Influence of the Partial Substitution of Bitumen by a Mixture of Sulphur and Tyre and Plastic Bottle Powders on the Behaviour of Bituminous Concrete

This article deals with the influence of the partial substitution of bitumen by a mixture of sulphur and tyre and plastic bottle powders on the characterization of asphalt concrete. The approach adopted was to subject a control asphalt concrete to level 2 formulation tests as well as those modified at 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% by substituting bitumen with a mixture of tyre powder, plastic bottle powder and sulphur at 40%, 28% and 32% respectively. The results of the PCG, Duriez and rutting tests carried out on the control and modified bituminous concretes (manufactured using the wet process) revealed three (03) major findings, in particular with regard to workability, resistance to simple compression and rutting. The experimental results show an increasing trend in the essential parameters. At 40% substitution, there was a 22.73% increase in compactness, reflecting a significant improvement in the material’s workability. With regard to simple compressive strength, the increase is 34.02% at 40% substitution, highlighting the limitation of crack formation and propagation under heavy precipitation. With regard to rutting, the 16% drop in susceptibility at 40% substitution reflects a significant improvement in the behaviour of the material under dynamic mechanical stresses in heavy precipitation. The improvement in these behaviours results from the insertion of the plastic bottle powder into the interstices of the granular skeleton, thus reducing its cellular structure, and also from the interactions between the sulphur with the tyre powder and the sulphur with the plastic bottle powder, i.e. cross-linking or vulcanisation.

Characterization of Clay Materials and Performance Evaluation of Fired Clay Composites Made for Low-Cost Housing

This study deals with the physico-chemical, mineralogical and geotechnical characterization of alluvial clays from Batchenga in Cameroon with a view to their use as building materials for housing. The alluvial clay (Arg.All) was collected in the locality of Batchenga at the village Natchigal (4˚20'40''N and 11˚37'40''E at 378 m altitude) and was fired between 900˚C and 1100˚C. Characterization was performed by XRD, XRF, DTA/DTG, and firing tests. XRD, XRF, DTA/DTG infrared analysis methods were performed on these clays. The linear shrinkage, mechanical strengths, water absorption, porosity and density were measured on the fired products. The results obtained show that the major oxides are for the Arg.Lat SiO2 (72.13%), Al2O3 (14.1%), Fe2O3 (4.45%) and for the Arg.All: SiO2 (48.91%), Al2O3 (23.79%), Fe2O3 (9.54%). The fired products based on alluvial clay, present the flexural strength of 4.45 MPa at 900˚C and 6.80 MPa at 1100˚C. As for those based on lateritic clay, the flexural strength is 0.53 and 0.76 MPa respectively at 900 and 1100˚C. The porosity is 33.69% at 900˚C and 22.93% at 1100˚C for the alluvial clay and 39.55% at 900˚C and 36.01% for the lateritic clay at 1100˚C. Water absorption is 18% to 11.16% for alluvial clay and 22.43% to 21.16% for lateritic clay at 900˚C and 1100˚C respectively. These results suggest that alluvial clay and its firing products have better physico-chemical, geotechnical and mechanical characteristics regardless of the firing temperature of the manufactured products. The addition of degreaser is recommended to improve the mechanical performance of lateritic clay.