Exploring the potential reuse of glass bottles in structural columns

Investigating the Structural Behaviour of Glass Columns Containing Glass Bottles through FE-modelling and Physical testing

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

Y. Maachi Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Contributors

P.C. Louter Applied Mechanics - CEG (mentor)
H. Alkisaei Applied Mechanics - CEG (coach)
C. Noteboom Applied Mechanics - CEG (graduation committee member)
Clarissa Justino de Lima American Glass Research (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Civil Engineering & Geosciences
Copyright: © 2022 Younes Maachi
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Published Date

02-12-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Abstract

Very little research has been done on the potential use of glass bottles in a structural system. Knowledge gathered from past projects showed that individuals or communities usually tend to create structures with glass bottles with a cementitious material, which is usually concrete or mortar. Under vertical compressive loading, the corresponding failure mechanisms should predominately be fractures in either the heel or the shoulder. Using two different finite element models and Weibull Analysis, a characteristic tensile strength of abraded container glass of 20 MPa was found. When structures are created out of glass waste, designs should be made with the abraded state in mind.

Connections concepts are created to connect glass bottles together, i.e. 'Masonry', 'Stacked' and 'Bundled'. The 'Stacked' concept was considered the most suitable for this thesis. Eight different configurations of the Stacked concept were created, of which four were tested in a hydraulic displacement controlled compression machine in Stevinlab. These four configurations were called 'Whole-Up', 'Whole-FF', 'Whole-BB' and 'Cut-Double-BB'. The results showed that the Whole-Up had the highest vertical failure loads, followed by the Whole-FF and Whole-BB configurations, and the Cut-Double-BB have much lower failure loads, which is most likely due to the imperfections at the cut surface.

Following these results, two different design options were created. The final prototype contains a demountable glass bottle column with intermediate plates and plastic elements. A proposed design formula for the vertical compressive design load was created based upon collected data and safety factors. The limitations of the bottle column are mainly the tolerance issues due to the different bottle heights and connections, the costs of the connections and the capacity in comparison with more conventional materials. The bottle column could however be an interesting options for smaller or temporary projects.