Utilization of non-metalized plastic bag fibers along with fly ash in concrete

• Sustainable concrete was produced using non-metalized waste plastic bag fibers (NMWPF) and fly ash (FA). • The addition of NMWPF in concrete augmented tensile strength, and resistance to impact and drying shrinkage. • The resistance to water-based durability characteristics enhanced on addition of NMWPF along with FA. • Statistical analysis showed that most of concrete characteristics were predominantly affected by NMWPF. The continuous production and dumping of plastic waste cause a serious impact on environmental pollution. Deploying of plastic waste in construction products reduces environmental pollution and also minimizes construction and dumping cost. This paper examines the mechanical, durability and impact attributes of concrete prepared with non-metalized waste plastic bag fibers (NMWPF) and fly ash (FA). Ten mixtures were designed in which five mixtures were Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) based including NMWPF content of 0, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.25%. Remaining mixtures were FA blended mixes having same percentage of NMWPF content as that of OPC based mixtures, wherein 20% of cement was swapped with FA. The addition of NMWPF together with FA in concrete reduced the requirement of superplasticizer dosage. The compressive strength of both OPC and FA-based concrete reduced by the addition of NMWPF at all curing ages. However, FA-based concrete (prepared with and without NMWPF) exhibited better compressive strength than OPC based concrete at 90 days curing. The addition of NMWPF together with FA in concrete significantly augmented flexural strength, split tensile strength and resistance to abrasion, impact and drying shrinkage. Though resistance to water penetration decreased on the addition of NMWPF in both OPC and FA-based concrete, the FA-based concrete (prepared with and without NMWPF) performed better than OPC based concrete. Moreover, statistical analysis showed that most of concrete characteristics were predominantly affected by NMWPF. Overall, this research revealed positive results on using NMWPF along with FA in concrete and paved the way for further researches in same field.