Evaluation οf the use of tin glass construction unit in precast concrete elements

Abstract

The United Kingdom collects more container glass through its recycling program than can be returned to closed-loop recycling. This imbalance is particularly acute for pubglass (wine and beer bottles). Commingled glass (mixed clear, green and brown container glass) needs sorting by colour, and this limits its applicability. There is a need to find secondary uses for commingled waste glass on a large scale. A novel material, TinGlass Concrete (TGC), is proposed for partial replacement of concrete by waste glass cullet of any colour, impurity and granules’ size, by using the concept of Tin Glass Construction Unit (TGCU). The TGCU is an innovative product patented at the University of Brighton comprising mixed glass cullet fused in a tin-plated steel can. The steel can forms a permanent fused-on mould; it can be sourced from waste stream. It is proposed to use TGCUs in precast concrete by embedding them into concrete elements, cubes and beams, during casting. To establish how well TGC could reproduce properties of conventional concrete, a series of tests in compression and flexure have been performed.

Date of Award	Dec 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton
Supervisor	Maria Diakoumi (Supervisor)