Sustainable Concrete Using Ceramic Tile Waste as a Substitute for Brick Aggregate
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Materials
- Fine aggregate: The sand that served as the fine aggregate in cement was taken from Jiangsu province.
- Coarse aggregate: Brick chips (brick gravel and brick ballast) are a type of coarse aggregate made up of bricks. Typically, 19 mm or 20 mm degraded brick chips are utilized as coarse material for this operation. Brick chips were partially replaced in this work by porcelain floor tiles. Ceramic tile waste (CTW) was gathered in Shanghai and was carefully divided into uniform aggregate sizes. They primarily consisted of a mixture of natural raw materials, including approximately 55–60% silica (SiO2), 25–30% alumina (Al2O3), along with smaller amounts of feldspar and other mineral oxides. This composition is typical for porcelain ceramics and is achieved through a high-temperature firing process (1200–1400 °C), which produces a dense and vitrified material. The high silica and alumina content contributes to the tiles’ low porosity and high mechanical strength, directly influencing the concrete’s overall durability and performance when these waste tiles are used as partial aggregate replacements. Additional components for concrete, like water, additives, aggregate, and cement, were gathered or handled locally. The parameters of the aggregates employed in this study are displayed in Table 1.
Property | Fine Aggregate (Sand) | Coarse Aggregate (Brick Chips) | Ceramic Tile Aggregate |
---|---|---|---|
Fineness Modulus | 3.15 | 6.15 | 6.90 |
Maximum Aggregate Size (mm) | 20 | 20 | |
Unit Weight (kg/m3) | 1700 | 1125 | 1390 |
Voids (%) | 35.10 | 55.02 | 41.10 |
Specific gravity | 2.60 | 1.75 | 2.30 |
Water absorption (%) | 1.00 | 16.0 | 1.20 |
2.2. Tests
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Workability
3.2. Unit Weight Test Results
3.3. Compressive Strenght Test Results
3.4. Modulus of Elasticity Test Results
3.5. Split Tensile Strength Test Results
3.6. Water Absorption Test Results
3.7. Statistical Analysis of the Results
4. Conclusions
- The slump values for concrete made with CWA ranged from 80 to 110 mm, indicating that a higher ceramic waste content enhances the workability of the mix. Compared to traditional brick aggregate concrete, CWA concrete demonstrated higher unit weight due to its greater specific gravity and reduced porosity.
- Among the different mixes, CWA-40 achieved optimal compressive strength after 14 days of curing, and a 15.66% improvement over conventional brick aggregate concrete, after 28 days.
- The highest modulus of elasticity was observed at CWA-40 after 28 days, representing an 8.10% increase over traditional concrete, CC.
- The split tensile strength peaked at 4.20 MPa and 4.80 MPa with CWA-20 after 14 and 28 days of curing, respectively.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
CTW | ceramic tile waste |
CS | sanitary wares |
FTC | floor tile concrete |
HSC | high-strength concrete |
LSC | limestone concrete |
RCA | recycled concrete aggregate |
RHA | rice hush concrete |
UHPC | ultra-high-performance concrete |
WTA | wall tile aggregate |
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Mix | Ceramic Tiles Replacement (%) | W/C Ratio | Cement (kg/m3) | Water (kg/m3) | Fine Aggregate (Brick Chips) (kg/m3) | Coarse Aggregate (Brick Chips) (kg/m3) | Ceramic Tiles Aggregate (kg/m3) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CC | 0 | 0.50 | 403 | 200 | 806 | 1612 | 0 |
CWA-20 | 20 | 0.50 | 403 | 200 | 806 | 1289.6 | 322.4 |
CWA-40 | 40 | 0.50 | 403 | 200 | 806 | 475.6 | 644.8 |
CWA-70 | 70 | 0.50 | 403 | 200 | 806 | 1128.4 | 483.6 |
Test | 14 Days | 28 Days |
---|---|---|
Unit Weight | 8.28 | 3.12 |
Compressive Strength | 3.99 | 1.93 |
Modulus of Elasticity | - | 5.76 |
Split Tensile Strength | 1.91 | 1.96 |
Water Absorption | - | 2.58 |
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Hosen, K.; Bărbulescu, A. Sustainable Concrete Using Ceramic Tile Waste as a Substitute for Brick Aggregate. Materials 2025, 18, 3093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18133093
Hosen K, Bărbulescu A. Sustainable Concrete Using Ceramic Tile Waste as a Substitute for Brick Aggregate. Materials. 2025; 18(13):3093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18133093
Chicago/Turabian StyleHosen, Kamal, and Alina Bărbulescu. 2025. "Sustainable Concrete Using Ceramic Tile Waste as a Substitute for Brick Aggregate" Materials 18, no. 13: 3093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18133093
APA StyleHosen, K., & Bărbulescu, A. (2025). Sustainable Concrete Using Ceramic Tile Waste as a Substitute for Brick Aggregate. Materials, 18(13), 3093. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18133093