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Behavior Of Reinforced Concrete Columns Embedded with PET Bottles Under Concentric Axial Compression
Al Bayati, Sadiq Duraid
Al Bayati, Sadiq Duraid
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35.232-2025.21a Sadiq Duraid Al Bayati_COMPRESSED.pdf
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- Embargoed until 2026-09-04
Description
A Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Sadiq Duraid Al Bayati entitled, “Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Columns Embedded with PET Bottles Under Concentric Axial Compression”, submitted in June 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Sami Tabsh. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).
Abstract
This research deals with the implementation of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Bottles as void makers in reinforced concrete columns under purely axial compression. Utilization of PET bottles in reinforced concrete structures reduces the amount of concrete used. Moreover, for the same amount of concrete used in a solid and equivalent voided column, the voided column will have greater flexural capacity than the solid one due to the increased moment arm of the steel reinforcement. This proposed construction scheme greatly reduces the pollution that comes with the disposal of PET bottles and amount of concrete. The experimental component of the study consists of testing 16 reinforced concrete columns divided into two groups. One group contained eight 9m long columns having small cross-sections (200mm² solid and 220mm² voided) and another group contained eight 1.1m long columns having large cross-sections (250mm² solid and 350mm² voided). The diameter of the void within the small cross-section group was 100mm while the diameter of the void within the large cross-section group was 265mm. Each category contains 4 solid columns and 4 corresponding voided columns having the same amount of concrete and steel. The experimental program considers variations in the size of the longitudinal steel reinforcement, tie spacing, and concrete compressive strength. The tests are conducted using a UTM machine under displacement-controlled loading condition with help of strain gauges and LVDTs. Analysis of the test results showed that the small columns were slightly impacted by the presence of the void, as the ultimate capacity was reduced by 9%, initial stiffness by 14%, ductility by 20%, and residual strength by 1%. With regards to the large columns, the presence of the void significantly affected structural performance by reducing the ultimate capacity by 24%, initial stiffness by 34%, and ductility by 26%, although the residual strength was increased by 5%. Modelling and analysis by the finite element software ABAQUS showed good agreement with the experimental results. In general, findings from the study demonstrated that reinforced concrete columns containing small voids made with PET bottles that do not take more than 50% of the core can perform fairly well under the action of pure axial compressive loads.