Strengthening

Rectangular Columns
using Recycled PET
Bottle Strips
Jason Maximino C. Ongpeng , John Barra , Kristin Carampatana, Christian Sebastian, Julienne James Yu,
Kathleen B. Aviso, Raymond R. Tan
Statement of the Problem:
• Plastic became an essential product in our daily lives.

• “Ecobricks” have been used in construction in the application of non-load

bearing.

• Main application of plastic in concrete, enhance its mechanical and durability

properties.

• PET is commonly used as an alternative to fine aggregates in the form of

fibers, flakes or pellets.
Objectives of the Study:

Fig. 1. Circular economy of plastics in an archipelago.

Objectives of the Study:
• To use Recycled PET (RPET) bottles as confining material on
rectangular concrete columns.

• To consider the use of concrete with RPET for a single detached

houses in rural areas.

• To close the loop of the PET bottles for responsible waste

management.
Materials and Methods:
• RECYCLED PET BOTTLES
• Properly cleaned with water
• Removed the uneven and non uniform portions of bottles
• Stripper tool were made to produced uniform strips of 10mm and 20mm width strips (Fig. 2)

• Bottle brands with 0.16mm and 0.14

mm thick were used

• Usable portion of plastic bottles from

brand A and B are 29.41% and 27.78%
 Materials and Methods:
• CONCRETE: 100mm x 100mm x 300mm
• Using M10 grade concrete: 1:3:6

300mm
(cement: sand: aggregate)
• ASTM C39: Compressive Strength = 10 Mpa

100mm

Limitations of the Study:

• A maximum length of 1200mm can be produced with a 20mm width strip

• The Strip width from pet bottles cannot be more than 20mm since this swill not fully confine a
300mm x 300mm square column (minimum size of concrete column)
Materials and Methods:
• 0.4mm thick galvanized iron sheet was cut into 10mm width iron sheet acted as
primary tool for connection. (Fig 5)
Testing
• Table 2: 27 specimens with different width of PET strips and Spacing
Theory/Calculations
• From the Free Body Diagram, width, spacing and type of bottle are variable parameters
 

Where,
 
= Ultimate confined compressive strength of concrete (Mpa)
= Unconfined compressive strength of concrete (Mpa)
= Additional compressive strength from Recycled PET Strips (Mpa)
k= Constant (Effectiveness of lateral pressure)
fl= Lateral pressure resisted by recycled PET Strips (Mpa)
= Total tensile resistance of recycled PET Strips against bursting (N)
A= Cross- sectional area of recycled PET Strips (mm2)
Results and Discussion
• All confined specimens had a median
compressive strength of 10 Mpa
• A- 20W-10S was able to achieve a
70% increase with an average
compressive strength of 20.88 Mpa
• In theory, increasing the spacing of
strips or decreasing the RPET’s content
in concrete will lead to decrease in
value of f’cc. Only A-20W behaved
substantially
Results and Discussion
• Confining material increases the
ultimate confined compressive strength
and its axial strain.
• Fastening system of RPET might affect
the confinement.
• Failure investigation by visual
inspection depends on placement of
aggregates, interface between
aggregates and internal and external
voids.
Conclusion
• Using RPET as a sustainable confinement strengthens the material with a
significant increase of 19% to 70% in the ultimate confined compressive
strength on low strength concrete mix.

• An improved fastening system can perform better and provide increase in

compressive strength

• Open-loop recycling of PET Bottles as strengthening material to concrete that

can contribute to manage the plastic waste.
Thank you.