INVESTIGATING THE USE OF BROKEN CERAMIC TILES AS PARTIAL REPLACEMENT FOR COURSE AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE PRODUCTION

ABSTRACT

The construction industry's consistent evolution over the millennia has been proof of man’s creativity, vision and engineering prowess. Concrete being its major component comprises aggregates (fine and coarse), water and cement. Waste ceramic tiles is one of the significant environmental problems world-wide, with huge amounts of ceramic waste  needing to be disposed. Research has proven that extracting aggregates from the environment is detrimental and has led to the degradation of natural resources, a major constituent of natural disasters. However, this has led to the search for alternative sustainable materials such as ceramic tiles, glass, fly ash, plastic, etc in the manufacture of concrete due to its economic and environmental benefits.  This study investigates the use of broken ceramic tiles as a partial replacement for coarse aggregates in cement production. Concrete cubes will be cast in 100mm x 100mm molds, and several tests including compressive strength test, slump test, and water absorption test will be carried out on day 7 and 28 of curing in 10%, 20% and 30% replacement. The concrete produced with coarse aggregate achieved 45.32mPa, 10% achieved 42.71mPa, 20% achieved  41.90mPa and 30% achieved 44.89mPa in compressive strength. The controlled sample also had the best value recorded in the slump test with 90mm and 30% replacement having 60mm which shows a decrease in slump value. This project shows that ceramic tile aggregate if properly optimized and utilized could serve as a sustainable alternative to traditional coarse aggregates as proven in the results achieved.