healthy concrete Story: Cass Proudfoot Concrete is long- Deakin University has a lab full of concrete The team has trialled various amounts of lasting and strong, but spa baths. These spa baths aren’t made plastic fibres in the concrete mix, from of concrete, but rather they are spa baths 0.5 per cent, up to two percent plastic. ‘Since we are a collaboration with a to put pieces of concrete into. This is all targeting structural concrete, we are very careful in hospital could help to part of a project to test salt water and weather the concrete mix proportions and shall conduct many make it more durable in effects on concrete, and to produce concrete that tests to verify the concrete quality,’ Dr Al-Almeri says. is more durable. Given concrete’s long life, research on how it harsh conditions. The corrosion of steel bars used in concrete stands up to weather could be a slow process. So construction is a major issue, and the team at the team has created a purpose-built accelerated Deakin is testing a plastic additive in the concrete weather station at Deakin’s School of Engineering mix, with the expectation that it will extend the to simulate harsh marine weather exposure. service life of concrete buildings, pools and retaining walls. The plastic they are using is left over The plastic they are using is high-grade single from dialysis treatment in hospitals use plastic, left over from dialysis treatment in hospitals. This is ordinarily a waste product and with more than 12,000 Australians on dialysis, ‘One month in the lab is equivalent to about 5,100 tonnes of this plastic waste is approximately one year outside, so we can produced per year. observe the behaviour of the material quickly and The concrete researchers, led by Dr Riyadh efficiently,’ Dr Al-Ameri says. Al-Ameri, have added a two per cent measure of ‘Wet and dry cycles can have a big impact on elongated plastic fibres to a normal concrete mix the durability of the concrete, and sea water has without removal of any original mix component. chloride, which is very harmful to both concrete Dr Al-Ameri is a senior lecturer in structural and steel reinforcement.’ engineering, and began his career working in The test results are very promising, showing concrete construction as a site engineer on large a 30 per cent reduction in the water absorption housing projects. rate in concrete with added plastic waste fibres, a ‘Concrete can crack and damage the internal significant change. And importantly there was no bond, which can then lead to water penetration significant reduction in concrete compressive and and corrosion of the steel bars, critical for tensile strength. Photo courtesy providing the strength and integrity of concrete The potential to gainfully reuse single-use plastic Donna Squire structures,’ he explains. and create a concrete product with qualities ‘If we are able to facilitate the production of new superior to current concrete products is hugely types of concrete that will offer better protection, exciting for Dr Al-Ameri. The testing continues give structures longer life and better performance, under ever more rigorous conditions, and if all Dr Al-Ameri in Deakin’s as well as help recycle plastic waste, that will be a goes well, a commercially available version of this Waurn Ponds concrete lab great achievement.’ concrete could be on the market in 2019. 12 HOUSING MAY 2018 PRODUCTS