Theuseof Ceramic Tileswastein Concreteas Partial Replacementof Fine Aggregates

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/335570584
The Use of Ceramic Tiles Waste in Concrete as Partial Replacement of Fine

Aggregates
Article · September 2019
CITATIONS READS
3 4,849
4 authors, including:
Leopold Mbereyaho
University of Rwanda/College of Science and Technology
39 PUBLICATIONS 59 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
engineeering blocks View project
Quantified Advantage of Limit State over Working Stress as Design Methods View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Leopold Mbereyaho on 03 September 2019.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Mediterranean Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (MJBAS)
(Peer Reviewed Journal), Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 122-130, July-September 2019
The Use of Ceramic Tiles Waste in Concrete as Partial Replacement of Fine

Aggregates
Leopold Mbereyaho1*, Fidele Amini1, Ferdinand Bigirimana1 & Roger Christian Isengwe1
1
University of Rwanda, College of Science and Technology, P.O. Box: 3900 Kigali. Email: lmbereyaho2015@gmail.com
Article Received: 12 March 2019 Article Accepted: 10 July 2019 Article Published: 02 September 2019
ABSTRACT
With the rapid development of construction industry, concrete as one of key materials has never been cheap, while the extraction process of its
aggregates not environment friendly. Also, the ongoing building process goes with generation of a big quantity of construction and demolition
wastes, with ceramic tile waste being among them, while its dumping has got a negative impact to the environment as well. The objective of this
investigation was to analyze the potential application of ceramic tile waste in concrete production which would reduce the usage of natural resources
and preserve the clean environment. The methodology comprised of selection of natural aggregates in concrete, collection and grinding of ceramic
tiles waste used as partial replacements of natural sand in M20 concrete and conduction of key laboratory tests including but not limited to concrete
compressive test, split tensile test and flexural test. The results showed that the replacement of natural aggregates by ceramic tile waste offered an
increased strength performance up to a recommendable value of 5% of replacement; the further replacement showed a reduction in strengths which
attained 14%, 19% and 21% respectively for all key checked strength characteristics.
Keywords: Abrasion value, ceramic tile wastes, concrete strength, grain size distribution, slump.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Aggregates have been one of the most important construction material components in preparation of concrete for
many years. Concrete contains about 75% of aggregates, and unfortunately, as the time goes, not only these
aggregates are becoming more expensive, but also their extraction is conducting to the destruction of our
environment. With the building construction industry growing, the amount of ceramic tile wastes is increasing on
different sites, and this had a negative impact to the environment as well, especially because of its
non-degradability. Utilization of ceramic waste in concrete production would preserve the clean environment and
reduces the usage of natural resources. Environmental management and rational use of natural resources is
currently valued by all sectors in Rwanda for sustainable development [1]. There is a huge amount of ceramic tile
wastes resulting mainly from construction and/or demolition of relevant buildings, and from different
manufacturing industries. Therefore, adequate strategy was in a need for their use.
The main objective of this study was to assess the ceramic wastes properties and establish their potentiality as
replacements of natural fine aggregates in concrete. Some specific objectives, among others were the analysis of
the properties of ceramic wastes, their potentials as artificial fine aggregates in concrete, and the establishment of
optimum percentage of replacement of natural sand by ceramic waste in the new concrete. The affordability of the
new concrete by cost estimation of the respective block with comparison to the ordinary concrete was also checked.
1.2 Overview of previous studies
The use of ceramic wastes in concrete has been extensively considered in recent studies. However, those studies
differ ones from others by the expected and proposed role in concrete, the overall composition and expected
strength performance of the designed concrete. Some studies suggests the use of ceramic wastes as replacement of
122 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

cement or any aggregates and others consider their use in combination with other construction wastes, and therefore
the difference in their followed methodologies.
The use of ceramic masonry rubble as active addition endows cement with positive mechanical strength
characteristics and economic advantages [2]. Ceramic wall tile wastes were found to be suitable for usage as
substitution for fine and coarse aggregates in cement production [3]. Evaluation of the use of ceramic waste powder
as a partial replacement for cement with addition of polypropylene fibers in concrete showed that the compressive,
split tensile and flexural strength of M30 grade concrete increased when the replacement of cement with ceramic
powder was only up to 30% [4]. It was noted that the compressive strength was more than that of referral concrete
with a replacement of fine aggregates up to 20 % of demolition waste and 20 % ceramic wastes in concrete [5]. The
utilization of crushed tile as coarse aggregates in replacement of natural coarse aggregates in concrete established
that the maximum compression strength and split tensile strength were obtained when the replacement was at 30%
[6]. An increase of workability of concrete and its strength with replacement of aggregates by granite powder and
crushed tiles as coarse aggregates was observed up to 30% of replacement [7]. The experimental results on the use
of ceramic tile waste as aggregate in concrete revealed that the use of recycled ceramic tile aggregates was
promising in structural concrete applications [8]. The consideration of ceramic waste as an alternative for natural
sand in concrete was more effective in strength as well as economic [9]. In their review paper, Batriti M. R, et al.
[10] observed that in most of the papers the mechanical properties and the optimum level of ceramic waste
replacement should be between 5 to 30% in order to obtain maximum strength of the concrete. Also, the full
replacement of fine aggregates in concrete by crushed ceramic waste was not effective as the engineering properties
of the concrete were inferior to that of the designed concrete [11], while in general the optimum joint replacement
of natural fine and coarse aggregates by waste tiles were 5% and 25% of wastes tiles respectively [12]. This study
investigated the influence of floor ceramic tiles wastes as sole replacement of natural fine aggregates on strength
characteristics of concrete.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this study, the performance of concrete prepared with normal coarse aggregates, cement, water and ceramic
wastes from floor tiles considered as replacement of natural sand was investigated. Ceramic wastes were used after
their grinding at desirable sizes, while prepared concrete cubes were tested after 7, 14 and 28 days. The broken
ceramic tiles waste used were collected from a local construction site belonging to ROKO Construction Company.
The methodology used can be described through the following steps: collection of ceramic waste samples and
grinding, preparation of concrete samples with different percentages of waste replacement, laboratory tests and cost
estimation for evaluation of affordability for the new concrete. The Fig.1 below presents the ceramic waste
collected at ROKO Construction site near the Headquarter of a local insurance company, SONARWA, and the used
Portland cement of grade 32.5, made at local cement manufacturing industry, CIMERWA. Coarse aggregates used
were obtained from the local hostel construction site, performed by a local construction company, Real
Contractors. The normal size of aggregates of 16 to 25mm was obtained from the crushing of stone at the company
crushing plant, while the fine aggregates used was the natural river sand (Fig.2).

(a) (b) (c)
Fig.1 Broken tiles (a); grinded tiles wastes (b); and cement used (c)
(a) (b)
Fig.2 Aggregates from crushed stone (a) and natural sand (b)
The following key tests were conducted: Grain size distribution test, Los Angeles abrasion test, Concrete Slump
Test, concrete compressive test, split tensile test and flexural test.
The aim of grain size distribution test was to determine the size of aggregates used in the test, at which should
depend the abrasion characteristics of aggregates and the further concrete strength. The apparatus used during this
test were a set of sieves of different sizes, balance, oven, and sieve shaker machine.
The Los Angeles abrasion test aimed at determining the hardness of aggregate based on its abrasion test value. The
apparatus used for this test were balance, Los Angeles equipment consisting of a cylindrical barrel of 70 cm
diameter and 50 cm height, handled on a horizontal axis and able to rotate around this axis with a speed of (30-33)
rpm, and different Sieves from 10 mm to 37.5 mm diameter. There were also 12 iron balls of 4.8 mm diameter and
445 gm weight for each and Oven.
The concrete Slump Test was conducted with purpose to check the concrete workability. The M20 concrete was
prepared using the mix ratio of 1:1.5:3. The following concrete were prepared with indicated partial replacements:
1. Concrete with partial replacement of fine aggregates by 5% of ceramic tile waste.

For easy general reference, this concrete with partial replacements of sand by ceramic tiles wastes is referred to as
“new concrete”. The slump test was conducted as per below apparatus (Fig.3, a).
Fig.3 Slump test for fresh concrete (a), and cube for tests (b)
For the compression test, the universal testing machine (UTM) was used. Three concrete cubes of 150mm size for
M20 using the above mentioned mix ratio were prepared for each of the three waste replacement percentages and
for each of three tests, plus one with normal aggregates for each. That made a total of 36 samples. The Fig.3 shows
the cubes used for compression test. These cubes were formed and put in water bath where they spent 7, 14 and 28
days respectively, after which they were tested to check their compressive strength respectively. The bellow
formula was used to calculate the compressive strength (in N/mm2 or MPA):
Crushing load ( N )
Compressive strength,   (1)
Cross sec tion area (mm 2 )
The split tensile strength test was conducted using the same UTM to determine the stress at which the concrete
cube would fail. The split tensile test was done using two cylindrical specimens of 150mm diameter, and 300mm
length. The specimens also were tested immediately after taking them from water at 7th, 14th and 28th day. The
following formula was used to obtain the tensile strength:
2P
Tensile Strength  (2)
DL
Where P: maximum load N applied to the specimen, D: diameter of the specimen in mm,
L: length of specimen in mm
The Flexural Test was to check the ability of concrete to resist against failure in bending. It was measured by
loading an unreinforced concrete beam of 70x70x280 mm size. The flexural strength, expressed in MPA, was
calculated as follows:
PL
Flexural Strength  (3)
BH 2
Where: P: Load applied, L: length of the beam, B: breadth of the beam, H: Height of the beam
All results are presented in the section 3.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
1) The grain size distribution test was conducted on natural sand and ceramic tile wastes, as fine aggregates, and
on natural coarse aggregates. The results from grain size distribution test for fine and coarse aggregates are
presented in Fig.4 and Fig.5, respectively.
Sieve analysis of sand and ceramic waste used in this study
120
100
Percentage passing(%)
80
60
40
20
0
10 Ceramic waste 1 0.1 0.01
Sieve sieve(mm)
Sand
Fig.4 Grain size distribution of fine aggregates (sand and ceramic wastes)
Sieve analysis of coarse aggregates used in this study

120
100
80
Percentage passing(%)
60
40
20
0
100 10 1
Sieve size(mm)
Fig.5 Sieve analysis of coarse aggregates

Results from Los Angeles Test of Coarse Aggregates showed that the percentage (%) of fine components was
32.474%, and since this percentage was less than 35%, the coarse aggregates used are good for structural concrete,
as the maximum Los Angeles abrasion value should not be more than 30% for the use of wearing surface and not
more than 50% for the use of concrete (https://gharpedia.com/los-angeles-abrasion-test-on-aggregate/).
About the slump test it was established that the new concrete slump value was 72mm, and therefore, this concrete
was adequate and suitable for normal reinforced concrete placed with vibration.
For strength characteristics, the tests results showed that with all used natural aggregates being suitable for the
designed concrete M20, the strength performance for both normal and new concrete was adequate for all relevant
strength aspects, as detailed below.
The compression test results are presented in Fig. 6. It can be seen that the compressive strength of concrete with
partial replacement of natural sand by 5% of ceramic tile waste, has slightly increased by 4%. Then beyond 5%
results suggest that the continuous partial replacement would result in gradual decrease of the strength. The early
increased strength from 22 to 22.88MPA has decreased up to 18.88 MPA with a replacement of 15% at 28days.
This result concurs with early published results [12], but it opens a room for being careful regarding that
replacement when considering higher classes [11].
Compressive strength for 7,14 and 28 days of curing
25 22.88
Compressive strength(Mpa)
22
21.11
20.22
18.44 18.92 19.11 18.88
20 17.77 17.55
14.44 14.42
15
10
0
0 5 10 15
Waste replacement percentage (%)
7 Days 14 Days 28 Days
Fig.6 Compression tests results at 7, 14 and 28 days
The split tensile test results are presented in Fig.7. It can be seen that in general, the split tensile strength of concrete
with partial replacement of fine aggregates by 5% of ceramic tile waste, has also slightly increased by 11%. Then
from there it is noted that the continuous partial replacement would result in gradual decrease of the strength. The
early increased strength from 2.82 to 3.18MPA has decreased up to 2.33 MPA with a replacement of 15% at
28days. The same tendency was reported in previous studies [11, 12].

Split tensile strength for 7,14 and 28 days curing
4
3.18
Split tensile strength(Mpa) 2.82
3 2.54
2.33 2.4 2.392.51 2.33
1.98
1.76
2 1.551.68
0
0 5 10 15
Waste replacement(%)
7 Days 14 Days 28 Days
Fig.7 Split tensile strength for 7 days
The flexural test results are presented in Fig. 8. Also, the flexural strength of concrete with partial replacement of
fine aggregates by 5% of ceramic tile waste has increased by around 5%, from 5.67MPA to 5.97MPA, while the
continuous partial replacement resulted in gradual decrease of the strength, where the early increase of strength up
to 5.97MPA with a replacement of 5% has decreased up to 4.48MPA with 15% or replacement at 28days.
Flexural strength for 14 and 28 days curing

7
5.67 5.97
6 5.47
Flexural strength(Mpa)
4.6 4.9
5 4.33 4.48
4.07
4
3
2
1
0
0 5 10 15
Waste replacement(%)
14 Days 28 Days
Fig.9 Flexural strength of concrete at 14 and 28 days
The same tendency was reported in previous studies [10, 11].
For assessment of affordability of the new block, and implication to environment protection, the cost variations of
the block should depend on the amount of replacement considered; having in mind that the ceramic wastes cost
would be less than the cost of natural sand. As the adequate replacement of fine aggregates by ceramic wastes was
5%, the cost assessment of the designed product (block) is estimated as follows below. Parameters considered
during the cost estimation are given below:

 The mix ratio of 1:4
 The volume of block
 The specific density of cement
 Quantity of cement required
 Quantity of sand required
 Quantity of ceramic wastes required
Using unit cost estimation methods, it was established that the cost of one block with natural sand would cost 826
Rwandan Franc (around 1USD), while the one with partial replacement of sand by 5% of ceramic tile wastes would
cost around 818 Rwandan Franc. This means that there should be no big difference between both blocks for small
masonry works; however with the increased quantity of needed blocks, for example for multistory building, this
would have a big effect on the blocks cost. Furthermore, it is observed that with application of these ceramic wastes
in block manufacture, their amount to be dumped in the nature would decrease and therefore the cheaper way for
waste management.
4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The main objective of this study was the analysis of strengths and affordability of concrete made using ceramic tiles
wastes as partial replacement of fine aggregates. The purpose was to find the use of such wastes which were only
growing on one side, and a solution to the natural aggregates scarcity and cost, on the other side. It is suggested that
the solution to this dual problem would ease the environment protection. The study first checked the suitability of
natural aggregates used for controlling sample, and the same for ceramic wastes as proposed new fine aggregates.
Finally, both controlling samples and samples with partial replacements of fine aggregates by ceramic tiles wastes
were manufactured and tested after 7,14 and 28 days. The results are summarized below.
Tests conducted with all used natural aggregates confirmed their suitability for use in structural concrete. The
grain size distribution test of the studied ceramic tiles wastes showed also that this material belonged to the
category of fine sand under its zone III, and therefore its suitability as fine aggregates. As all used natural
aggregates were suitable for the designed concrete M20, test results showed that its strength characteristics were
adequate (around 22MPA for compression strength at 28days). Regarding the strength characteristics of the new
concrete, results showed that all strengths, i.e. compression strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength for
this concrete slightly increased by around 4%, 11% and 5% respectively until the partial replacement of natural
sand by ceramic tile waste in the concrete gets 5%. Then a progressive decreases for every further and significant
replacement where at 15% of replacement the reduction of strengths were around 14%, 19% and 21% respectively.
Finally, regarding the affordability, the study established that with the increased need in relevant concrete blocks
the cost between the ordinary and new concrete block would also increase, and therefore new concrete would
become more affordable; and as a consequence of this application, the environment protection would be easily

improved. It is recommended that the mixing water cement ratio should be carefully selected for avoiding a longer
curing period which would increase the water absorption due to the presence of clay in ceramic tiles wastes.
Acknowledgement
Authors sincerely would like t thank the leadership of ROKO Construction Company for permission to visit and
collect tiles waste samples at their building construction site near SONARWA building. We are very grateful to the
Management of University of Rwanda/College of Science and Technology for usual moral and technical support in
using College laboratory facilities.
REFERENCES
[1] Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), 2013.
[2] Amitkumar D. R., Indrajit N. P., Jayeshkumar P. “Eco-Efficient Concretes: Use Of Ceramic Powder As A Partial
Replacement Of Cement”, International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, 3(2), pp. 1- 4, 2013.
[3] Zimbili O., Salim W., Ndambuki M. “A Review on the Usage of Ceramic Wastes in Concrete Production”, World
Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering 8(1),
pp.91-95, 2014.
[4] Karthika.V, Sathanandham.T, Vijayan.V, Sathes Kumar.K, Manikandan. M. “Strength characteristics on concrete with
ceramic waste as a partial replacement of cement”, Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8(4), pp 793-79, 2015.
[5] Hota S. and Srivastava V. “Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregate with Ceramic and Demolition Waste in Rigid
Pavement”, International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 5(8), pp. 15143 – 15151,
2016.
[6] Prof. Shruthi. H. G, Prof. Gowtham Prasad. M. E, Samreen Taj S., Pasha S.R. “Reuse of Ceramic Waste as Aggregate in
Concrete”, International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 03(07), pp. 115-119, 2016.
[7] CHAND G.S. “Partial Replacement of Aggregate with Ceramic Tile in Concrete”, In partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the MTech degree, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada. 2015-2017.
[8] Wadie E. H., Sadek E. F., Abdel Wahab M. M. “The Use of Ceramic Tile Waste as Aggregate in Concrete”, International
Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 8(11), pp. 1461 – 1468, 2017.
[9] Dr. K. Ramadevi. “A Study on Properties of Concrete with Ceramic Waste Replaced for Fine Aggregate”, International
Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(8), pp. 1730–1737, 2017.
[10] Marwein B. M.R., Sneha M., Bharathidasan I. “A Review Paper on Utilization of Ceramic Waste in Concrete”,
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 7(4), pp. 247 – 250, 2016.
[11] Amos K. K. “Full Replacement of Fine Aggregate in Concrete with Crushed Ceramic Waste”, Global Journal of
Environmental Science and Technology, 5(6), pp 488-520, 2017
[12] Adebola A. A., Kuye R. A., Ayo O. F. “Utilization of Construction Waste Tiles as a Replacement for Fine Aggregates in
Concrete”, Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, 7(5), pp.1930-1933, 2017.
View publication stats

Theuseof Ceramic Tileswastein Concreteas Partial Replacementof Fine Aggregates

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Theuseof Ceramic Tileswastein Concreteas Partial Replacementof Fine Aggregates

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

The Use of Ceramic Tiles Waste in Concrete as Partial Replacement of Fine

Article · September 2019

engineeering blocks View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

The Use of Ceramic Tiles Waste in Concrete as Partial Replacement of Fine

1.1 Background of the study

1.2 Overview of previous studies

122 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

123 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

(a) (b) (c)

1. Concrete with partial replacement of fine aggregates by 5% of ceramic tile waste.

124 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

All results are presented in the section 3.

125 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Sieve analysis of sand and ceramic waste used in this study

Sieve analysis of coarse aggregates used in this study

Fig.5 Sieve analysis of coarse aggregates

126 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

Compressive strength for 7,14 and 28 days of curing

7 Days 14 Days 28 Days

Fig.6 Compression tests results at 7, 14 and 28 days

127 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

Split tensile strength for 7,14 and 28 days curing

Fig.7 Split tensile strength for 7 days

Flexural strength for 14 and 28 days curing

Fig.9 Flexural strength of concrete at 14 and 28 days

The same tendency was reported in previous studies [10, 11].

128 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

 The mix ratio of 1:4

 The volume of block

 The specific density of cement

 Quantity of cement required

 Quantity of sand required

 Quantity of ceramic wastes required

4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

129 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

130 | P a g e ISSN (Online): 2581-5059 Website: www.mjbas.com

View publication stats

You might also like