Fracture properties of concrete with waste compact disc shred

A large amount of electronic waste like computer compact discs (CDs) is being generated every year and their disposal has become a major environmental concern that needs to be addressed wisely. Therefore now, the addition of recycled materials into concrete is increasingly attracting the attention of civil engineers worldwide. However, adding computer compact disc (CD) shreds into concrete has not been examined. In this research, the fracture behaviour of concrete containing waste CD shreds was investigated using the three point bending notched beam test, according to RILEM recommendations. The main parameters studied include CD the content and size of shreds. The study indicates that the fracture energy and modified characteristic length were found to increase significantly with the increasing proportion and size of CD shreds due to anchoring and bridging effects. In other words, concrete with higher amounts and larger sizes of CD shreds exhibit higher cracking resistance and the brittleness decreases accordingly. © 2008 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd.