Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND CIVIL ENGINEERING, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
The increasing plastic and industrial waste give rise to a serious threat in terms of environmental pollution, while the utilization of these wastes as alternative materials in the construction sector offers an important potential in line with environmental sustainability goals. This study aims to evaluate the physical, mechanical and aggressive environment properties of mortars containing silica fume (SF) and waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as aggregate. In this scope, mortar mixtures containing different proportions (0%, 5%, 10%) of SF and waste PVC as aggregate (0%, 15%, 30%, 45%) were prepared. Unit weight, water absorption, compressive and flexural strength tests were performed on these mortars at the end of the 28 days. In addition, weight losses were obtained at 3, 7, 14, 28, 35 days to determine the resistance of the mortars against sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and sectional area loss was calculated with the help of image processing techniques. Finally, the mortar specimens were exposed to 400 degrees C, 600 degrees C and 800 degrees C to investigate the behavior of the mortars subject to high temperatures. FTIR and SEM analyses were also performed on the samples. Based on the results obtained, it was determined that the compressive and flexural strength of mortars decreased as the waste PVC ratio increased. The increase in PVC and SF caused a decrease in the unit weight. A decrease in waste PVC and an increase in SF resulted in a decrease in water absorption. Increased waste PVC resulted in a decrease in the mass and cross-sectional area loss of mortars in sulphuric acid exposure. Finally, the increase in the waste PVC increased the compressive strength and mass loss of the mortars subjected to high temperature, while the increase in the SF compensated for this negative effect this increase. Especially at 800 degrees C, the compressive strength of the specimens containing 45% waste PVC dropped to 1.87 MPa. In addition, it was determined that internal flaming occurred at 800 degrees C in specimens containing high waste PVC.