Experimental investigation of mechanical properties and multi-objective optimization of electronic, glass, and ceramic waste-mixed concrete

Abstract

The utilization of waste from various sources plays an important role in minimizing environmental pollution and civil construction costs. In this research, the mechanical properties of concrete were studied by mixing electronic waste (EW), glass powder (GW), and ceramic tile waste (CW). The effects of weight percentages of EW, GW, and CW are considered to investigate improvements in mechanical properties such as compressive strength (CS), split tensile strength (STS), and flexural strength (FS) of concrete. Taguchi analysis has been applied to predict the optimum composition of waste mixing percentages. The Multi-Objective Optimization Ratio Analysis (MOORA) techniques are applied to estimate the optimum composition of mixing wastes for maximizing the CS, STS, and FS of concrete. It was observed that 10 wt.% of EW, 15 wt.% of GW, and 30 wt.% of CW are predicted as the optimal mixing combinations to obtain a maximum compressive strength of 48.763 MPa, a split tensile strength of 4.178 MPa, and a flexural strength of 7.737 MPa, respectively. Finally, the predicted optimum waste-mixed weight percentages were used to examine the microstructure and various elements in the concrete using SEM and XRD analysis. When compared to conventional concrete, the optimum waste-mixed concrete has improved its compressive strength (38.453%), split tensile strength (41.149%), and flexural strength (36.215%).

Keywords: Compressive strength; Flexural strength; MOORA; Microstructure; Split tensile strength; Taguchi technique.