MECHANICAL AND HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF PERVIOUS CONCRETE INCORPORATING WASTE PET PLASTIC

In modern times, human endurance is required for sustainable infrastructure development. In this regard, the concept of the blend of pervious concrete and Polyethylene Terephthalate plastic (PET) is a fascinating area of research. On the one hand, Pervious concrete helps to recharge groundwater levels by allowing water percolation through voids and reducing the surface runoff. Similarly, on the other hand, waste PET plastic, generated at a higher rate in today’s time, gets reused in construction activities. This, in turn, provides two prominent advantages, i.e., alteration in the mechanical and hydraulic properties of concrete and effective plastic waste management. This paper examines the utilization of waste PET plastic fibers in the development of pervious concrete at different proportions to analyze the mechanical (compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength) and hydrological (permeability of concrete) variations in the resulting design. In this study, the natural coarse aggregates were replaced by different percentages of PET plastic fibers, viz. 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, by volume at constant water-cement ratio of 0.34. Increasing the proportion of PET plastic in the concrete mix reduces the compressive strength, flexural strength, and split tensile strength. At the same time, the porosity, permeability, and abrasive resistance cited gradual rise. Based on the experimental outcomes, it was observed that the porous concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.34, aggregate to binder ratio of 4.81 with 10% replacement of coarse aggregate with PET plastic can be considered a better choice and sustainable also.