Title:
“Glascrete”—Concrete with Glass Aggregate
Author(s):
Weihua Jin, Christian Meyer, and Stephen Baxter
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
97
Issue:
2
Appears on pages(s):
208-213
Keywords:
alkali-aggregate reactions; architectural concrete; glass aggregates.
DOI:
10.14359/825
Date:
3/1/2000
Abstract:
Post-consumer glass represents a major component of solid waste, yet its use as an aggregate in concrete is problematic because of the strong alkali-silica reaction (ASR) between the cement paste and the glass aggregate. In a research project at Columbia University, the use of crushed waste glass as aggregate for concrete products was investigated. Fundamental aspects of ASR in concrete with glass aggregate were studied. It was shown that waste glass ground to U.S. standard sieve size No. 50 or smaller causes mortar bar expansions in the ASTM C 1260 test of less than 0.1%, which is less than that of reference bars without any glass. Also, green glass does not cause any expansion to speak of, and finely ground green glass has the potential of an inexpensive ASR suppressant. Specific concrete products with glass aggregate are currently under development. These include concrete masonry blocks with 10% mixed-color waste glass aggregate and “glascrete” products with 100% color-sorted glass aggregate for numerous architectural and decorative applications.