Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology

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Evaluation of the sieve analysis effect on the

efficiency of PVC waste as sand replacement in
concrete mixtures

Mourad Boutlikht, Kamel Hebbache, Seifeddine Tabchouche, Abdellah

Douadi & Norelhouda Gahtar

To cite this article: Mourad Boutlikht, Kamel Hebbache, Seifeddine Tabchouche, Abdellah
Douadi & Norelhouda Gahtar (2024) Evaluation of the sieve analysis effect on the efficiency
of PVC waste as sand replacement in concrete mixtures, Journal of Adhesion Science and
Technology, 38:3, 473-488, DOI: 10.1080/01694243.2023.2238342

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JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2024, VOL. 38, NO. 3, 473–488
https://doi.org/10.1080/01694243.2023.2238342

Evaluation of the sieve analysis effect on the efficiency of

PVC waste as sand replacement in concrete mixtures
Mourad Boutlikht , Kamel Hebbache , Seifeddine Tabchouche ,
Abdellah Douadi and Norelhouda Gahtar
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ferhat Abbas-Setif 1, Setif, Algeria

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Recycling materials has become an immerging tendency as a way Received 19 January 2023
for preserving natural resources. The waste disposal of polymeric Revised 25 June 2023
materials has a significant impact on the environment and public Accepted 26 June 2023
health through their practical application in civil engineering con-
KEYWORDS
structions. The current experimental study aims to investigate the PVC waste concrete;
possibility of using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste in concrete and compressive strength;
also to evaluate the PVC concrete properties in comparison with tensile strength; mechanical
ordinary concrete (OC). This investigation research involves reus- performance
ing the left-over PVC tube wastes and their incorporation in con-
crete. Three different replacement ratios (5%, 10% and 15%) of
natural sand by polyvinyl chloride were considered, taking into
account two different sizes (fine and fiber) of polymeric wastes.
The effects of each incorporated PVC waste on the compressive
strength, and tensile strength were studied. The fresh properties
of concrete were investigated by conducting a slump test. The
results revealed a decrease in the workability of the fresh PVC
concrete compared to ordinary concrete. It was observed that the
concrete made with fiber PVC shows a lower workability
(decrease of 54%) in comparison with the first one which contains
fine PVC aggregates. The concrete made with fiber PVC aggre-
gates improves the compressive strength up to 23.5%. This latter
increased simultaneously with increasing the replacement ratio of
PVC waste. However, the increase of fine PVC waste content
caused a decrease in compressive strength till 21%. The test
results also revealed that the concrete mixes with high fiber and
moderate fine PVC ratios enhanced the concrete mechanical
performance.

1. Introduction
Concrete is the most used construction material worldwide. Nowadays, the world
produces annually 4.4 billion tons of concrete, but it is forecasted that this number is
expected to exceed over 5.5 billion tons by 2050 owing to the continuous urbaniza-
tion progress [1]. This will lead to increase the natural resource consumption,

CONTACT Mourad Boutlikht mouradboutlikht@gmail.com, mboutlikht@univ-setif.dz Department of Civil

Engineering, University of Ferhat Abbas-Setif 1, Setif, 19000, Algeria.
ß 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
474 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

resulting in environmental degradation and public health. The natural resource

extraction and the higher gas emissions have led to the search for more eco-friendly
constructions.
The expansion and development in the industrial activities that the world is expe-
riencing generated considerable quantities of industrial wastes, such as electronics,
organics, and polymeric materials. Among them, polymeric material wastes are the
existing material in the world market with varied forms, such as polyethylene tereph-
thalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
However, prior studies have shown that not all polymeric material wastes can be
appropriated in using as aggregates in civil engineering materials. The polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) is one of the most commonly used thermoplastic polymers material
worldwide in manufacturing products.
By considering the lifespan of PVC wastes is around 30 to 50 years, a significant
increase in the production volume of PVC wastes is expected in the future [2].
According to the data of the Algerian Ministry of the Environment and Renewable
Energy, polymeric waste is continually growing and the total cost of recycling waste
annually represents about 40 billion Algerian Dinars 280 million euros) [3]. Figure 1
shows the amount of polymeric material wastes produced and disposed from 1950 to
2023, as well as the predicted amount by 2050 [4]. Some statistics have shown that
until 2017, only 16% of the produced material wastes were recycled [5]. Several stud-
ies have been conducted on various methods in recovering PVC waste, such as steam
gasification and pyrolysis [6–8]. Until now, there are no practical approaches for effi-
ciently recycling polymeric material wastes.
Recently, many experimental and numerical investigations have been done on the
use of polymeric material wastes in civil engineering constructions.
Saxena et al. [9] have studied the impact of PET incorporation in mortar, on load
and energy absorption capacities. In this study, four PET ratios of 5%, 10%, 15% and
20% were examined. The authors have concluded that the PET incorporation in mor-
tar leads to a reduction in compressive strength (CS). Hama et al. [10] through the
partial replacement of fine aggregates by PET bottle wastes, have studied the effect of
those wastes on the fresh properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Five plastic
content ratios ranged from 2.5% and 12.5% with taking 5%, 7.5% and 10% and three

Figure 1. Progression of polymeric waste production and disposal in worldwide [5].

 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 475

different sizes of plastic wastes (fine, coarse, and mixed) were taken into consider-
ation. The authors reported that the studied sizes and the polymeric waste can be
employed as fine aggregates.
Belmokaddem et al. [11] have studied the effect of incorporation PVC in concrete
using three sand replacement ratios of 20%, 50% and 75%. They have reported that
the PVC waste has a positive effect by decreasing the density and thermal conductiv-
ity (THC). The THC was obtained by the aggregate ratio of 75%. Senhadji et al. [12]
have also experimentally investigated the use of PVC waste in concrete mixtures. In
this study, coarse aggregates (CA) were partially replaced by PVC wastes with differ-
ent volume ratios of 30%, 50%, and 70%. They have reported that the concrete mixes
made with 50% and 70% of PVC aggregates enter into the lightweight concrete cat-
egory. Therefore, the replacement of volumetric ratios by PVC aggregates presents a
significant effect on the chloride ion penetration resistance.
Kurup and Kumar [13] have revealed that the replacement of 1% of weight cement
with electronic PVC fiber waste to concrete, leads to a decrease in the slump test val-
ues of the mixture. They have also indicated that the addition of PVC waste from
0.6% to 0.8%, increases the compressive strength, the flexural strength, and the split
tensile strength.
The characteristics of polymeric materials depend on the type of used polymer.
For example, the manufactured PVC tubes present a stiffness ranging from 2.45 GPa
to 4.10 GPa [14–16], the yield strength varies from 40 MPa to 45 MPa [17,18] and the
ultimate strength ranging from 20 MPa to 107 MPa [14,19]. Systematically, these var-
iations of characteristics can affect the mechanical behavior of concrete.
Other research were conducted on the use of PVC in civil engineering construc-
tions. Among them, is the use of PVC tubes as concrete formwork (Octaform system)
[20]. The use of PVC tubes to encase cementitious composite materials, such as con-
crete was studied by Abdulla [16]. Abdulla [21] has also studied the influence of PVC
pour-in form on concrete mechanical behavior. The author showed that the pour-in
form of concrete columns in PVC tubes leads to an increase in the compressive
strength from 42% to 71%, compared to the conventional concrete columns. In
another study, Abdulla [22] investigated the performance of a composite structural
system. His study consisted of using PVC tubes as mold for pouring the concrete
with partial replacement of cement by husk ash. Three thicknesses of PVC tubes of
4 mm, 5 mm and 7 mm were investigated. The author reveals that the ultimate load
of PVC blended concrete was improved, and the failure mode was ductile. Kuder
et al. [20] have evaluated the influence of various configurations of beams PVC form-
work. The authors obtained a maximum increment of 60% and 66% in load capacity
and toughness, compared to the control beams, respectively.
As mentioned above, many studies have been conducted on the use of PVC waste
in concrete mixes. The gained consequences found in the literature evolved.
Consequently, there is still necessary to assess the mechanical properties of concrete
based on PVC waste aggregates and identify the shape and the optimal replacement
ratio of PVC aggregates.
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the replacement of natural
sand by PVC waste aggregates on concrete properties. In this experimental study,
476 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

three PVC replacement ratios 5%, 10% and 15% were examined. For each ratio, two
different shapes of crushed PVC wastes (Fine and Fiber) were studied. The mechan-
ical properties of different concrete mixtures were analyzed and discussed.
Furthermore, considering the obtained experimental results, empirical equations were
developed, describing the correlation relationship between the tensile strength, the
density and the compressive strength.

2. Experimental procedures
2.1. Materials
In order to determine the features of the used materials in this experimental study
and for preparing the concrete mixtures, the standard ACI 318-11 [23] was employed
as a guideline. Ordinary portland cement (CEM II/A 42.5 R) was used for casting the
samples. This cement comes from Ain El Kebira-Setif (Northeastern Algeria) is used
for all concrete mixtures, with a Blaine-specific surface area of 3850 cm2/g, an abso-
lute density of 3.1 g/cm3 and an average compressive strength at twenty-eight days of
52.5 MPa. Calcareous crushed aggregates from the eastern region of Algeria were
used. They are of two granular classes: gravel 8/16 mm and gravel 16/25 mm and their
physico-chemical characteristics are presented in Table 1. The used coarse aggregates
(CA) are characterized by a high content of calcite (CaCO3) and also with lime
(CaO). The fine aggregates (FA) used in the experiments was natural dune sand that
comes from Northeastern Algeria. This dune sand is characterized by quartz. The
main characteristics of natural dune sand are highlighted in Table 2.
The purpose of this investigation research is to reuse the left-over PVC waste
tubes, where two PVC waste forms/sizes; fiber and fine aggregates were incorporated
in the concrete mixtures. The polyvinyl chloride aggregates were used as a replace-
ment of natural sand in concrete mixes with different volume ratios of 5%, 10%, and

Table 1. Chemical compositions and properties of coarse aggregates.

Compound SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO
(%) 0.42 ± 0.03 0.09 ± 0.02 0.05 ± 0.01 55.85 ± 0.11 0.17 ± 0.02
Compound SO3 P2O6 TiO2 Cl K2O þ Na2O
(%) 0.07 ± 0.01 0.01 ± 0.00 0.01 ± 0.00 0.01 ± 0.00 0.05 ± 0.00
 Color ¼ Grey  Shape: angular
 Type: Crushed  Flakiness index ¼ 27 %
 Density ¼ 2.65 g/cm3  Los Angeles ¼ 70 %
 Maximum Size ¼ 25 mm  micro-Deval ¼ 86 %
 Apparent density ¼ 1.46 g/cm3  Water absorption ¼ 0.2 %

Table 2. Chemical compositions and properties of natural dune sand aggregates.

Compound SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO
(%) 98.05 ± 0.02 0.54 ± 0.01 0.07 ± 0.01 n.d. n.d.
Compound SO3 P2O6 TiO2 Cl K2O þ Na2O
(%) n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
 Color ¼ Yellow  Shape: Round
 Type: Uncrushed  Maximum Size ¼ 5 mm
 Bulk Density ¼ 2.6 g/cm3  Water absorption ¼ 1.4 %
 Apparent density ¼ 1.63 g/cm3  Fineness modulus ¼ 3.2
 Sand-Equivalent ¼ 62 %
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 477

Table 3. Sieve analysis of coarse aggregate (8/16).

Weight retained Weight retained Cumulative
Sieve size (mm) (kg) (%) Cumulative % retained % passing
20 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00
16 1.392 43.50 43.50 56.50
12.5 0.954 29.81 73.31 26.69
10 0.527 16.47 89.78 10.22
8 0.228 7.13 96.91 3.09
6.3 0.085 2.66 99.56 0.44
5 0.010 0.31 99.88 0.13
Pan 0.003 0.09 99.97 0.03
Total 3.20 100 Sum 197.09

Table 4. Sieve analysis of coarse aggregate (16/25).

Weight retained Weight retained Cumulative
Sieve size (mm) (kg) (%) Cumulative % retained % passing
40 0 0.00 0.00 100.00
25 0.018 0.36 0.36 99.64
20 1.064 21.28 21.64 78.36
16 2.316 46.32 67.96 32.04
12.5 1.46 29.20 97.16 2.84
10 0.103 2.06 99.22 0.78
8 0.024 0.48 99.70 0.30
6.3 0.01 0.20 99.90 0.10
5 0.002 0.04 99.94 0.06
Pan 0 0.00 99.94 0.06
Total 5.00 Sum 314.12

Table 5. Sieve analysis of fine aggregate (sand).

Weight retained Weight retained Cumulative
Sieve size (mm) (kg) (%) Cumulative % retained % passing
5 0.006 0.60 0.60 99.40
2.5 0.02 2.00 2.60 97.40
1.25 0.068 6.80 9.40 90.60
0.63 0.231 23.10 32.50 67.50
0.315 0.538 53.80 86.30 13.70
0.160 0.123 12.30 98.60 1.40
0.08 0.012 1.20 99.80 0.20
Pan 0.001 0.10 99.90 0.10
Total 1.00 Sum 370.20

15%. All physical and mechanical tests were carried out on all concrete components,
including Water absorption, Flakiness index, Sieve analysis, Fineness modulus, Sand
equivalent, Los Angeles and micro-Deval tests according to the standard NF EN 933-
1-2012 [24]. The CA and FA sieve analysis results are presented in Tables 3, 4 and 5.
In this study, a systematic strategy has been undertaken. The PVC waste tubes
were collected from the production K-Plast society. Firstly, the left-over PVC tubes
from the same type of polyvinyl chloride were chosen. Thereafter, the PVC aggregates
were obtained by crushing the PVC tubes using a crusher machine. Two different
shapes of PVC aggregates (fine and fiber) were used as sand replacements in con-
crete. The final forms of PVC aggregates are shown in Figure 2. The properties of the
crushed PVC tubes used in concrete mixtures are presented in Table 6. Therefore,
the results of the sieve analysis of fine PVC aggregates are shown in Table 7.
478 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

Figure 2. PVC waste aggregate: a) Fine PVC and b) fiber PVC.

Table 6. Properties of fine and fiber PVC.

Properties Fine PVC Fiber PVC
Color Light grey Light grey
Shape Powder Fiber
Type Crushed Crushed
Maximum Size (mm/mm2) 2.5 38
Bulk density (g/cm3) 1.38 1.38
Apparent density (g/cm3) 1.2 1.12
Fineness modulus 3.00 /

Table 7. Sieve analysis of fine PVC.

Weight retained Weight retained Cumulative
Sieve size (mm) (kg) (%) Cumulative % retained % passing
5 0 0.00 0.00 100.00
2.5 0.001 0.10 0.10 99.90
1.25 0.028 2.80 2.90 97.10
0.63 0.269 26.90 29.80 70.20
0.315 0.410 41.00 70.80 29.20
0.160 0.263 26.30 97.10 2.90
0.08 0.027 2.70 99.80 0.20
Pan 0.001 0.10 99.90 0.10
Total 1.00 Sum 399.50

2.2 Concrete mix design

In order to obtain a concrete of average compressive strength at twenty-eight days of
25 MPa. Concrete mixes design was carried out according to NF EN 206/CN, based
on the Dreux-Gorisse method [25]. The reference concrete which is made with nat-
ural aggregate is denoted as the ordinary concrete (OC). Table 8 shows the mixed
proportions of all concrete mixes. Thirty-six concrete samples were manufactured
with 0.5 of water to cement ratio. The amount of cement was 350 kg/m3. For the con-
crete made with PVC aggregate, the replaced sand quantity was calculated as a vol-
ume. The replacement ratios of 5%, 10% and 15% were considered in this study.
After demolding the samples at twenty-four hours, the samples were cured for seven
and twenty-eight days, inside the laboratory of favorable conditions until the testing
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 479

Table 8. Mixed proportions of concrete mixes.

Aggregates (kg)
Water Cement CA
Mix design (kg) (kg) FA CA (8/16) (16/25) PVC aggregates (kg)
Ordinary Concrete OC 175 350 730 670 447 /
Concrete CFIB5 175 350 704 670 447 20
made with Fiber PVC CFIB10 175 350 667 670 447 39
CFIB15 175 350 630 670 447 58
Concrete CF5 175 350 704 670 447 20
made with Fine PVC CF10 175 350 667 670 447 39
CF15 175 350 630 670 447 58

Figure 3. Concrete mixtures with different PVC wastes: a) fine PVC aggregates, b) fiber PVC aggre-
gates and c) concrete specimens.

day. The mixing components of concrete and the concrete specimens are shown in
Figure 3.

3. Results and discussion

The ordinary concrete (OC) behavior and the concrete made with PVC waste aggre-
gates (CFIB and CF) were evaluated in terms of workability, density, compressive
strength, and tensile strength. The obtained results are shown in Figures 4, 5, 6
and 7.

3.1. Workability for various concrete mixtures

The workability test (slump test) is a test used to determine the consistency of con-
crete. The test gives an indication of how much water was used in the mixture [26].
The workability variation of different concrete mixtures is shown in Figure 4. The
results reveal that there is a remarkable decrease in the weight of concrete when
recycled PVC is added as aggregate, owing to the low density of PVC aggregates
(Figure 5). Therefore, a decrease in the value of workability was observed. The reduc-
tion was in the range of 15% to 57%, compared to ordinary concrete (OC). The
decrease was less remarkable for concrete with PVC fibers, due to the smooth form
of the PVC fiber aggregates, which increases the interfacial debonding between PVC
480 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

Figure 4. Slump variation of mixtures.

Figure 5. Density variation of mixtures.

aggregate and the cement paste. It can also be explained by the concrete containing
fiber PVC aggregates has more free water than a mixture with fine PVC. This is
because of the non-absorptive nature of the PVC fiber, contrary to fine PVC, which
traps more water. Figure 4 shows that the workability of the concrete decreases as the
PVC aggregate ratio increases. The mixtures containing PVC fibers (larger particle
size) showed a higher slump, compared to those with a smaller particle size (PVC
fines). In contrast, all the mixes containing PVC waste showed a smaller value than
the reference concrete (containing only natural sand). It is clearly perceptible that the
behavior of concrete was significantly influenced when PVC waste was included.
Furthermore, no segregation was observed in any mixes, even for concrete made with
natural sand.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 481

Figure 6. Compressive strength graph for all mixtures: a) compressive strength of concrete with
PVC fiber and b) compressive strength of concrete.

Figure 7. Split tensile strength graph for mixtures: a) split tensile strength of concrete with PVC
fiber b) split tensile strength of concrete with PVC fine.

3.2. Compressive strength

The concrete compressive strength was measured according to standard EN 196-1
[27], by a digital compression machine type CONTROLS-MCC8 with 3000 kN of cap-
acity and an accuracy of ± 1% [28]. The cylindrical samples were 16  32 cm2, of
dimensions and the average of three specimens was registered at 7 and 28 days for
each mix [29].
It can be seen that at 7 days of age, the compressive strength of the concrete con-
taining PVC waste fines was reduced with increasing the ratio of PVC aggregates.
However, at 28 days the compressive strength was enhanced by adding PVC wastes.
Nevertheless, the increasing sand replacement ratio reduces the compressive strength
of the concrete. It reached 47% for the lowest sand replacement ratio. Then, it
decreased to 16% for a higher ratio of 15%. While its compressive strength remains
482 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

higher than the of ordinary concrete (OC). This is because the finer particle size of
waste PVC, has a more intense activity with the cement and the pore filling is more
efficient. But, increasing of PVC aggregates ratio, causes more air content in the mix-
ture, causing a decrease in mechanical strength as reported in previous studies [4].
In contrast, at all concrete ages, the compressive strengths of mixes containing
PVC fibers were enhanced by increasing the ratio of PVC aggregates. It reached 24%
for the highest replacement ratio. This was due to the angular shape and large sizes
of the PVC aggregate, compared to natural sand. In addition, the test results
(Figure 6) reveal that, for a low replacement ratio, the obtained compressive strength
was lower for concrete containing PVC fibers than a mixture with PVC fines. This is
because, as plastic fibers have practically lower water absorption capacity. The water
accumulates in the mixture, making it more porous after curing. The supplementary
porosity causes a reduction in the mechanical strength of concrete in terms of com-
pression. In addition, the coarser size of the PVC fiber aggregates leads to reduce the
filling of concrete. However, some authors have signaled a different tendency
[12,30,31]. They have found a decrease in the compressive strength of concrete for
both low and high sand replacement ratios. Probably, this dissimilarity is due to the
source of plastics used in the study and the sand replacement ratio, which leads to
different behaviors of concrete mixtures.

3.3. Tensile strength

The split tensile strength was measured at 7 and 28 days. The tests were carried out
by a digital compression machine type CONTROLS-MCC8 according to the standard
NF EN 206–1/CN/December 2014. The obtained tensile strength of all specimens is
shown in Figure 7 (the reported measurements have been carried out in triplicate). In
the current study, the concrete tensile strength of mixtures was measured by replacing
5%, 10% and 15% of the natural sand with PVC aggregates.
The test results show that the addition of PVC fiber reduces the tensile strength.
This is due to the weak bond between PVC fiber aggregates and cement matrix.
However, increasing the replacement ratio of PVC fiber improves the tensile strength
of concrete, but it does not exceed ordinary concrete values. This probably is due to
an increase in the fiber content, which leads to an increase in the contact surface
(cement-PVC), which improved the concrete matrix. It is observed, that the adding
of PVC waste as fiber with a ratio of 5% decreases tensile strength by 13%. However,
for 15% of replacement ratio the tensile strength of mixture increases up to 4%.
The study also revealed that for concrete mixes containing PVC wastes as a pow-
der with a low ratio of 5%, shows an improvement in split tensile strength, compared
to ordinary concrete (Figure 7). The increasing was around 26%. On the other hand,
the excessive replacement by PVC fine reduces the concrete tensile strength. For
instance, in the replacement ratios of 10% and 15%, a decrease in tensile strength was
obtained at about 5% and 20%, respectively, compared to ordinary concrete. This is
mainly attributed to the same factors causing the decrease in compressive strength
with the addition of PVC aggregate. This later causes more air content in the mix-
ture, which induces a decrease in mechanical properties.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 483

Figure 8. Correlation between compressive strength and tensile splitting strength at 28 days.

The obtained results of mixtures containing PVC fine are in good agreement with
the majority of previous studies [31–34]. Figure 8 shows the correlation between
compressive strength and tensile strength at 28 days. For both types of PVC wastes, it
is clearly visible that the tendency is practically linear with an excellent correlation.
The following relationship between compressive strength and split tensile strength is
proposed for fiber PVC concrete:

fc ¼ 18:459ft þ 10:515 (1)

where the correlation coefficient (R2) is equal to 0.9956. However, for fine PVC con-
crete, the proposed relationship is:

fc ¼ 7:304ft þ 13:512 (2)

where the correlation coefficient (R2) is equal 0.9628. The values of the correlation
coefficient indicate that there is a good correlation between the compressive strength
and the split tensile strength. The curve slope is greater in the case of mixtures with
fine PVC waste than the fiber PVC. Thus, for the same split tensile strength, the
compressive strength is higher for the mixtures with fine PVC than the mixture with
fiber PVC. Furthermore, for the same compressive strength, the split tensile strength
is greater for mixtures containing fiber PVC. This is due to the complimentary par-
ticipation of PVC fiber in tensile strength.
The correlation between the compressive strength and the density of the hardened
concrete is illustrated in Figure 9. The relationship and the correlation coefficient are
given for all concrete mixtures. The correlation coefficient value, which was found
equal to 0.992 for fine PVC concrete, indicates that there is a good correlation
between the two parameters. However, for the concrete with PVC fiber, the correl-
ation coefficient was found equal to 0.675, which indicates that the correlation
between the compressive strength and the density of the concrete is acceptable.
484 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

Figure 9. Correlation between compressive strength and density of hardened concrete.

The results reveal that the increasing replacement ratio by fine PVC reduces the
density and compressive strength of the mixture. However, in the case of replacement
with PVC fibers, increasing the percentage of waste PVC decreases the density, but it
improves the concrete compressive strength, which is recommended for lightweight
concrete. The addition of PVC waste to the concrete mixture leads to improve the
compressive strength for low replacement ratios by fine PVC aggregates or for high
ratios of PVC fiber. According to these results, it is clearly that the use of PVC waste
is acceptable, in partial substitution of natural sand in concrete mixture by adopting
the optimal ratio.

3.4. Mechanical performance of the concrete mixtures

The results of compressive and tensile strength according to the PVC waste content
were presented in the above sections. To assess the effectiveness of adding PVC waste
as a sand replacement, a mechanical performance factor (MPF) was estimated as fol-
lows [32]:
   
fcm ftm
4 fcm:ref þ 2 ftm:ref
MPF ¼ (3)
6

where fcm is the compressive strength of concrete mixture with PVC waste, fcm:ref
represents the compressive strength of ordinary concrete, ftm is the split tensile
strength of concrete mixture with PVC waste and ftm:ref represents the split tensile
strength of ordinary concrete.
Figure 10 shows the variation of the mechanical performance factor (MPF). The
results reveal that, at all ages, the mix with the lowest ratio of fine PVC (5%) has the
highest mechanical performance factor, followed by the mix with the highest ratio of
PVC fiber (15%). The lowest ranking mixes are those containing a high percentage of
fine PVC and lowest percentage of PVC fiber.
 JOURNAL OF ADHESION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 485

Figure 10. Mechanical performance factor at 7 and 28 days.

The MPF values for the samples, which give higher mechanical performance on
the one hand, are greater than the MPF of the reference mix. On the other hand, at
28 days, all mixes with PVC fines have higher MPF values than the reference con-
crete. Furthermore, a high content of PVC fiber in the concrete mixture is less preju-
dicial than that of a high content of PVC fine, but less beneficial than adding fine
PVC with low ratios.

4. Conclusions and future research directions

In summary, an experimental investigation study aimed to evaluate the behavior of
concrete cylinders made with reused plastic waste as a replacement of natural sand.
Three replacement ratios of 5%, 10%, and 15% were incorporated. For each ratio,
two-sieve analysis of left-over PVC tubes were studied for reporting the effect of the
polyvinyl chloride wastes presented by two different shapes (fine and fiber). In this
study, thirty-six concrete cylinder samples were manufactured and tested. Based on
the experimental investigation, the following conclusions are drawn:

 The addition of PVC tube wastes in concrete by replacement of natural sand

reduces the workability value. The concrete mixture made with fiber PVC presents
a lower workability than the fine PVC concrete. Therefore, the PVC waste also
reduces the concrete density for both waste sizes.
 The higher reduction of workability was obtained for the concrete contained fiber
PVC content. The PVC fiber aggregate improves the concrete compressive
strength. This letter is enhanced with increasing the percentage of fiber.
 In contrast, increasing in the compressive strength was obtained for moderate fine
PVC percentages. However, increasing the fine PVC content has decreased the
concrete compressive strength. Similarly, the same behavior was registered for ten-
sile strength, except that the gain in tensile strength was insignificant.
486 M. BOUTLIKHT ET AL.

 The incorporation of PVC tube leads to enhances the concrete mechanical per-
formance factor. This was observed for high fiber and moderate fine PVC ratios.
The PVC waste can participate to improve the concrete behavior in compression
and tensile.

It should be noted that current investigation covers the PVC replacement ratios
which ranged from 5% to 15% for both sizes. It would be desirable to complete this
study through further investigations for other replacement percentages taking into
account various polymer material wastes. It would also be useful to complete this
research by studying the behavior of structural elements, such as beams and columns.

Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support from the Directorate-General for Scientific Research and
Technological Development (DGRSDT-Algeria). This experimental study was supported by
DGRSDT as a part of PRFU project N : A01L02UN190120230001.

ORCID
Mourad Boutlikht http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0808-6438
Kamel Hebbache http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4409-3689
Seifeddine Tabchouche http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7420-7069
Abdellah Douadi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7761-8488

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