This work consists on the proposal of rational utilization of non-renewable natural resources. It has the objective of studying the technical viability of utilization of ground waste glass as material aggregate to concrete specifically by the comparison of its effects on mechanical properties of concretes fabricated with the new component, aiming its utilization for structural purposes. The comparison was made on the basis of mechanical properties of produced concrete, both by replacing part of the sand by ground waste glass and by addition of ground waste glass over the mass of fine aggregate sand. The results of the research show that fine aggregate (sand) substitution for 5wt.% of crushed glass with a particle size varying in the range150-300 µm produced an increase of 60% in the compressive strength of concrete. This would be explained by decrease of concrete porosity due to penetration of fine glass in the empty space gaps. The use of other particle sizes caused minor increases on strength, but the values were always superior to that of reference concrete. On the other hand, the addition of ground waste glass, with particle size varying between 150 and 300 µm in percentages up to 20wt.% over the mass of fine aggregate, had very different effects on mechanical properties of the produced concrete. The greater compression strength, 56% superior to the reference concrete, was obtained by addition of 5 wt. of fine glass over the sand weight. The increase of the added glass mass produced a decrease of compressive strength of the produced concrete. This could be influenced by the increase of dry material that should have been hydrated, once the water/cement ratio was kept constant.
reuse of ground waste glass; concrete; waste management
