AIR PERMEABILITY, PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL

PROPERTIES FROM RECYCLED PLASTER

P. S. Bardella, E. L. Ferreira Jr., G. Camarini

Departamento de Arquitetura e Construção, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil

Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brasil

ABSTRACT

Commercial plaster (CaSO 4 ⋅ 1 2 H 2 O) is a product obtained from gypsum partial

dehydration (CaSO 4 ⋅ 2H 2 O) . It is a material used in building construction all over the
world. Its properties as a construction material associated with the great availability of raw
materials and their by-products become plaster a material with increasing consumption.
Plaster is used as covering of walls and roofs in internal and dry ambient because it is soluble
in water. It is also used as pieces for decoration, blocks and plates. The waste of this material
during its application in building construction is very high. According to different studies, the
pastes of plaster manually applied produce a material loss higher than 45%. In this way, the
aim of this work was to study the physical and mechanical properties, and air permeability
from pastes made with commercial plaster in powder, usually used in the building
construction, and pastes obtained from the hydrated plaster that was wasted from its
application: the recycled plaster. The recycled plaster was grounded and dehydrated at
temperatures of 160ºC and 200ºC in order to loose its non-evaporated water and to make
possible its use. After dehydration, their properties were studied: physical (particle size
distribution, fineness modulus, setting times), mechanical properties (compressive strength,
hardness, tensile strength, flexure strength) and air permeability was experimentally
measured.The results showed that with the recycled plaster heated at 160ºC it was obtained a
good result, and it was better than hemi-hydrated plaster. In this way, it is possible to use the
recycled plaster, which permit to think in a sustainable construction.

KEYWORDS

Plaster, gypsum, mechanical properties, physical properties, air permeability, recycled plaster,
compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength.
INTRODUCTION

The use of plaster in building construction is growing due to its different applications such as,
renders, pieces for decoration, plates for lining, dry wall and blocks. The advantages of using
commercial plaster are its excellent performance, attractive appearance, easy application and
its healthful contribution to living conditions. The main disadvantage is its indoor use due to
its sensibility to water.

Plaster is obtained from the dehydration of gypsum in appropriate temperature. During the
dehydration, different compounds can appear depending on the kiln temperature, type and
vapor pressure, on the speed of raw material heating, on gypsum fineness and on its density.
Gypsum dehydration occurs forming hemi-hydrate β (CaSO 4 ⋅ 1 2 H 2 O) in temperatures
ranging between 100ºC and 180ºC, and anidrite III (CaSO 4 ⋅ εH 2 O) in temperatures below
300ºC. The commercial plaster used in construction has both compounds hemi-hydrate and
anidrite III (De Milito, 2001).

This building material is abundant in Brazil. The natural gypsum rock reserves are estimated
to be about 1,248 billion tons (DNPM, 2001). In spite of that, the distance between reserves
and the consuming centers are great and becomes a difficulty to provide conditions for growth
and profitable industrial production. The expenses with transport are equal to the price of the
material (Antunes, 1999).

The way plaster is employed in constructions, it shows a great material loss. The medium
values of this waste production are more than 45% related to the mount of plaster used (Dias,
1994, apud Antunes, 1999).

Due to this great material loss, resulting from its application, it becomes useful and necessary
a study of the properties of this waste. So, the aim of this work was to recycle the wasted
hydrated plaster so that it could be used once more in building construction keeping the same
applications of the original product. So, the properties of the powdered plaster (reference) and
the properties of recycled plaster were observed.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Materials

The plasters used in this experimental work were commercial plaster and recycled plaster.

Commercial plaster is a hemi-hydrated calcium sulphate. It is usually employed as the main

component of plaster based materials in building construction works. Samples made with it
were the reference samples. Their characteristics and properties are shown in Tables 2 to 4.

Recycled plaster was the waste of hydrated plaster of construction works. This waste was
collected in different construction buildings. After that, the hydrated plaster was kept in
laboratory conditions and ground. It was grounded in a grinding machine (Figure 1). The
equipment for grinding is easily found in the market and it has low cost. The fineness of this
grounded product to be heated was 80% passing in the 0,297 mm sieve. After grinding the
hydrated plaster was dehydrated at temperatures of 160ºC (± 5ºC) and 200ºC (± 5ºC) for a
period of 24 hours in order to make its dehydration. After this procedure it was named
recycled plaster.
 FIGURE 1. EQUIPMENT USED TO GRIND THE WASTE FROM HYDRATED PLASTER

Mixture proportioning and curing

The properties of plasters were investigated in pastes. The mixtures were defined in order to
reach a good workability to be applied in renders. The plaster/water ratios chosen (0,60 – 0,70
- 0,90) were close to the ratios employed in rendering work in practice and required for the
Brazilian Standards MB 3469 “Plaster for Construction – Physical Properties of the Paste”.
Tables 2 to 4 summarize the properties of the all plasters used in this experimental work.

The mixtures used in the experimental work to observe the properties of recycled plaster were
the following (Table 1):
- H1 – Hemi-hydrated plaster with water/plaster ratio (w/p) of 0,60.
- H2 – Hemi-hydrated plaster with water/plaster ratio (w/p) of 0,70.
- R1 – Recycled plaster heated at 160ºC with water/plaster ratio (w/p) of 0,70.
- R2 – Recycled plaster heated at 160ºC with water/plaster ratio (w/p) of 0,90.
- R3 – Recycled plaster heated at 200ºC with water/plaster ratio (w/p) of 0,70.
- R4 – Recycled plaster heated at 200ºC with water/plaster ratio (w/p) of 0,90.

TABLE 1. PLASTERS MIXTURES

Material Symbol Plaster - p (g) Water - w (g) w/p ratio

Hemi-hydrate H1 1000 600 0,60
(Reference) H2 1000 700 0,70
R1 1000 700 0,70
Recycled plaster R2 1000 900 0,90
R3 1000 700 0,70
R4 1000 900 0,90

The mixtures were prepared using a laboratory mixer by mixing the required amounts of
plaster and water. The pastes were cast in molds and the specimens remained in the moulds
for 24 hours in a chamber with relative humidity of 95% and temperature of 20ºC. After that
they were removed from the molds and exposed to laboratory conditions, with average
temperature of 25oC and 75% R.H. until the age of testing.
Physical and mechanical properties

This section describes the methods employed to obtain the physical properties of plasters of
this experimental work. They were observed in powder (particle size distribution, fineness
modulus, specific gravity and bulk unit weight), during the plastic period (normal consistency
and setting) and after hardening (mechanical properties, hardness and air permeability). The
physical properties of the powder, the physical properties of the paste and the mechanical
properties were made according to Brazilian Standards MB 3468 (ABNT, 1991a), MB - 3468
(ABNT, 1991b), and MB 3470 (ABNT, 1991c), respectively. Air permeability followed the
procedure described in section 2.4. Normal consistency was determined using a modified
Vicat apparatus as described in MB - 3468 (ABNT, 1991b).

The mechanical properties determined were compressive strength, tensile strength (Brazilian
test), flexural strength and hardness. Compressive strength were performed using 50 x 50 x 50
mm cube specimens dried to a constant weight. Tensile strength was determined according to
Brazilian Standard NBR 7222 (ABNT, 1994). For each mixture it was tested three cylindrical
specimens of 27,5 mm diameter and 55,0 mm height (Figure 2). Flexural strength followed
ASTM Standard C580-85, with 40 x 40 x 160 prisms. Hardness was performed in the lateral
surfaces of the same samples employed to obtain the compressive strength. All tests were
performed in three specimens and the results are the average of them. The ages of the tests
were 3, 7 and 28 days.

Machine
4,0 mm

Wood plate
Sample - φ27,5 x h55,0 mm 27,5 mm
Wood plate
4,0 mm
2,5 mm

FIGURE 2. SCHEMATIC OF TENSILE STRENGTH TEST (BRAZILIAN TEST) (De Milito, 2001)

Air Permeability

Air permeability test was used to measure the porosity of the paste to air. The samples were
obtained from cutting cylindrical specimens (50 mm diameter and 100 mm height) (Figure 3).
Before cutting the lateral surface of the cylindrical specimens were painted with a waterproof
material in order to become it impermeable. A varying charge apparatus was employed to
make the air permeability test and it is shown in Figure 4. Eqn.1 measured the permeability
coefficient. The results were obtained at the age of 28 days.

µ .s.l
k= (1)
ρ1 .g. A.t. ln(h0 h )
1

k air permeability (m2);

µ air viscosity at ambient temperature (Pa/s)
s capillary tube section (mm2)
l sample heigth (m)
A sample section (mm2)
ρ specific gravity of water at ambient temperature (kg/m3)
g gravity (m/s2)
t time to manometric liquid go from h0 to h1 (s)
h0 initial water level (m);
h1 final water level (m), in time t

50 mm
Specimen Flow
direction
50mm x 50mm
sample to be
tested
50 mm
Cutting Impermeable
Lateral surface

FIGURE 3. PLASTER SAMPLE PREPARATION FOR AIR PERMEABILITY TEST

Sample
50 x 50 mm

O’ring

Pump valve

Scale

Capillary tube

0 Level
Constant water level

FIGURE 4. APPARATUS FOR AIR PERMEABILITY TEST

RESULTS

Physical Properties

Table 2 shows the physical properties of reference plaster and the recycled ones.

The consistency of recycled plaster was reduced for both temperatures of dehydration. So, in
order to obtain the normal consistency during the mixtures of the pastes it was necessary to
increase the w/p ratio to reach the same consistency for all recycled plaster (R1 and R3, R2
and R4). The increase of w/p ratio reflected in mechanical properties and air permeability
results because of the high porosity of the paste.

TABLE 2. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Properties
Plaster Specific Gravity Bulk Unit Fineness Normal Consistency
(kg/m³) Weight (kg/m³) Modulus (w/p ratio)
Reference 2610 633 1,18 0,60
Recycled- 160ºC 2610 660 2,34 0,90
Recycled- 200ºC 2570 536 2,20 0,90

Plasters particle size distribution are shown in Figure 5. The reference plaster had a higher
fineness than the recycled ones, but to reach the normal consistency it was necessary to
increase the water/plaster ratio (Table 2).

Particle Size Distribution

100

Cumulative (%)
80
Reference
60
200ºC
40 160ºC
20
0
0,105 0,210 0,420 0,840
Sieve openig (mm)

FIGURE 5. PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF REFERENCE AND RECYCLED PLASTER

Table 3 presents the results of setting times for all mixtures.

TABLE 3. SETTING TIME OF PLASTERS

Plasters Setting time (min:s)

Initial Final ∆ = Final - Initial
H1 8:46 16:21 7:35
H2 15:22 29:59 14:37
R1 23:10 39:28 16:18
R2 35:38 50:40 15:11
R3 16:35 27:57 11:22
R4 21:11 35:55 14:44

According to these results, the recycled plaster showed an increase in initial setting time. The
difference between the final and the initial setting times remained practically the same. The
recycled plaster heated at 200ºC showed a reduction in both initial and final setting times
compared to recycled paster heated at 160ºC with the same w/p ratio.
Mechanical Properties and air permeability

The structure of the solid phase of the hardened paste and morphology of the pores are
controlled by the kinectics of hydration and growth of gypsum crystals. The mechanical
properties are dependent on these processes (Gmouh et al., 2003).

Table 4 summarizes the mechanical properties and air permeability of all mixtures. From
these results one can observe that compressive strength increase with age. For the same w/p
ratio of 0,70 (H2, R1 and R3) or w/p ratio of 0,90 (R2 and R4) the results showed that the
recycled plaster could achieve the same level of compressive strength than hemi-hydrated
plaster. The recycled plaster heated 160ºC had the best results. The same performance was
observed for tensile strength, flexural strength and hardness.

Air permeability presents the porosity of the paste at the age of 28 days. These results show
that the plasters with higher plaster ratios had a higher porosity.

The best results of air permeability were also obtained to mixture R3 that showed good results
for mechanical properties.

TABLE 4. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND AIR PERMEABILITY

PROPERTIES Age PLASTERS

(days) H1 H2 R1 R2 R3 R4
Compressive 3 4,15 2,83 1,71 1,81 2,02 1,11
Strength (MPa) 7 3,29 2,49 2,53 1,78 3,14 1,51
28 4,88 6,86 3,95 1,73 7,05 1,85
Tensile 3 0,80 0,55 0,54 0,27 0,57 0,21
Strength (MPa) 7 0,80 0,60 0,60 0,33 0,65 0,39
28 0,90 0,54 1,67 0,42 0,95 0,53
Flexural 3 2,11 1,52 1,65 0,95 1,55 1,06
Strength (MPa) 7 2,21 1,62 1,58 1,25 1,62 0,94
28 2,15 2,30 1,80 1,08 2,31 1,21
Hardness 3 10,7 6,00 3,50 3,50 5,40 2,70
(MPa) 7 9,2 6,50 4,60 3,70 5,30 3,20
28 8,9 8,00 9,20 3,50 20,9 3,80
Air
Permeability 28 4,76 10,5 9,82 39,3 5,61 31,4
(m²) x 10-14

CONCLUSIONS

In the present experimental work it was analyzed the possibility of using recycled plaster in
building construction. In order to do so, it was observed the physical and mechanical
properties of hemi-hydrated and recycled plaster, a byproduct of hydrated plaster used for
renderings. The results showed that it is possible to recover hydrated plaster and reuse it.
Their physical and mechanical properties were similar to those obtained from hemi-hydrated
plaster used for reference.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to thank L.A. Rossi for the heat of hydration measurements. The Faculty of
Agriculture Engineering for grinding the hydrated plaster for this experience. The Materials
Construction Laboratory - DAC/FEC/UNICAMP technician. The authors are very greatful to
FAPESP (01/12785-5) and CNPq (130731/03-0) for their financial support.

REFERENCES

American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM C580-85. Flexural Strength and Modulus
of Elasticity of Chemical-Resistnt Mortars, Grouts, and Monolithic Surfacings, Annual Book
of ASTM Standards, vol.4-05.

Antunes, R.P.N.A. (1999). Study of the Lime Influence in Plaster Pastes. MSc. Thesis,
University of São Paulo, EPUSP. (in Portuguese).

Brazilian Standards MB 3468. (1991a). Plaster for Construction: Determination of Powder

Physical Properties, Rio de Janeiro. (in Portuguese)

Brazilian Standards MB 3469. (1991b). Plaster for Construction: Determination of Paste

Physical Properties, Rio de Janeiro. (in Portuguese)

Brazilian Standards MB 3470. (1991c). Plaster for Construction: Determination of

Mechanical Properties, Rio de Janeiro. (in Portuguese).

Brazilian Standards MB 3468. (1994). Mortar and Concrete: Brazilian Test, Rio de Janeiro.
(in Portuguese).

De Milito, J.A. (2001). Performance Evaluation of Plaster Pastes Made with Portland Cement
and Silica Fume Addition for Rendering. MSc. Thesis, State University of Campinas,
UNICAMP. (in Portuguese).

DNPM (2001). National Department of Mineral Production. Balanço Mineral Brasileiro,

23 p. (in Portuguese).

Gmouh et al. (2003). Changes in Plaster Microstructure by Pre-Stressing or by Adding

Gypsum Grains: Microstructural and Mechanical Investigations. Materials Science &
Engineering A. 352, p. 325-332.