcement ρ=1.78%, the lowest differences were obtained for beams made of lightweight aggregates, i.e. Certyd and LECA. For those beams that used plastic waste aggregate, the difference was 20%, compared to experimental tests.