The Efficacy of Plastic Cups as Replacement for Stones in Making Concrete Cylinders

Authors

  • Vince Edward Tubigan

Keywords:

cement, plastic cups, concrete cylinders

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In the Philippines, solid waste is still a major problem in society. By using plastic cups instead of stones, the researchers can lessen the cost of materials needed to make concrete cylinders. Concrete cylinders are used by engineers as prototypes to create a strong mixture of concrete with great strength to be used for buildings, structures, and houses. The objective of this study is to lessen the number of plastic cups by using them as a replacement for stones in making concrete cylinders.

METHODS

Various methods were used in this study. Gathering of plastic cups and cutting it into small pieces. By mixing all the materials like plastic cups, cement and sand with different ratios (12.5 : 987.5 : 1000, 37.5 : 962.5 : 1000, 62.5 : 937.5 : 1000, 87.5 : 912.5 : 1000) in terms of grams. After making the mold it was brought to Universal Testing and Inspection Incorporation to be tested.

RESULTS

Most cylinders obtained a Cone & Split fracture while Samples 1 (10 cups) and 4 (30 cups) obtained a Cone & Shear fracture. Sample 2 (10 cups) has the greatest UCS with 22.7 MPa (3292 Psi) while Sample 8 (70 cups) has the lowest UCS with 5.0 MPa (725 Psi). This implies that the relationship of the number of plastic cups added in the mixture is inversely proportional to its Ultimate Compressive Strength.

DISCUSSIONS

The findings indicated that the concrete cylinder with plastic cups can be a suitable replacement. There is significance in the number of plastic cups added in each cylinder. The results discuss that the lesser the number of plastic cups, the higher the compressive strength. This study suggests utilizing other materials to help the environment and to contribute to engineering purposes.

Published

2019-01-18