Exploring Waste Glass as Fine Aggregate Replacement in Concrete Block

Solid waste management is a major environmental concern around the world, with post-consumer glass accounting for a significant amount of that waste stream. However, the difficulty in locating viable markets for glass recycling exacerbates the problem, resulting in environmental consequences from theaccumulation of wasted glass. Thus, investigating the possibility of using crushed waste glass as a replacement for fine aggregate in concrete emerges as an appealing way to address waste disposal difficulties while conserving natural resources.To address these problems, this study conducted fundamentalexperimental research to determine the viability of adding crushed waste glass into concrete. Various properties of concrete were investigated through extensive experimentation, including slump, unit weight, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, dry density, water absorption, and alkali-silica reaction, over 7, 14, and 28-day curing periods. Four concrete mixes were created, with replacement levels of discarded glass ranging from 0% to 20% by weight of sand. At 28 days, the results showed that concrete specimens with 20% waste glass substitution outperformed the control mix. These specimens had higher compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity, with increases of 5.28%, 18.38%, 8.92%, and 9.75%, respectively. This suggests that using waste glass as a fine aggregate replacement in concrete can improve its mechanical characteristics and overall performance.By explaining the benefits of mixing discarded glass into concrete and undertaking extensive experimentation, this work gives useful insights into sustainable waste management techniques and natural resource conservation. Furthermore, it emphasises the significance of researching alternative materials in order to reduce environmental issues and encourage the use of ecofriendly construction procedures.