Mechanical and Physical Properties of Laterite Bricks Reinforced with Reprocessed Polyethylene Waste for Building Applications

This paper presents the results of experimental studies of the mechanical and physical properties of reprocessed polyethylene (PE) waste as reinforcement in laterite bricks for sustainable building applications. The bricks are produced with different volume fractions of polyethylene. The flexural and compressive strengths and the fracture toughness values of the bricks differ upon curing at room temperature for 28 days and immersing in water (for 24 h, 1 week, and 2 weeks) before complete curing for 28 days. The composite containing 20% by volume PE has the best combination of flexural strength ($\sim 8.2\pm 0.01\mathrm{MPa}$), compressive strength ($\sim 5.5\pm 0.02\mathrm{MPa}$), and fracture toughness ($\sim 0.94\pm 0.03\mathrm{MPa}\surd \mathrm{m}$) after curing in water for 2 weeks. The flexural and compressive strengths and the fracture toughness values are $\sim 4.4\pm 0.03\mathrm{MPa}$, $1.9\pm 0.03\mathrm{MPa}$, and $0.52\pm 0.02\mathrm{MPa}\surd \mathrm{m}$, respectively, for the composite containing 30% by volume PE after curing the bricks in air. The composites containing 10, 20, and 30% by volume PE, respectively, have initial rates of water absorption of $\sim 1.0$, $\sim 1.2$, and $\sim 1.4\mathrm{kg}/{\mathrm{mm}}^2/\min$. The composite containing 20% by volume PE is more resistant to erosion than the composites containing 10 and 30% by volume PE.