Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Flexural behavior and analysis of reinforced concrete beams made

of recycled PET waste concrete
Azad A. Mohammed
Civil Engineering Dept., College of Engineering, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani, Iraq

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

Up to 15% well graded PET waste

shredded particles can be accurately
added to concrete for reinforced
concrete beams.

Grading of PET waste particles is not
helpful to control the reduction in
compressive strength.

Lightly reinforced concrete beams
containing PET waste particles
behave like the normal beam.

Ultimate load capacity of the beam is
moderately reduced as a result of PET
waste addition.

Analysis of concrete section
containing PET waste can be made
following the procedure for normal
beams.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper describes results of testing and analysis of reinforced concrete beams contained PET waste
Received 7 March 2017 particles. The beams were lightly reinforced with steel rebar and designed to fail in flexure. Test results
Received in revised form 10 August 2017 showed that as a result of using PET waste shredded particles in concrete as sand replacement there is a
Accepted 17 August 2017
reduction in compressive strength in the range of 12–21%. Properties of stiffness and mode of failure for
Available online 23 September 2017
recycled PET waste reinforced concrete are almost identical to those of normal beams. Ultimate load
capacity was reduced moderately, and load-deflection response was slightly changed as a result of using
Keywords:
PET waste particles up to 15%. Regression analysis was made for developing equations for calculating
Compressive strength
Flexural behavior
compressive strength and maximum compressive strain of concrete containing PET waste. Later, analysis
PET waste was made for calculating ultimate moment capacity of under reinforced concrete section. Making a com-
Regression analysis parison with the test data showed that the predictions of moment capacity are accurate. The difference
Reinforced concrete beam between calculated moment based on test and that based on calculated compressive strength was found
to be not important. It is concluded that up to 15% well graded PET waste can be added safely to produce
this type of recycled reinforced concrete beams for structural applications.
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The growth of daily consumption of different types of plastic
containers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is observed
E-mail address: azad.mohammed@univsul.edu.iq
over the world, accompanied with large quantity of related wastes.
This type of wastes is considered as one of serious threats to the
land and water. Plastic materials are non-biodegradable in nature,
and burning is not a solution to consume such waste because this
process will release dangerous chemical gases into the air. The pro-
cess of recycling plastic containers seems to be a good solution to

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.08.096
0950-0618/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
594 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604
Notation
a and b Regression analysis parameters
As Area of steel rebar
a Depth of equivalent compressive stress block
b Width of the beam section
c Depth of compression zone
d Effective depth of the beam section
es Strain in steel rebar
esy Strain corresponding to yield stress of rebar
Es Elastic modulus of steel
fy Yield stress of steel rebar
rescue the environment against pollution. However, using
degraded plastics to make a new product is considered to be not
economical, and there is a need for other methods of recycling.
Using plastic wastes in conjunction with the other building mate-
rials such as concrete has a promised future in construction
because important properties of the new composite are now
understood through many laboratory tests. One of the methods
of recycling is the use of plastic containers as an aggregate replace-
ment, fibers or shredded particles in concrete or masonry blocks. If
the process of recycling is dune successfully, a special type of struc-
tural lightweight concrete or blocks can be produced. Different
mechanical properties of concrete containing PET waste are well
understood through many experimental tests [1] and equations
were proposed for mechanical properties of elastic modulus [2,3],
splitting and flexural tensile strengths [3,4].
With regard the compressive strength of PET waste concrete,
this property is considered as the basic property studied by the
earlier researchers. Test results [4–13] indicate that, in general,
the addition of PET waste particles to concrete is not helpful for
the compressive strength enhancement.
However; the issue of the behavior of structural members made
from concrete containing PET wastes is new and researches in this
context are limited. Few number of research works are available in
the literature [14–16] deal with some structural properties of con-
crete containing PET waste in the form of shredded particles, fibers,
or strips. Researches in this context should be continued to high-
light the important structural properties of concrete, containing
different plastic wastes.
A simple model for calculating load-deflection response of
beams reinforced with continuous recycled PET strips, up to 1%,
was developed by Baldenebro-Lopez et al. [14]. They found that
reinforcing plain concrete beam with PET strips lead to increasing
flexural cracking stress and reducing the corresponding deflection.
Nibudey et al. [15] studied direct shear behavior of concrete rein-
forced with PET waste fibers. PET fibers were added to plain con-
crete in proportions up to 3% at an increment of 0.5% with aspect
ratios of 35 and 50. Test results showed a shear enhancement of
27.25% related to 1% fiber addition with aspect ratio 50. For this
fiber type and ratio maximum compressive strength enhancement
of 7.35% was observed. It should be noted that for PET fiber aspect
ratio of 50 the reduction in shear stress was maximum which was
found to be 16.35% at fiber ratio of 3%. No attempts were made to
measure slip deformations and investigate the effect of steel bars
provided to shear plane. Equations were proposed by the research-
ers to calculate maximum shear stress depending on cube com-
pressive strength and PET fiber volume ratio. Marthong and
Marthong [16] conducted tests to search the behavior of reinforced
concrete beam-column connections contained PET fibers. Manually
cut fibers of 0.5% and 1.0% by concrete weight with aspect ratio of
25, obtained from post-consumer PET bottles were added to con-
ecwu Maximum compressive strain in PET waste concrete
fc0 Compressive strength of control concrete
0
fcw Compressive strength of concrete containing PET waste
L Span of beam
Mn Test ultimate moment capacity
Mn,cal. Calculated ultimate moment capacity
ccw Density of concrete containing PET waste
q Flexural steel ratio
Vw Volume of PET waste
crete mixes. Firstly, tests were carried out to evaluate the mechan-
ical properties of concrete reinforced with PET fibers to select the
optimum fiber content. Later, the behavior of exterior reinforced
concrete beam-column joints containing 0.5% fibers at the D-
region subjected to cyclic loading were studied. Three cases of
the exterior beam column joint with deficiency, to be strengthened
with PET fiber were studied, namely beam weak in flexure (BWF),
beam weak in shear (BWS) and column weak in shear (CWS). The
addition of PET fiber enhanced the load resisting capacity by 27%,
10% and 10% for BWF, BWS and CWF respectively. An overall
enhancement in toughness and displacement ductility were
observed as a result of reduction of macro cracks due to the fiber
bridging action. The lateral stiffness and its energy dissipation
potential of the connections were enhanced due to the addition
of PET fibers.
This research is an attempt to throw a light on the behavior of
reinforced concrete beams made from concrete containing PET
waste particles. The main objective of the present investigation is
to compare the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beams con-
taining different ratios of PET waste with that of conventional rein-
forced beams to search the effectiveness of PET waste concrete
beams in construction industry. For this purpose experimental
tests conducted in the laboratory on eight reinforced concrete
beams. Flexural strength and deformations as well as mode of fail-
ure were assessed carefully. Available test data on compressive
strength of PET waste concrete were collected, analyzed and uti-
lized to develop models for calculating compressive strength. Later,
an analysis was performed to predict the ultimate moment capac-
ity of a rectangular concrete section lightly reinforced with steel
rebar. Accuracy of proposed models for analysis was checked via
making a comparison with the experimental test data.
2. Experimental works
2.1. Materials
Materials used for fabricating reinforced concrete beams were
cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, steel rebar and PET waste
particles. Ordinary Portland cement locally available was used for
all concrete mixes. Fine aggregate used was clean river sand of
medium grading passed by 100% on 4.75 mm sieve and dry density
equal to 1727 kg/m3. Crushed gravel of 12 mm maximum size was
used for all mixes. Results of sieve analysis testing indicate that the
grading of fine and coarse aggregates conform to the ASTM C33
specification limits [17]. Fig. 1 shows the actual grading curve for
fine and coarse aggregates used in this study and limits of ASTM
C33 specification [17]. PET waste particles used were shredded
square shaped particles obtained from PET bottles. The neck and
the bottom of the bottles were excluded and the remainder body
 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604 595

Fig. 1. Actual grading curve along with ASTM C33 limits for (a) fine aggregate and (b) coarse aggregate.

for each bottle was shredded, in order to obtain homogeneous par-
ticles of constant thickness. The bottles were washed to remove
the clayey layer and dust and were shredded to three sizes of
12 mm, 6 mm and 3 mm. Fig. 2 shows the three shredded particles.
A mixture of constant weight for each size particle was prepared
(Fig. 1d) and used as graded PET waste particles in the concrete
mixes. Table 1 shows cumulative percentage passing of single sizes
and mixed PET waste particles. The dry density of the mixed PET
waste particles was found to be 353 kg/m3. The PET waste particles
used in this study are especially prepared for using in structural
concrete to diminish the effect of bad preparation accompanied
with this novel material. U8 mm steel bar was used for flexural
reinforcement and shear stirrups for all beams. Yield stress and
tensile strength of the steel rebar were 516.14 MPa and
559.9 MPa, respectively. Fig. 3 shows the tensile stress-strain rela-
tionship for the steel rebar used.
2.2. Concrete mix proportions and mixing
In the present study tests were carried out on normal strength
concrete of design compressive strength equal to 30 MPa. Mix pro-
portion for this concrete was 1:1.25:2.5 (cement: fine aggregate:
coarse aggregate) and water/cement ratio was 0.5. Mixing was
made manually, for each mixing batch coarse aggregate, fine aggre-
gate and cement were mixed for two minutes, then water was
added and mixing continued for another five minutes. Later, PET

Fig. 2. View of PET waste particles used in this study.

596 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604

Table 1 contained different PET waste particles. For each concrete mix
Grading of PET waste particles. batch three 100  200 mm cylinders were cast for measuring con-
Sieve size (mm) 12 mm size 6 mm size 3 mm size Mixed crete compressive strength. For casting beams wooden molds were
12.5 100 100 100 100 used, and after 24 h from casting concrete beams and cylinder
9.5 0 100 100 67 specimens were kept in water tanks at 25 °C temperature for
4.75 0 0 100 33 28 days.
2.36 0 0 0 0

2.3. Beam specimens

Eight reinforced concrete beams divided to two groups were

cast. Each group has identical properties except the volume of
shredded PET waste used as sand replacement. Details of dimen-
sions, flexural and shear reinforcements are shown in Fig. 4. All
beams were designed to fail in flexure. For the first group beams
the steel ratio (q) is equal to 0.01257, which is 4.5 times the min-
imum requirement given by ACI 318–14 code [18]. For the second
group beams the steel ratio (q) is equal to 0.007, which is 2.58
times the minimum requirement given by the code. Accordingly
the flexural steel ratio provided for the small scale beams is 1.8
times that provided for the large scale beams. Further details of
the beam specimens can be seen in Table 2. The symbol S is used
for Group (1) beams and L for Group (2) beams, accordingly SC is
the control small beam without PET waste and SL is the control
large scale beam. For all beams the effective depth (d) is assumed
to be the total height less 20 mm. Fig. 4 shows dimensions and
reinforcement details of the beams. Test span (L) was kept to be
600 mm for Group (1) beams and 900 mm for Group (2) beams.
Fig. 3. Tensile stress-strain relationship for the rebar.

2.4. Testing and measurements

waste particles were sprayed on the fresh concrete continuously
during mixing and mixing continued for another three minutes, till
homogeneous mix was obtained. Beside the control mix three PET
waste volumes of 5%, 10% and 15% as sand replacement were used
for producing different concrete mixes. Therefore, four concrete
mixes were attempted to cast four reinforced concrete beams
After 28 days curing, all specimens were left to dry in the labo-
ratory for another 28 days. Afterwards cylinder specimens were
weighed and all beams were white painted to show cracks forma-
tion during testing. Measurements were made for concrete density
and compressive strength and average values of three specimens

Fig. 4. Dimensions and reinforcements details of beams.

Table 2
Results of concrete compressive strength and ultimate load capacity of beams.

Beam Height (mm) PET Volume Compressive strength (N/mm2) Concrete Density (kg/m3) Load capacity (kN)
BSC 100 – 33.07 2375 40.43
BSPET5 = 5% 27.05 2362 41.68
BSPET10 = 10% 31.82 2407 39.86
BSPET15 = 15% 32.57 2348 42.24
BLC 200 – 31.36 2350 112.8
BLPET5 = 5% 23.81 2303 105.14
BLPET10 = 10% 24.92 2317 100.07
BLPET15 = 15% 23.66 2314 96.02
 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604
Fig. 5. Testing machine used for beams and concrete specimens.
were taken. Each beam was tested on simple span under two cen-
tral point loads of arrangement shown in Fig. 4. For testing con-
crete cylinders and beams a universal testing machine
(CONTROLS type) was used. Cylinder specimens were tested for
compressive strength according to ASTM C39 specification [19]
under loading rate of 0.35 MPa/s. View of one beam erected and
ready for testing is shown in Fig. 5. Central deflection was mea-
sured using 25 mm travel dial gage, and to obtain a large number
of measurements a digital video recorded was used. After testing,
photographs were taken to show the cracking pattern for the failed
beam.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Concrete compressive strength
Results of concrete compressive strength and load capacity of
tested beams are shown in Table 2. Fig. 6 shows load-central
deflection relationship of the tested reinforced concrete beams.
Fig. 6. Load- deflection relationship of beams.
597
Results indicate that there is no steady change in the compressive
strength. Average strength reduction is 21% when there is 5% PET
waste in the concrete, but there is a recovery for this loss when
PET waste particles increased to 10%. Average compressive
strength reductions related to 10% and 15% PET waste are 12%
and 13% respectively. The reduction in compressive strength as a
result of PET waste inclusion obtained in the current study is
expected. There are many test data in the literature support this
evidence, such test data are used later in this investigation for
regression analysis. For instance, from Fig. 10 which shows varia-
tion of compressive strength ratio with PET waste volume variation
for 242 measurements one can observe the high reduction in com-
pressive strength even at low waste content, and a steady change
of compressive strength will not observed. In general, the reduc-
tion takes place in the strength is normal and related to the non-
homogeneity of concrete because of the existence of the PET waste
particles. Results obtained in this investigation also indicate that
using graded PET waste particles instead of single size particles
used by other researchers seems to be not helpful to control com-
pressive strength losses. Therefore, taking care to the grading of
shredded PET waste particle to diminish the undesirable effect of
the plastic waste is not important based on the obtained experi-
mental test data.
Results of average concrete density are shown in Table 2. One
can observe that there is no clear influence of PET waste content
on the density of recycled concrete and accordingly clear conclu-
sion can not be drawn.
3.2. Load capacity of beams
Results of load capacity of beams are shown in Table 2. Fluctu-
ated load capacity values are observed for Group (1) beams from
which the influence of PET waste particles inclusion on the load
capacity cannot be well determined. The small contribution of
PET waste on the load capacity of Group (1) beams tested in this
study can be attributed to the fact that concrete compressive
strength is not affected by the PET inclusion. In general, for this
group of small scale specimens clear conclusions can not be drawn,
alternatively Group (2) specimens is better to search for the effect
of PET waste on flexural strength of beams. Results of Group (2)
beams indicate that the load capacity of beams reduces with PET
598 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604
Fig. 7. View of Group (1) beams after testing.
Fig. 8. View of Group (2) beams after testing.
waste increase. The reductions in the load capacity are 6.8%, 11.3%,
14.9% for 5%, 10% and 15% PET waste content respectively. The
reduction in load capacity up to 15% PET waste content is not high,
indicating that in tension controlled concrete members the moder-
ate change of compressive strength has a margin effect of the load
capacity. Accordingly, reinforced concrete beams containing PET
waste particles up to 15% behave like normal concrete beam. It
should be noted that in beams of sufficiently high compression
zone depth related to a high amount of steel area, the change of
load carrying capacity may be different from that observed in this
study, because the reduction in compressive strength due to PET
waste will affect more on the final behavior of tested beams. It is
followed that the conclusion drawn in this study is not applied
on reinforced concrete members subjected to flexure and compres-
sion. Any structural member of failure governed by compression
such as columns the undesired effect of PET waste should be kept
in the mind. In contrast, the provision for the PET waste effect is of
lower importance when failure is governed by tension such as
lightly reinforced concrete beams and slabs. From the results of
load-deflection curves one can find that the stiffness of Group (1)
and (2) beams is not changed widely as a result of increase in
Fig. 9. Variation of compressive strength with PET volume.
Fig. 10. Variation of compressive strength ratio with PET volume.
PET waste content. The reason of this evidence may be due to
the fact that elastic modulus of concrete is not changed consider-
ably as a result of the PET waste particles addition.
Figs. 7 and 8 show cracked beams after testing. Few number of
cracks appeared after testing in the tension zone. Diagonal tension
cracks observed in some beams but this evidence is not attributed
to the effect of PET waste particles. In general, similar to the other
properties of beams containing PET waste, cracking pattern
behaves similar to that of normal reinforced concrete beams. With
regard the deflection at peak ultimate load, such deflection is
higher for control beams and the PET waste inclusion has some
effect to reduce this deflection value, as observed from the results
of Group (2) beams. Maximum deflection for all recycled concrete
beams are nearly the same and slightly lower than that of control
beam. Since all beams are identical expect the compressive
strength, the change in deflection corresponding to peak load and
maximum deflection values may be attributed to the change in
the compressive stress- strain relationship of concrete as a result
of PET waste addition. Further researches in this context are
 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604 599

Table 3
Description of test data used in the present study.

Type of specimen and Concrete Age PET Waste particles size Waste particles Density Data Reference
**
dimensions (days) volume ratio Point
150  300 mm cylinders 7, 14, 28, and 2.6 mm, 11.4 mm and 50/50% of both sizes 10% and 20% N.M.* 48 Albano et al. [5]
60
100  200 mm cylinders 3, 7 and 28 5 mm to 15 mm 25%, 50% and 75% M. 27 Choi et al. [6]
ASTM C-39 M-01 7 and 28 0.5, 1.5 and 3 mm 1%, 2.5% and 5% N.M. 18 Cordoba et al. [20]
150 mm cubes 28 and 365 Graded 0.1 mm to 5 mm 10%+ N.M. 8 Frigione [7]
150 mm cubes 28 19 mm max. size chips 0.4%,0.8%,1.2%,1.6% N.M. 5 Hanna and Mosa [8]
and 2%
150  300 mm cylinders 7, 14 and 28 Graded 6 mm to 10 mm 0.5%,1% and 1.5% N.M. 9 Irwan et al. [9]
100  200 mm cylinders 7, 14 and 28 Graded 6 mm to 10 mm 0.5%,1% and 1.5% M. 27 Irwan et al. [21]
100  200 mm cylinders 7, 14 and 28 5 mm 25%, 50% and 75% M. 27 Juki et al. [10]
100 mm cubes 28 5 mm 25%, 50% and 75% M. 3 Juki et al. [11]
150  300 mm cylinders 28 7 mm max. size 5%, 10% and 15% M. 6 Rahmani et al. [22]
150 mm cubes 7 and 28 N.A. 0.5%,1%, 2%, 4% and N.M. 10 Ramadevi and
6% Manju [23]
150 mm cubes 28 0–5 mm 5%, and 10% M. 9 Sadeghifar and
Suhrabi [12]
150 mm cubes 7, 28, and 91 Passing by 100% on 16 mm or 5.6 mm sieves (and 5%, 10% and 15% M. 27 Saikia and De Brito
heat-treated-pellet) [4]
150 mm cubes 7, 28, and 91 11.2 mm and 4 mm max. size (and heat-treated- 5%, 10% and 15% M. 18 Saikia and De Brito
pellet) [13]
*
N.M. = not measured, M. = measured, N.A. = Not available.
**
Excluding the control specimen
+
6% by weight was reported by the author.

needed to highlight such effect on the load-deflection response of PET waste concrete is based on compressive strength of plain con-
PET waste recycled concrete beams. crete modified with the existence of PET waste particles. In the sec-
ond model, beside the mentioned variables the effect of concrete
4. Analysis density is included.

PET waste is added to concrete either in a shredded form or

fibers. The first issue is related to recycling process of PET waste
to consume the waste and making an environmental friendly con-
crete. For this case the properties of concrete is not enhanced well
and may be deteriorated. With regard the latter case as demon-
strated by some tests PET waste fibers has a beneficial effect on
cracks formation and extension to some degree provided that fiber
volume and aspect ratio are well controlled.
In this investigation an attempt was made to develop a model
for predicting moment capacity of reinforced concrete beams con-
tained shredded PET was particles. For this purpose compressive
strength of concrete modified with PET waste in addition to the
maximum compressive strain are required. In the best of author’s
idea accurate equations for calculating compressive strength and
maximum compressive strain are not available. As first step of
analysis equations are obtained from regression analysis on the
available test data, to calculate compressive strength and maxi-
mum compressive strain of concrete containing PET waste
particles.
4.1. Available data on compressive strength
Variation of compressive strength modified by shredded PET
waste particles and short fibers, based on the research works avail-
able in the literature are somewhat different from those obtained
in this study. From data collection there are 28 observations from
a total of 242 (only 11.5%) related to compressive strength increase
as a result of sand replacement with PET waste particles. Test data
on compressive strength of concrete containing PET waste shred-
ded particles or short fibers, taken from fourteen references
[4–13,20–23], were collected, analyzed and models are proposed
for calculating compressive strength of concrete containing PET
waste particles. Table 3 shows the description of test data used
in the present study. Two models are proposed here for compres-
sive strength. In the first model, compressive strength of recycled
4.2. Regression analysis
4.2.1. Model I (Strength base)
This model is proposed for calculating compressive strength of
recycled PET waste concrete (RPETWC), based on the results of
plain concrete compressive strength modified with the PET waste
particles. For this case a total number of 242 data points were ana-
lyzed for regression analysis. Details of concrete properties and
data points are shown in Table 3. Variation of compressive strength
with PET waste volume is shown in Fig. 9 and variation of compres-
sive strength ratio (recycled concrete/plain concrete) is shown in
Fig. 10. The following observation can be drawn
a- for 28 data observations, which is 11.5% of total data, the
ratio of compressive strength of recycled concrete to plain
concrete is larger than unity, and accordingly there is an
enhancement in compressive strength as a result of PET
waste addition. The PET waste volume accompanied with
the compressive strength enhancement varied from 0.5% to
6% for 26 data observations, and maximum ratio of compres-
sive strength enhancement is 65.6%, and
b- There is no need for high compressive strength reduction to
be accompanied with high PET waste volume, because there
is a large number of concrete specimens suffer from high
strength reduction containing PET waste volume not more
than 10%. Maximum compressive strength reduction was
found to be 66.2% for concrete contained only 15% PET waste
volume.
Variation of compressive strength of recycled concrete with
compressive strength of plain concrete is shown in Fig. 11. The
highest correlation between dependent and independents vari-
ables is that between compressive strength of concrete containing
PET waste (f0 cw) and fc0 which is 0.8. However; it is necessary for
dependent variable to depend on the PET waste volume in addition
600 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604
Fig. 11. Variation of f0 cw with fc0 .
Fig. 12. Variation of dependent variable (y) with independent variable (x).
to the compressive strength of plain concrete, to include the effect
of PET waste.
In the first proposed model the effect of RPETWC density (ccw) is
neglected and accordingly the remained two strong independent
variables are the compressive strength of plain concrete (fc0 ) and
the PET waste volume (Vw). For the highest correlation coefficient,
which was found to be 0.767, the combined independent variable
(x) is given by
V 0:0121
x¼ w
00:175
fc
in which Vw is the percentage of PET waste volume and fc0 is the
compressive strength of control concrete measured in MPa. Varia-
tion of dependent variable (y) with independent variable (x) is illus-
trated in Fig. 12. It is assumed here that the power equation shown
below is accurate to correlate dependent and independent variables
y ¼ bxa
Coefficients a and b can be obtained from regression analysis on
the attempted test data. Regression analysis indicates that the
coefficients a and b are 5.445 and 1.0387, respectively. The vari-
ation of calculated dependent variable (y) with independent vari-
able (x), in addition to test one, can be seen in Fig. 12. On
substituting, the final equation of dependent variable (f0 cw) will be
00:953
0 1:0387f c
f cw ¼ ð3Þ
V 0:066
w
0
in which fcw is compressive strength of concrete containing
PET waste measured in MPa.
The above equation indicates that the compressive strength of
RPETWC can be calculated based on the properties of compressive
strength of plain concrete, to be modified with PET waste particles,
and the waste particles volume. The coefficient of determination
(R2) for proposed equation is 0.688 and the mean test/calculated
value of compressive strength is 1.033.
4.2.2. Model II (Strength-density base)
In this model the effect of concrete density (ccw) is included in
the calculation of compressive strength of RPETWC, as another
independent variable, beside the other variables. Accordingly, the
number of strong independent variables are three, compressive
strength of plain concrete (fc0 ), concrete density (ccw) and the PET
waste volume (Vw). The total number of the available test data is
only 126, because some studies contain no information about con-
crete density. Details of these studies can be found in Table 3. Vari-
ation of compressive strength of RPETWC with that of control
concrete, concrete density and PET waste volume are shown in
Figs. 13 through 15, respectively. The highest correlation coeffi-
cient is equal to 0.763 but the effects of PET waste volume and con-
crete density remain important, because there is a good chance to
use RPETWC as lightweight concrete is some structural applica-
tions. High correlation coefficient can be obtained by combining
all important independent variables. Highest value of this coeffi-
cient for the combined independent variable (x) of 0.792 can be
obtained. For this case the combined independent variable (x) will
be
V 0:0302
x¼ w
00:39
ð4Þ
c0:065
cw f c
ð1Þ
ð2Þ
Fig. 13. Variation of f0 cw with fc0 .
 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604 601

in which ccw is the density of concrete containing PET waste mea-

sured in kg/m3. Variation of dependent variable (y) with indepen-
dent variable (x) is shown in Fig. 16.
Regression analysis indicates that the coefficient a is 2.191
and b is 0.494. On substituting, one obtains
00:85 0:142
0 0:494f c c
f cw ¼ cw
ð5Þ
V 0:066
w

The mean test/calculated value of compressive strength for this

model is 1.046 and R2 value is 0.639. Compared with the predic-
tions of Model I there is more safety in using Model II equation
because of the larger mean value. Fig. 17 shows test and calculated
concrete compressive strength using Eg. 3 and 5, applied on test
results obtained in this study. It is observed that both models are
nearly giving the same calculated compressive strength of mean
(test/calculated) value equal to 1.111 and 1.109 for Model I and
II respectively. It is also observed that the predictions agree well
with measured compressive strength for Group (2) beams, for this
case the two mean values are 1.008 and 1.006.
Fig. 16. Variation of dependent variable with independent variable.

4.2.3. Maximum compressive strain

Maximum compressive strain (ecwu) is important to be known
for the purpose of analysis and design of concrete members sub-

Fig. 17. Test and calculated compressive strength.

jected to flexure. This parameter is related to the occurrence of ten-

Fig. 14. Variation of compressive strength with concrete density.
Fig. 15. Variation of compressive strength with PET volume.
sile failure mode in concrete sections subjected to flexural
moment. Limits of maximum compressive strain are given by the
codes of practice for normal concrete. Developing equations for
calculating this limit for the analysis and design of RPETWC sec-
tions subjected to flexural moment is required. Maximum com-
pressive strain, in addition to the other parameters of complete
compressive stress-strain relationship, is important for nonlinear
analysis of concrete members subjected to flexure. In this type of
analysis the material non-linear behavior is rigorously taken into
account.
From the available test data, regression analysis can be done to
obtain equations for calculating maximum compressive strain.
Unfortunately, there is few number of test data related to this
important parameter. Tests were carried out by Cordoba et al.
[20] on RPETWC, and a part of their experimental tests was
arranged to study the property of maximum compressive strain
(ecwu). Test measurements indicate that maximum compressive
strain varies from 0.0032 to 0.009 mm/mm, higher than the aver-
age value for OPC normal strength concrete, which is 0.003.
Description of Cordoba et al’s test variables can be found in
Table 3. Accordingly, regression analysis is carried out on eighteen
data point for calculating ecwu. The dependent variable is ecwu and
the strongest independent variable is the compressive strength of
602 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604
Fig. 18. Variation of maximum strain with compressive strength.
RPETWC. The correlation coefficient between the two variables
was found to be 0.713. Fig. 18 shows variation of maximum com-
pressive strain (ecwu) with compressive strength (f0 cw). Based on the
regression analysis the following equation is obtained
ecwu ¼ 3:573  104 ðf 0cw Þ
0:913
ð6Þ
in which ecwu is the maximum compressive strain.
0
If values of fcw is available from tests the maximum strain is cal-
culated from Eq. (6), alternatively f0 cw can be obtained from Eq. (3)
or Eq. (5). Fig. 18 shows variation of test and calculated ecwu using
Eq. (6) with the compressive strength variation. The mean value of
test/calculated ecwu is equal to 1.02. The compressive strength of
plain concrete used for regression analysis for ecwu is varied
between 19.36 MPa and 26.76 MPa. Further researches are needed
to derive equations for the maximum compressive strain applied
on the wide ranges of concrete compressive strength. Now, the
required parameters (fcw 0
and ecwu) are in hand for calculating ulti-
mate moment capacity of reinforced concrete beam sections con-
taining PET waste.
4.3. Analysis of reinforced RPETWC beams
In order to perform analysis and design of reinforced concrete
beams containing PET waste, strain and stress distributions at ulti-
mate stage of moment capacity is required. Compressive stress
Fig. 19. Stress and strain distributions acting on RPETWC beam section.
block acting on the section usually depends on the compressive
strength of concrete. The proposed equations for compressive
strength can be utilized for calculating moment capacity of
RPETWC section, provided that flexural stress distribution acting
on the section is known. Flexural analysis is based on several
assumptions and in addition to the assumptions made for the case
of normal strength concrete beams; further assumptions given
below are made
a- It is assumed that stress distribution at ultimate stage for
normal concrete is applied on concrete containing PET waste
with parameters modified due to the PET waste existence.
This stress distribution was proposed by the ACI 318 code
[18] for the analysis and design of normal strength concrete
sections subjected to pure bending, and
b- tensile mode of failure will occur.
Indeed, there is a need for further studies to highlight the nat-
ure of compressive stress distribution of concrete section contain-
ing PET waste at ultimate stage of cracking. Strain and stress
distributions acting on the cross section are shown in Fig. 19.
Since all beams were tested under two central point loads (see
Fig. 4) the ultimate moment capacity for all tested beams is equal
to 0.1 and 0.15 times the load capacity measured in kN m for small
scale beams and large scale beams respectively. The following cal-
culation steps are required to obtain the moment capacity of
RPETWC section
i- Calculate the depth of equivalent compressive stress block
from equilibrium of forces acting on the section, or
As f y
a¼ 0 ð7Þ
0:85 f cw b
Results of compression zone depth for all beams are shown
in Table 4.
ii- Check that tension controlled mode of failure is valid. Max-
imum compressive strain in concrete is calculated using Eq.
(6) and from the compatibility of strains (shown in Fig. 19)
tensile strain in steel can be obtained. For this purpose the
depth of compression zone (c) is calculated from dividing a
given by Eq. (7) by b1. It is assumed that b1 is identical to that
of normal concrete given by ACI 318 code. If the calculated
tensile strain is larger than 0.005 tensile mode of failure will
occur. Results of this step of calculation are shown in Table 4
for two cases of compressive strength. ecwu1 and es1 are
related to the measured compressive strength, while ecwu2
and es2 are for calculated compressive strength using Eq. (3).
 A.A. Mohammed / Construction and Building Materials 155 (2017) 593–604 603

Table 4
Test and calculated ultimate moment capacity of beams.

Beam 0
Test fcw 0
Calculated fcw Test Mn a1 (mm) ecwu1 es1 Mn,calc.1 (kN.m) a2 (mm) ecwu2 es2 Mn,calc.2 (kN.m)
(N/mm2) (N/mm2) (kN.m)
BSC 33.07 – 4.043 18.46 0.003 0.0081 3.672 – – – –
BSPET5 27.05 26.2 4.168 22.57 0.00725 0.0146 3.565 23.30 0.007 0.0134 3.547
BSPET10 31.82 25.03 3.986 19.18 0.00841 0.0214 3.653 24.39 0.00676 0.0121 3.518
BSPET15 32.57 24.37 4.224 18.74 0.00859 0.0226 3.665 25.05 0.0066 0.0113 3.501
BLC 31.36 – 16.920 24.33 0.003 0.0159 13.063 – – – –
BLPET5 23.81 24.91 15.771 32.05 0.00646 0.0244 12.763 30.63 0.00673 0.0269 12.818
BLPET10 24.92 23.8 15.011 30.62 0.00673 0.0269 12.818 32.064 0.00646 0.0244 12.762
BLPET15 23.66 23.17 14.403 32.25 0.00642 0.0240 12.755 32.934 0.00630 0.0230 12.728

iii- Calculate the ultimate moment capacity from the following
equation
Mn ¼ As f y ðd  0:5aÞ
Results of analysis for the prediction of moment capacity of the
tested beams are shown in Table 4. The mean value (test/calcu-
lated) of flexural moment capacity of RPETWC section based on
the test compressive strength (Mn/Mn,cal1) is equal to 1.158 and that
based on the calculated compressive strength using Eq. (3) (Mn/Mn,-
cal2) is 1.175 indicating that the predictions are accurate and mod-
erately safe. The two mean values are close to each other; this may
be attributed to the accuracy of the proposed equation for calculat-
ing compressive strength (i.e. Eq. (3)). The other reason is that the
strength of the beam mainly governed by the existence of steel
rebar provided to tension zone. The high safety accompanied with
the predictions is mainly attributed to neglecting the effect of
strain hardening in steel reinforcement. Results of analysis shown
in Table 4 indicate that all beams were failed in tension because
tensile strain in steel for all beams is larger than 0.005.
5. Conclusions
In this research work behavior of reinforced concrete beams
containing PET waste shredded particles were studied, via labora-
tory tests. Analysis of such beams was made based on modifica-
tions in the concrete properties due to the existence of PET
waste. Further conclusions given below can be drawn
1- Taking care to the preparation and grading of PET waste par-
ticles was found not helpful to control compressive strength
loss due to the plastic material added to concrete. High
reduction value in the strength was occurred even at low
PET waste content of 5%. Further reduction in the strength
was not observed when PET waste increased to 15%.
2- Analysis of previous test data on compressive strength indi-
cates that there is no need for high compressive strength
reduction to be accompanied with high PET waste volume.
There is a large number of concrete specimens suffer from
high strength reduction containing PET waste volume not
more than 10%.
3- Properties of stiffness and mode of failure are not changed
when PET waste concrete is used for the beam instead of
normal concrete. However, ultimate load capacity was mod-
erately reduced. Maximum reduction was found to be 14.9%
at 15% PET waste content. Deflection at the peak load and
the load-deflection response were slightly changed when
PET waste is added to the concrete. It is concluded that rein-
forced concrete beams can be safely fabricated with concrete
containing PET waste up to 15% provided that tensile mode
of failure will occur.
4- There is a good chance to use the simple analytical model for
under reinforced concrete beams given by the ACI 318 code
for predicting the ultimate moment capacity of PET waste
concrete section. But the changes in the concrete compres-
sive strength and maximum compressive strain due to the
PET waste addition should be considered.
ð8Þ 5- There is a large area in the cross section of concrete beams
subjected to flexure, between the tensile steel rebar and
compression zone, which is the zone of not active cracked
concrete, can be occupied with concrete containing PET
waste. Therefore, using PET waste in these zones is helpful
to produce this type of recycled concrete. Accordingly, there
is a chance to consume a large quantity of PET waste in the
production of flexural concrete members such as beams and
slabs.
Acknowledgements
Major part of tests was done at the construction laboratory,
Seko Engineering House, Sulaimaniyah. Efforts delivered by the
general director and laboratory’s staff are highly appreciated. This
research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in
the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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