PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF BITUMINOUS CONCRETE INCORPORATING CRUMB RUBBER AND WASTE SHREDDED THERMOPLASTICS

Abstract

Increase in environmental concerns has been leading to develop innovative and eco-friendly ideas to re-use the waste byproducts from industries and domestic use. Waste plastic and waste tyres/crumb rubber considered as solid waste in India which causes environmental pollution. These wastes will be disposed by land filling and incineration which are hazardous. Plastic is user friendly but not eco-friendly. In this present study waste plastic and crumb rubber has been used to modify the conventional bituminous mix. This modifier raw-material has been sourced from disposed waste plastic and crumb rubber. This provides a solution towards ecological menace posed by increased use of plastic. Incorporation of waste plastic which is mainly consists of LDPE had been done by “dry process”; an in-situ process which can be practiced locally. In this process addition of plastic has been done by replacing bitumen by percentage by weight in varying percentage. Marshall Method of bituminous mix design was carried out. Significant improvement in properties like Marshall Stability, retained stability, indirect tensile strength has been observed in waste plastic bituminous mix compared to conventional mix.