Effect of water to binder ratio and particle size distribution of waste glass powder on the compressive-strength and modulus of elasticity of normal-strength concrete

Abstract

This paper aims to experimentally study the impact of waste glass powder (GP) as a partial cement replacement (up to 20%) with two different particle size distributions ((55 µm < GP-A < 135 µm) and (55 µm > GP-B)) on the compressive strength and Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) of concrete. The concrete mixes for GP-A considered in this study have water to binder ratio (w/b) of 0.49 and 0.57, whereas only a w/b ratio of 0.57 was considered for GP-B mixes. The experimental data obtained were used to develop different models to predict the elastic modulus of GP-modified concrete.

The test results showed that the compressive strength and the MOE decreased with the increase of GP content. The size effect of GP as compared to w/b and GP content on compressive and MOE was relatively small. A nearly similar failure behaviour and peak strain were observed for all concrete mixes. The stiffness of the concrete decreases comparatively with an increase in the GP replacement level. Finally, the proposed MOE equations provide better predictions than the empirical models and practice codes considered in this study. They can be used in calculating the elastic modulus of GP-modified concrete.

Keywords:

• Cement replacement
• glass powder
• compressive strength
• elastic modulus
• stress-strain behaviour
• modelling

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.