Characteristics of aerogel-incorporated concrete with polyethylene terephthalate fiber

• ACPET developed using PET fiber, aerogel, and fly ash to reduce plastic waste. • 0.9 % PET fiber achieved highest strength (51.01 MPa) and lowest thermal conductivity. • PET fiber addition affected water absorption and density of concrete. • ACPET mix used 60 % aerogel and 10 % fly ash as sand and cement replacements. • LCA showed PET fiber reduced climate, land, and fossil fuel environmental impacts. Aimed at reducing the amount of plastic waste requiring landfill disposal, this study introduces an alternative waste management method that utilizes polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste as reinforcing fiber in concrete. An aerogel-incorporated concrete with PET fiber (ACPET) was developed. ACPET specimens were prepared according to the following design mix: 10 % of the cement mass was replaced with fly ash obtained from a power plant, 60 % of the sand volume was replaced with aerogel, the water-to-cement ratio was 0.35, and the superplasticizer-to-cement ratio was 0.5. Five different PET fiber volume fractions were tested: 0 %, 0.3 %, 0.6 %, 0.9 %, and 1.2 %. After 28 days of water curing at room temperature, the compressive strength, thermal conductivity, water absorption, density, and environmental impact of the specimens were tested. The results revealed that the addition of 0.9 % PET fiber yielded the highest compressive strength of 51.01 MPa and the lowest thermal conductivity of 1.75 W/(m·K). The incorporation of the PET fiber significantly affected the water absorption and density of the concrete. The life cycle assessment comparing the ACPET with conventional concrete showed that the addition of the PET fiber contributed to reduced environmental impacts in the categories of climate change, natural land transformation, and fossil fuel depletion.