CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction 

Wave breakers are structures that are commonly used to control coastal erosion and ensure safe access to harbors. These are generally displaced barriers perpendicular to the dominant wave direction, absorbing, refracting, diffracting and reflecting part of the wave energy, hence reducing the amount of energy reaching the shoreline. There are a few types of wave breakers, but the most common and accepted method for hard stabilization in coastal engineering is the seawall (Sadeghi, Abdullahi, & Albab, 2018). Seawalls are the construction device commonly used to shield shoreline erosion-threatening coastal structures. These large coastal defense systems can be installed using various forms of construction materials, rubble-mound, granite masonry, and reinforced concrete. Traditionally, the rubble mound was an acceptable method of coastal protection.

Nonetheless, the local supply of rock is small, and the approach is less environmentally friendly due to inaccessibility to the water and lack of beach (Mokhtar, 2003).  In terms of cost, seawalls are expensive (Sadeghi, Abdullahi, & Albab, 2018). It needs maintenance as the wall can begin to erode over time due to it reflect the wave’s energy to the sea, which means the waves are still powerful.

Reinforced concrete structures built on the coast are vulnerable to chloride attack as chloride ions can be spread into reinforced concrete structures through air and water. Corrosion in reinforced-concrete construction is one of the biggest issues for reinforced concrete structures constructed in the coastal area. This concern will require additional maintenance and repair costs. Therefore, this project is carried out to provide a solution to the problems encountered by replacing the reinforced concrete seawalls with a perforated plate as a wave breaker. This perforated plate will overcome the corrosion issues by using jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete and the new composition of products by using industrial waste material as a substitute for cost-effectiveness, which is fly ash will be used in this project.

1.2 Problem Statement

Coastal erosion presents more issues as the coast becomes deformed due to the continuous dissipation of energy where the land meets the sea. This must be countered to avoid the loss of valuable land and properties, structures, and recreational areas. Despite rapid growth in development and economic activity and water bodies, the coastal erosion issue is more serious, and the focus is increasingly demanding. The coastal area suffers from sedimentation, accretion, and pollution due to the side effects of climate change (Masria, et al., 2015). Climate change would increase sea level, invasion of saltwater, and the outburst of storms. Big efforts have been made to address coastal erosion problems and to rebuild coastal capacity to protect homes, infrastructure, and property. Malaysia, as a maritime land with a total coastline of 4800 kilometers, is challenged by shoreline erosion of about 29% (Mokhtar, 2003). The Sarawak coastline is about 1035 kilometers long. The mangrove forest is dominant along Sarawak’s coastal region. The mangrove forests occupy about 60% of the total coastline. The mangrove forest in Sarawak has deteriorated from human expansion and human activities such as residential and industrial development, land conversion, and aquaculture ponds for agriculture and pollution by industrialization and urbanization (Long, 2014). Thus, natural coastal protection is no longer can be a defense for coastal.

Concrete reinforcement with steel is done to strengthen the structural component in tension as concrete is poor in it, but structures fail due to corrosion on steel. It has become a serious problem as it will cost a lot in maintenance and repair. For reinforced concrete, steel corrosion decreases its strength and can even lead to structural failure. One of the major reasons for the corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete is chloride intrusion. Through the pore network and small cracks, chlorides penetrate the concrete, forming the oxide film above the reinforced steel and increasing the corrosion reaction and concrete deterioration (Quraishi, et al., 2017).

There are several efforts to protect the coastal zone through many years, but the design criteria, such as environmentally friendly and reducing the cost, do not achieve the requirements yet. Therefore, this project is being conducted to produce jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete as a wave breaker to solve these problems and achieve the requirements.

1.3 Research Significant 

This research contributes in the area of using jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete like a wave breaker. Significant of this research is as shown:

Investigation on mechanical properties of jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete.

Evaluation on the durability of jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete treated with sodium chloride in wetting and drying cycles.

This research output will help to protect coastal areas from wave attacks by minimizing arriving wave energy. It also will benefit in land reclamation as the plate designed in a perforated way where the sand will stay when the backwash process. The wave breaker plate also helps in mangrove protection.  The wave breaker plate will act as a barrier while waiting for the mangrove to reach its maturity and continue its work as natural protection.

1.4 Objectives of Research

This project aims to produce perforated plate as a wave breaker made using jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete. The materials involved are jute fabric, unsaturated polymer resin, fly ash, and granite aggregate. The common goal is divided into the following specific objectives to accomplish the aim of this study:

• To develop optimum mix design of polymer concrete using jute fabric, unsaturated polymer resin, fly ash and granitequarry dust aggregate
• To determine mechanical and durability properties of the wave breaker plate made with polymer concrete

1.5 Scope of Work 

The scope of this research is to determine the mechanical and durability of perforated polymer concrete plate as wave breaker. A 50mm no reinforced cube, 18 reinforced and no reinforced beams with dimensions of 40 x 40 x 160mm will be cast to determine the mechanical properties for the plate. The compressive strength is tested for 14 days duration. The flexural test is tested for 2, 4, 6, 24 hours, 3, and 7 days. The suitable thickness for the wave breaker plate needs to be identified. Thus some calculations by following the concept as retaining are being done. The dimension of the wave breaker plate is obtained by proposing based on the lab condition. The wave breaker plate will be casting using jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete with various thicknesses, and the minimum is 10mm. This plate will undergo a flexural test until a suitable thickness is achieved. As the holes are mentioned in the requirement, the holes will be made with different percentages and different orientations, which are 5% holes, 10% holes, 15% holes, and 5% with different orientation holes. These samples will undergo the flexural test. As the wave breaker plate is placed in seawater, then the test on durability performance treated with sodium chloride is a must. Casting on 3 beams reinforced with the dimension of 40 x 40 x 160mm and plates with 5% holes, 15% holes, 5% with different orientation holes also full plate will be made. These beams and plates will undergo 28 cycles of wetting and drying, which is 12 hours immersed in the 3.5% sodium chloride solution and 12 hours in room condition. The beams and plates will be tested for compressive and flexural strengths.

1.6 Thesis organization

This thesis is divided into five chapters, as shown below.

• Chapter 1 introduces the overall research background,problem statement, objectives, and scope of
• Chapter 2 is a literature review that describes some polymer concrete work data and information and materials used in the polymer concrete mixture. In this chapter, any data from previous researchers regarding the mechanical and durability performance of polymer concrete are collected.
• Chapter 3 discusses the materials and methodology used to conduct this research.
• Chapter 4 gives the research findingsand discussions on the mechanical properties and durability properties of the perforated polymer concrete.
• Chapter 5 reviews the entire research conclusion assembled where the effectiveness of perforated polymer concrete as a wave breaker on mechanically overcome the wave energy impact and corrosion minimization are discussed and compressed. There are also suggestions for future research.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Coastal defense systems can be built using a wide range of construction materials, including rubble mound, granite, and reinforced concrete. The rubble mound has generally been an effective coastal defense system. However, the local rock supply is low, and the method is less environmentally friendly due to water inaccessibility and lack of beach (Mokhtar, 2003). Seawalls are expensive in terms of costs (Sadeghi, Abdullahi, & Albab, 2018). It needs maintenance because the wall can begin to erode over time because it reflects the energy of the waves back to the sea, which means that the waves are still powerful. As nowadays, coastal defense system material still has lacks where it does not work effectively in protecting the shoreline. Therefore, polymer concrete as a material is seen as a big potential to be a good material for construction in the coastal area.

In many applications, cement concrete from Portland has been successful. Since the 1960s, however, scientific work has been carried out on concrete modifications by polymeric materials. Such composite materials are known as polymer concrete in which the binder consists entirely of organic synthetic polymer. It has several advantages, including greater strength and a quicker curing process. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of availability of a research journal on polymer concrete consisting of resin as binder and by-product such as fly ash and granite. A more in-depth study is needed to understand fully on this project.

2.2 Fly Ash

The disposal of waste products has become a global problem as well as the challenge to environmental sustainability policy. Throughout modern civilization, waste disposal and the protection of natural resources have become one of today’s top concerns. Fly ashes (FA) belonging to the Coal Combustion Products (CCPs) group are among the industrial waste produced in large quantities. Fly ash, the most conventional used supplementary cement material in concrete, is a result of pulverized coal combustion in power plants. Managing the waste generated during the combustion process (fly ash) is a serious problem in countries where the energy industry is primarily based on coal. Improper disposal may lead to contamination of water and soil, breathing issues, disruption of the environmental cycle. Thoughtful use of fly ash will provide many economic and ecological benefits. Fly ash will reduce the environmental costs of waste generated by power plants and thermal power plants and can replace some expensive, non-renewable, or scarce natural resources in operation. Developing new industrial technologies of the FA application is, therefore, extremely important. Having fly ash in concrete usually increases concrete workability, reduces building costs, and provides the steel with strong and safe protection against corrosion (Woszuk, et al., 2019).

In Malaysia, the quantity of fly ash developed by the power station increases year after year. According to the 1987-1989 statistic report, 415 million tons of fly ash were produced worldwide. ASTM C 618 and AASHTO M 295 are the most widely used fly ash requirements. In ASTM C 618, two main types of fly ash are defined on the basis of their chemical composition resulting from the type of coal burned; these are defined as Class F, and Class C. Class F is fly ash typically produced from burning anthracite or bituminous coal, and Class C is normally produced from burning sub-bituminous coal and lignite. In each category, there are also wide variations within characteristics. Despite ASTM C 618’s reference to the coal classes from which Category F and Class C fly ashes were derived, there was no requirement that a given fly ash class should come from a particular coal category (Nizar, et al., 2014).

Approximately 20% of the generated fly ash is used. Some uses include road construction, soil alteration, synthesis of zeolite, and polymer filling (Yao, et al., 2015). In fact, it is more environmentally friendly to use fly ash and save costs compared to ordinary Portland cement. The main components of fly ash are silicon dioxide (SiO₂), aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃), and iron oxide (Fe₂O₃). The sample’s chemical compositions were examined in accordance with ASTM C618. Various sources of fly ash can lead to different chemical composition (Nizar, et al., 2014).

2.3 Granite Quarry Dust Aggregate

Generally, small aggregates consist of natural sand or crushed stone with the majority of particles smaller than 5 mm (0.2 in.). Aggregates shall meet certain specifications for optimal engineering use: they must be dry, solid, strong, free of absorbed chemicals, clay coatings, and other fine materials in amounts that may affect the hydration and bonding of the cement paste (Kosmatka, et al., 2002). Strong, thick rocks are generally good sources of crushed stone, such as calcareous, granite, and traprock. Bedrock, the crushed stone source material, is graded as sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic on the basis of origin. Granite aggregates are categorized in igneous rock. Most igneous rocks are rough, hard, and thick, making excellent crushed stone for use in construction (Langer, et al., 2004).

Malaysia is pretty fortunate to have a few natural aggregate reserves distributed, with almost every country carrying out its own quarry and aggregate production operations. Selangor is the largest producer of aggregate, followed by Perak, Sarawak, Johor, Sabah, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan, Melaka and Perlis (Ismail, et al., 2013). In Peninsular Malaysia, more than 80 million tons of construction aggregate is developed. The rest of the concrete of the building is made of granite. Granite aggregates are widely used in the building industry in Malaysia (Murlidhar, et al., 2016).

Concrete is a commonly used man-made building material. It is obtained in the appropriate proportions by mixing cement, water, and aggregates (and sometimes admixture). Aggregates have greater volume, consistency, and strength than concrete cement paste and about 75% of the concrete structure. The aggregates are produced from natural sources. Since granite is a lightweight material compared to aggregates, its use in concrete would lead to a reduction members self-weight and reduced dead load on columns and subsequently on the foundation system. Concrete that has a mixture of coarse aggregate and granite chips in a certain proportion may have more toughness than that which has effectively replaced coarse aggregate with granite chips. Granite is the material that has generally been used in monument building. It is one of the toughest and most reliable items. It can endure extreme temperature conditions. It is really one of the main reasons it is being used in monument design. Granite has much less porosity, varying from 0.1% to 0.4%. Granite is a material that is thermally sound and therefore shows no change with temperature variations. Granite has a high chemical erosion resistance that makes it useful for storing highly reactive substances in tanks. Granite has been widely used in public and commercial construction as a dimension stone and as flooring tiles. The chemical composition of granite aggregate is shown in Table 2.1 (Sharma, et al., 2016).

Quarry dust is a form of waste since it is dust generated during the process of crushing the rock in quarrying activities. It thus becomes useless material and also leads to air pollution. One of the ways to reduce the pollution occurs is by using quarry dust as construction materials. It is not only reducing pollution also the cost of construction. Furthermore, few studies approved the use of quarry dust as sand replacement material to improve mechanical properties and elastic modulus (Prakash & Rao, 2016).

Table 2.1 Chemical composition

2.4 Polymer Concrete

Polymer concrete (PC) is a construction substance made entirely of organic synthetic polymer in the binder. This is also known as concrete resin synthetic, concrete resin plastic, or concrete resin simply. The character of the binder, such as furan, polyester, epoxy, phenol formaldehyde, and carbamide distinguishes the polymer concretes. Figure 2.1 displays the identification of the major polymer concrete types by the type of synthetic resins involved. Polymer concrete is an advanced and modern material that meets all the great durability and chemical resistance criteria for high mechanical strength. The quick curing, impressive strength and toughness, good damping, and wide range properties of available elastic modules have enabled PC a very flexible material with various uses (Figovsky & Beilin, 2013). Compared to conventional forms, the development of new composite materials improved strength and durability, which are important specifications for material rehabilitation and infrastructural purposes. PC is an example of a relatively recent material with such high performance (Hashemi & Jamshidi, 2015). PC is a polymer composite aggregate which uses polymer to build the binding process while using aggregate as a filler. Most liquid resins are polymerized at ambient temperatures, such as thermosetting, methacrylic, and tar-modified resins. The polymer resin coats the aggregate and establishes strong bonds between the aggregate (Taha, et al., 2019).

Figure 2.1: Main types of Polymer Concrete

2.4.1 Thermosetting Resin 

Unsaturated polyester (UP), vinyl ester (VE), methyl methacrylate (MMA), furan resin (FU), and epoxy resins are the thermosetting polymers used in polymer concrete. The unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester are low-cost resins, but, because of their high volatility, the widespread use of styrene for cross-linking makes them hard to work with (Leonardi, et al., 2019). Unsaturated polyester industrial applications started in the 1940s. Unsaturated polyester resin is among the binders used in polymer concrete, providing great adhesion to solid particle fillers, dimensional flexibility, high strength, and a high damping ratio. In polymer backbone, unsaturated polyester resins contain unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds. These unsaturated bonds use curing agents and accelerators to make these polymers thermoset and help them to be cured at room temperature (Hashemi & Jamshidi, 2015). The most widely used resins in the composites industry are unsaturated polyester (UP) resins. Unsaturated polyester resin (UP) has good mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties balance. Typical polyester mechanical properties are illustrated in Table 2.2. There are strong chemical resistance properties of unsaturated polyester UP resins. These resins are fine in low alkali and excellent in low acidity (Hameed & Hamza, 2019). Since liquid resins cannot set or harden themselves, when mixing PC, proper initiators (or hardeners) and promoters are applied to the resins. The working (pot) life and length of the PC can be controlled by choosing the correct types and contents of the initiators and promoters (Taha, et al., 2019).

Table 2.2 Physical properties of the polyester resin

2.4.2 Advantages of Polymer Concrete

The use of synthetic resins instead of traditional Portland cement binder encourages the development of concrete with several excellent properties, including high chemical resistance to several corrosive environments or high mechanical resistance. Polymer concrete composites typically have good resistance to chemical and other corrosive media attacks, very low properties of water sorption, good abrasion resistance, and marked durability of freezing-thaw. However, the greater strength of polymer concrete compared to Portland cement concrete requires up to 50% less material to be used. It puts polymer concrete in certain special applications on a comparable basis with cement concrete. The structure of the polymer binder typically defines the chemical resistance and physical properties to a greater extent than the type and amount of filler. The advantages of polymer concrete are shown below (Figovsky & Beilin, 2013).

2.4.3 Industrial Use

Compared to conventional cement concrete, the past of PC is relatively short. Modern PC research and development was carried out in the Soviet Union (currently Russia), the United States German, and Japan, mostly in the late 1950s to the modern 1960s. Over the years, significant investment has been made and has helped the PC industry grow to what it is today. PC is used in various applications around the world today (Taha, et al., 2019).

There is a very long history of using polymers in concrete. Most work on polymer has been carried out over the past 25 years. Many experiments are continuing because of the high impact of polymer on structures and concrete procedures. Polymers enhance concrete’s mechanical and chemical properties, some of which include improved compressive strength, flexural and tensile strength, and good performance in increasing longevity and minimizing concrete corrosion and permeability. In 1958, plastic concrete was first used for the manufacture of building laminate in America. Plastic concrete is created by mixing stones with a water-free polymer binder material. Polymer concrete is used mainly in the manufacture of prefabricated laminates but is also used today in the manufacture of required laminates in the healthcare sector. Due in part to the ability to create thin layers, processing speed, and very low permeability, polymer coatings, and concrete coatings are often used in decoration and architecture (Momtazi, 2015).

PC was the main building material in Japan and Europe in the 1970s in the 1980s, PC has now become a massive building material in the United States. Because of its high performance, multi-functionality, and durability compared to conventional cement concrete, PC is widely used as a common building material for different purposes around the world. In the current market, there are two categories of PC applications: precast and cast-in-place. The list of PC has been used in the industry shown in Table 2.3 (Taha, et al., 2019).

Table 2.3 Industrial used of polymer concrete

2.4.4 Mechanical Properties

Due to the number of resins in polymer, aggregates, and fillers that can be used to manufacture PC, PC have a wide range of mechanical properties. PC’s mechanical behaviors, such as compressive strength, elasticity modulus, and failure strain are influenced by polymer resin form. Mechanical PC properties can be established by regulating the volume fraction of the polymer matrix, the bond between the polymer matrix and aggregate, and the aggregate and filler forms (Taha, et al., 2019). Although polymer concrete offers superior mechanical quality over cement concrete from Portland, its prohibitive cost is the main challenge. Polymer concrete is about 5-10 times the cost of concrete as usual and is consequently, typically limited to structures where improved quality warrants higher costs (Ferdous, et al., 2019).

Ferdous, et al., (2019) mentioned that various parameters impact polymer concrete characteristics, such as resin and filler form and material, curing process, temperature curing, humidity and particularly the resin-to-filler ratio and matrix-to-aggregate ratio. It has been found that three different resins (polyester, vinylester and epoxy resin) have created concrete with better mechanical properties than polyester. The effect of various fillers (fly ash and silica fume) on polymer concrete’s mechanical properties was studied and concluded that incorporating such fillers enhances the mechanical properties of polymer concrete. However, the effects of the resin-to-filler ratio and the matrix-to-aggregate ratio remain unclear, but optimizing these parameters may have significant effects on efficiency and costs.

Priniotakis, et al., (2018) found out that the replacement of glass fibers with natural jute fabrics for reinforcement created great mechanical properties in terms of tensile strengths and interlaminary shear strengths. According to their reinforcement with natural jute fibers, the good mechanical properties achieved with the polymer laminates produced enable natural fibers reinforced with minimum-energy and minimal-cost construction material effective in technologies providing reasonable mechanical strengths and at the same time good durability.

Hashemi & Jamshidi (2015) studied that polymer concrete (PC) made of unsaturated polyester (UP) has outstanding properties than ordinary Portland cement. Results of bulk density indicate growing values for all aggregate forms by raising the amount of polymer resin applied. The test results demonstrate that the values of these mechanical properties were enhanced by increasing the amount of polymer resin towards all aggregate forms.

Taha, et al., (2019) stated that the large quantities of various types of waste are discarded of and pollute the environment, including waste such as silica fume slag, fly ash to enhance the mechanical and durability characteristics. Sivasankaran, et al., (2019) also mentioned that fly ash is used to partially substitute concrete to improve the sustainability of the environment and reduce costs.

Kim, et al., (2019) conclude that the overall performance of concrete is influenced by coarse aggregates in mechanical properties. Gaikwad, et al., (2019) studied that granite waste concrete materials as a partial replacement for coarse aggregate. Granite has a great density and thus increases the mechanical properties of the mix.

Many researchers throughout the year working on the new experiment coming up with new materials to improve the mechanical properties of polymer concrete and to lower the cost. Tables 2.4 and 2.5 shows the polymer concrete performance. Various type of materials was introduced to replace the old materials due to its disadvantages. Therefore, from the collected past research, the past researches are focused on repair of structures, highway pavements, bridge decks, and waste water pipes but not for structural at coastal area, more precisely, in the seawater. Thus, research on investigating the chloride resistance of polymer concrete in seawater can be conducted in order to determine the potential use of jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete as a barrier for wave breaker at coastal areas.

Table 2.4 Mechanical properties of polymer concrete due to binder

Table 2.5 Mechanical properties of polymer concrete due to filler and reinforcement

2.4.5 Durability Properties

Among the most important features of their physical and mechanical properties is the non-reactivity or corrosion (chemical) resistance of polymer concrete to aggressive conditions. It is described as the potential of a material to overcome corrosive conditions and preserve their characteristics and shapes. Polyester reinforced concrete is resistant to oxidizers, acids, oils and petroleum products, but alkaline solutions and water are not fully resistant. Polyester PC performance drops more rapidly in water than in inorganic salt solutions and some acids; resistance in acid substances will therefore concurrently act as an estimation of water resistance. The flexural strength of the PC, for instance, is lowered by 30% after 80 days of immersion, immersed in a 10% solution of sulfuric acid or 10% of sodium chloride solution. High chemical resistance, characterized by long-term corrosive resistance, is the main advantage of polymer concrete (Figovsky & Beilin, 2014). Tables 2.6 and 2.7 shows the durability of polymer concrete to resist chemical attack. Chemical attack toward polymer concrete experimental has been conducted to analyse the ability of polymer concrete in resisting.

Table 2.6 Chemical resistance of polymer concrete using unsaturated polyester resin

Table 2.7 Chemical resistance of polymer concrete using epoxy and vinyl ester resin

2.5 Chapter Summary

Based on the collected data, it is found that materials used play a big role in determining the mechanical properties of polymer concrete. Fly ash has been used worldwide to minimize the waste products, and it is showing good result workability as stated in 2.2. Moreover, granite also has good potential as an aggregate in polymer concrete, and its production in Malaysia is large as mentioned in 2.3. Polymer concrete is good in resisting chemical attack. A few experimental lab by the researcher has been conducted to get the result on how polymer concrete reacting to various types of chemical. Jute fabric as a natural fiber used in reinforcement gives a good result in reinforcing the concrete by replacing other types of fiber such as glass fiber. Jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete (unsaturated polyester resin as a binder, fly ash, and granite as a filler, jute fabric as a reinforcement) as a wave breaker has not been done by any researcher. Hence, from previous research gathered regarding the polymer concrete, previous research only focuses on repairing buildings, highway pavements, bridge decks, and wastewater pipes, but not on the coastal area, more specifically, in the seawater. Studies on the chloride resistance of polymer concrete in marine water can thus be performed to assess the possible use of jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete as a shield for coastal wave breaker.

CHAPTER 3

MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This research deals with jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete as wave breaker. This chapter provides information on the properties of the materials, specimen preparation, and testing method. The materials used in this project are orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin, hardener, jute fabric, fly ash, and granite quarry dust aggregate. The properties of materials are provided. Besides, all the tests are following the standard test procedures.

3.2 Materials

Throughout this research project, the materials used were fly ash, orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin, jute fabric, and granite aggregate.

3.2.1 Fly Ash

Fly ash is a by-product of burning pulverized coal in a power plant. Aluminosilicate compounds, some metallic and calcium oxides, and trace elements are the major chemical components of fly ash. Hence, it is possible to distinguish two main types of fly ashes where Class F produced from the combustion of coal and Class C fly ash generated from the combustion of lignite. Unlike class F fly ash, the application of class C fly ash in the cement industry is somewhat limited (Woszuk, et al., 2019). The major difference between these types is the amount of silica, calcium, iron, and alumina in the ash (Akhtar, et al., 2019). Fly ash is classified as class F with the total silica, alumina, and ferric oxide that exceeds a minimum content of  70% according to ASTM C618 (2005). Fly ash class F is used as a filler for polymer concrete in this research project. The fly ash obtained in this research project was produced by Sejingkat Power Plant and packaged by Gobel Industry Sarawak SDN. BHD. Table 3.1 displays the particle size distribution of fly ash derived from the study of particle size. The particle size obtained by lab experimental from the result of Particle Size Analysis (PSA). Table 3.2 shows the chemical composition of fly ash class F obtained from (Fauzi, et al., 2016) where the fly ash was supplied by local supplier in Malaysia. The particle density of fly ash for this research is determined in accordance with BS 1377-2 (1990).

Table 3.1 Particle size distribution of fly ash

Table 3.2 Chemical composition class F fly ash

3.2.2 Resin

In this project, unsaturated polymer resin functions as the binding agent for polymer concrete. The unsaturated polyester resin used in this project is orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin. The form of resin is liquid with high viscosity and has low reactivity. It is pre-promoted with the addition of Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide (MEKP) as a catalyst or hardener for ambient temperature cure. Reseng Trading Company, Kuching, Sarawak, is the supplier for the resin. Orthopthalic unsaturated polyester resin must be stored in a sealed container in a room at a temperature of about 32°C away from any source of heat and sunlight. This is to preserve the stability and its properties. Revertex (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. has given the properties of orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin as shown in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 Specification of Orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin

3.2.3 Jute Fabric

The interest in using natural fibers as a reinforcing agent is about their low cost and lower density. These are also sustainable, non-abrasive, and biodegradable (Braga & Magalhaes, 2015). In various forms such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics, various natural fibers have been used as structural materials in polymer composites. Jute fibers used to be one of the most common, cheapest, and commercially available lignocellulose fibers among all the natural fibers. In the case of jute, it was used as a fiber type by most researchers in the matrices, or in a few cases it was used in the flat woven fabric. The jute fibers are woven in several ways to become jute fabric. The jute fabrics are classified based on its different structure as (a) plain woven structure 1/1, (b) twill woven structure 2/1, (c) single jersey knitted structure, (d) rib knitted structure as shown in Figure 3.1. In this project, as shown in Figure 3.2, plain woven jute fabric (a) is used as reinforcement for polymer concrete. The mechanical properties of plain woven jute fabric is shown in Table 3.4 (Arju, et al., 2015).

Figure 3.1: Four different structures of jute fabrics (a) plain woven structure 1/1, (b) twill woven structure 2/1, (c) single jersey knitted structure, (d) rib knitted structure

Figure 3.2: Plain woven jute fabric

Table 3.4 Tensile properties of jute fabrics

3.2.4 Granite Quarry Dust Aggregate

This can not be overemphasized the value of using the right type and performance of aggregates. Overall, aggregates occupy 60 to 75% of the concrete volume (70 to 85 % by mass) and greatly influence the freshly mixed and hardened properties and the proportions of the mixture (Kosmatka, et al., 2012). For the polymer concrete mix, granite aggregate is used as the other type of filler in this project. Granite is the best-known igneous rock. It is the most frequently quarried rock as a “dimensional stone” and tough enough to resist abrasion, solid enough to weigh heavily, inert enough to withstand weathering, and accept a brilliant polish (King, 2018). In this research, granite quarry dust is used and the size is from passing 2.36 mm sieve and retained on pan. For the granite quarry dust, the aggregate grading and particle density are determined in accordance with BS 812-103.1 (1985) and BS 1377-2 (1990).

3.3 Mix Design Development of Polymer Concrete

Table 3.5 shows the mix proportion used in this project for the development of polymer concrete.

Table 3.5 Mix design of polymer concrete mix by ratio of materials

3.4 Mix Procedure

This section will brief the preparation of polymer concrete and jute fabric polymer concrete for this project.

3.4.1 Mix Procedure of Polymer Concrete (PC) 

For this section, the polymer concrete specimen was cast into cubes and beams samples with no reinforcement were placed. The mould size used for cube samples is 50mm and for beam samples is 40 x 40 x 160mm. There are 3 cubes and 9 beams casted to undergo mechanical test. Mechanical tests such as compressive strength test was conducted for cubes and flexural test for beams to fulfill the polymer concrete requirement. The cubes were tested for compressive strength test after 14 days of being cast while beams were tested for flexural strength test after 2, 4, 6, 24 hours,  3 and 7 days. The mixture of polymer concrete was prepared by mixed the fly ash and resin first, then stirred homogeneously to ensure all the materials mixed well. After the well mixture achieved, 1% of hardener was added into the mixture and was stirred for another round and granite aggregate then is added. Following the completion of the mixing process, casting work was begun by putting the mixture into prepared mould. With a total of 3 layers, the mixture was placed layer by layer in the mould. After pouring the first layer, it will go for vibrating to ensure no void in the mixture. This step was repeated until the third layer. The surface of the polymer concrete was scrapped to have a smooth surface.

3.4.2 Mix Procedure of Jute Fabric Reinforced Polymer Concrete (JFRPC) 

For this section, the polymer concrete specimen was cast into beam samples with reinforcement added. The mould size used for beam samples is 40 x 40 x 160mm. There are 9 beams casted to undergo mechanical test. Mechanical test such as flexural test was conducted for beams to fulfill the jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete requirement. The beams undergo flexural test after 2, 4, 6, 24 hours, 3 and 7 days of being cast. The preparation of polymer concrete mixture the same as the steps mentioned in 3.4.1. A thin layer of the mixture poured into the mould first. The jute fabric used for reinforcement is prepared and cut with a mould size of approximately 80%. Two layers of jute fabric were immersed in a polymer concrete mix to assure that the jute fabric is fully covered with a mixture of polymer concrete. The jute fabrics then placed in the mould and first layer of polymer concrete mix was added. After pouring the first layer, it will go for vibrating to ensure no void in the mixture. This step was repeated until the second layer. The surface of the polymer concrete was scrapped to have a smooth surface.

3.4.3 Mix Procedure of Reinforced Polymer Concrete for Wetting and Drying

For this section, 3 beams reinforced with a dimension of 40 x 40 x 160mm were cast. After demoulded, the beams placed in oven dried for 24 hours with 60°C. After oven dried process, the beams were let to cool down for two days then the beams undergo 28 cycles of wetting and drying condition which are 12 hours immersed in the 3.5 % concentration of sodium chloride solution and 12 hours in room condition. 3.5% concentration of sodium chloride represent the seawater (Xie, et al., 2019). After the 28 cycles of wetting and drying, the beams were tested for flexural test. Preparation of mixing and casting are following the steps in 3.4.2.

3.4.4 Mix Procedure of Wave Breaker Plate

For this section, it is divided into two parts which are Part A: wave breaker plate without holes and Part B: wave breaker plate with holes.

For part A, the goal is to define the optimum thickness of the wave breaker plate. The dimension of the wave breaker plate was proposed by scaling down the site condition plate by the ratio of 1 : 2 and also considering the lab condition. For the site condition, the height of wave breaker plate was proposed by considering the critical differences of tidal. Sarawak River is being chosen as a location reference for a tidal range reading. According to the tide times and charts for Kuching (Sarawak River), the maximum high tide recorded in the tide tables is 5.7m and a minimum height of 0.1m. The base and height of the wave breaker plate for site condition proposed is 3000 x 6000mm (B x H). Therefore, by scaling down the site condition plate by ratio of 1 : 2 the wave breaker plate for this project is 150 x 300mm (B x H). The manual calculation was calculated to determine the total pressure exerted on the site condition plate. The total pressure is the combination of average pressure and wave force exerted on the plate. The wave force value was obtained from the field test past research. The average pressure exerted on the plate was calculated by using the dimension of the site condition plate and this value was compared to the flexural strength of the wave breaker plate for this project. This is because if the wave breaker plate in this project can sustain the pressure means the site condition plate will be able to sustain the pressure too. The wave breaker plate casted with various thicknesses until the optimum thickness of plate achieved to sustain the total pressure. The minimum thickness of the plate is 10mm.  The wave breaker plate without holes can be seen in Figure 3.3. Preparation of mixing and casting are following the steps in 3.4.1 and 3.4.2.

For Part B, once the plate’s optimum thickness was determined, another wave breaker plate with holes was cast according to the obtained thickness size. The diameter size of the holes is 18mm. The wave breaker plate casted with different percentage of holes and orientation which are 5%, 10%, 15% holes and 5% with different orientation of holes. The illustration of wave breaker plate with holes can be seen in Figures 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7. The illustration of how the wave breaker plate with holes works during high and low tide is shown in Figures 3.8 and 3.9. After demoulded, the plate placed in oven dried for 24 hours with 60°C. After oven dried process, the plates were let to cool down for two days then undergo 28 cycles of wetting and drying conditions which are 12 hours immersed in the 3.5% concentration of sodium chloride solution and 12 hours in room condition. After the 28 cycles of wetting and drying, the wave breaker plate then was tested for the flexural test.

Figure 3.3: Wave breaker plate with a size of 150 x 300 x 15mm (B x H x T) without holes

Figure 3.4: Wave breaker plate with a size of 100 x 300 x 10mm (B x H x T) with 5% holes

Figure 3.5: Wave breaker plate with a size of 100 x 300 x 10mm (B x H x T) with 10% holes

Figure 3.6: Wave breaker plate with a size of 100 x 300 x 10mm (B x H x T) with 15% of holes

Figure 3.7: Wave breaker plate with a size of 150 x 300 x 15mm (B x H x T) with 5% of holes with different orientation

Figure 3.8: Wave breaker plate during high tide

Figure 3.9: Wave breaker plate during low tide

3.5 Sample Testing

Polymer concrete and jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete were tested for mechanical properties. Table 3.6 shows the lists of tests, the standard specification used, and the sizes of specimens for polymer concrete and jute fabric polymer concrete.

Table 3.6 Tests for polymer concrete and jute fabric reinforced polymer concrete

GANTT CHART

Table 3.7 Time planning for Final Year Project

REFERENCES

Akhtar, M. N., Akhtar, J., & Tarannum, N. (2019). Physiochemical Characterization and Dematerialization of Coal Class F Flyash Residues from Thermal Power Plant. Civil Engineering Journal, 5(5), 1041–1051. doi: 10.28991/cej-2019-03091310

Arju, S. N., Afsar, A., Khan, M. A., & Das, D. K. (2015). Effects of jute fabric structures on the performance of jute-reinforced polypropylene composites. Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 34(16), 1306–1314. doi: 10.1177/0731684415589360

Braga, R., & Magalhaes, P. (2015). Analysis of the mechanical and thermal properties of jute and glass fiber as reinforcement epoxy hybrid composites. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 56, 269–273. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2015.06.031

Chikhradze, N., Marquis, F., Abashidze, G., & Tsverava, D. (2019). Production of Corrosion-Resistant Polymer Concrete Reinforced with Various Fibers. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 362, 012118. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/362/1/012118

Fauzi, A., Nuruddin, M. F., Malkawi, A. B., & Abdullah, M. M. A. B. (2016). Study of Fly Ash Characterization as a Cementitious Material. Procedia Engineering, 148, 487–493. doi: 10.1016/j.proeng.2016.06.535

Ferdous, W., Manalo, A., Wong, H. S., Abousnina, R., Alajarmeh, O. S., Zhuge, Y., & Schubel, P. (2020). Optimal design for epoxy polymer concrete based on mechanical properties and durability aspects. Construction and Building Materials, 232, 117229. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117229

Figovsky, O., & Beilin, D. (2013). Advanced polymer concretes and compounds. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis.

Hameed, A. M., & Hamza, M. T. (2019). Characteristics of polymer concrete produced from wasted construction materials. Energy Procedia, 157, 43–50. doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2018.11.162

Hashemi, M. J., & Jamshidi, M. (2015). Flexural Behavior of Polyester Polymer Concrete Subjected to Different Chemicals. International Journal of Engineering, 28(7). doi: 10.5829/idosi.ije.2015.28.07a.03

Ismail, S., Hoe, K. W., & Ramli, M. (2013). Sustainable Aggregates: The Potential and Challenge for Natural Resources Conservation. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 101, 100–109. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.07.183

Jafari, K., Tabatabaeian, M., Joshaghani, A., & Ozbakkaloglu, T. (2018). Optimizing the mixture design of polymer concrete: An experimental investigation. Construction and Building Materials, 167, 185–196. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.191

Kabir Sadeghi, I. S. A., & Albab, H. F. (2018). Classification of seawalls and their failure: An overview. Academic Research International, Journal, 9(1), 12-19.

King, H. M. (n.d.). Granite. Retrieved from https://geology.com/rocks/granite.shtml.

Kosmatka, S. H., Kerkhoff, B., & Panarese, W. C. (2002). Design and control of concrete mixtures (14th ed.). Skokie, IL: Portland Cement Association.

Leonardi, L., Pique, T. M., Leizerow, T., Balzamo, H., Bernal, C., Vazquez, A., & Agaliotis, E. (2019). Design and Assessment of a Lightweight Polymer Concrete Utility Manhole. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, 2019, 1–12. doi: 10.1155/2019/5234719

Long, S. M. (2014) Sarawak Coastal Biodiversity: A Current Status. Kuroshio science, 8 (1). pp. 71-84. ISSN 1882-823X

Masria, A., Iskander, M., & Negm, A. (2015). Coastal protection measures, case study (Mediterranean zone, Egypt). Journal of Coastal Conservation, 19(3), 281–294. doi: 10.1007/s11852-015-0389-5

Mohamad, E. T., Murlidhara, B. R., Alel, M. N. A. B., & Armaghani, D. J. (2016). Geological Study And Mining Plan Importance For Mitigating Alkali Silica Reaction In Aggregate Quarry Operation. Jurnal Teknologi, 78(7-3). doi: 10.11113/jt.v78.9486

Mokhtar, N. A. (2003). Innovative approaches for physical considerations in research and development of coastal protection structures. Malaysia: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Niaki, M. H., Fereidoon, A., & Ahangari, M. G. (2017). Mechanical properties of epoxy/basalt polymer concrete: Experimental and analytical study. Structural Concrete, 19(2), 366–373. doi: 10.1002/suco.201700003

Priniotakis, G., Bouguessir, H., Harkati, E., Rokbi, M., & Vassilliadis, S. (2018). Environmental durability of externally natural fabrics reinforced polymer concrete. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 459, 012020. doi: 10.1088/1757-899x/459/1/012020

Quraishi, M., Nayak, D., Kumar, R., & Kumar, V. (2017). Corrosion of Reinforced Steel in Concrete and Its Control: An overview. Journal of Steel Structures & Construction, 03(01). doi: 10.4172/2472-0437.1000124

Sharma, A. S., Kumar, N. V., Harish, J., & Sathish, A. (2016). Utilisation of Granite Chips as a Supplementary Coarse Aggregate Material. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(2). doi: 10.17485/ijst/2016/v9i2/86346

Shen, Y., Liu, B., Lv, J., & Shen, M. (2019). Mechanical Properties and Resistance to Acid Corrosion of Polymer Concrete Incorporating Ceramsite, Fly Ash and Glass Fibers. Materials, 12(15), 2441. doi: 10.3390/ma12152441

Sivasankaran, U., Raman, S., & Nallusamy, S. (2019). Experimental Analysis of Mechanical Properties on Concrete with Nano Silica Additive. Journal of Nano Research, 57, 93–104. doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/jnanor.57.93

Sokołowska, J. J., Woyciechowski, P. P., Łukowski, P., & Kida, K. (2015). Effect of Perlite Waste Powder on Chemical Resistance of Polymer Concrete Composites. Advanced Materials Research, 1129, 516–522. doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1129.516

Taha, M. R., Genedy, M., & Ohama, Y. (2019). Polymer concrete. Developments in the Formulation and Reinforcement of Concrete, 391–408. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-08-102616-8.00017-4

Talikoti, R., & Kandekar, S. (2019). Strength and Durability Study of Concrete Structures Using Aramid-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer. Fibers, 7(2), 11. doi: 10.3390/fib7020011

Tide times and charts for Kuching (Sarawak River), Malaysia and weather forecast for fishing in Kuching (Sarawak River) in 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://tides4fishing.com/as/malaysia/kuching-sarawak-river#to_top.

Toufigh, V., Hosseinali, M., & Shirkhorshidi, S. M. (2016). Experimental study and constitutive modeling of polymer concrete’s behavior in compression. Construction and Building Materials, 112, 183–190. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.100

Woszuk, A., Bandura, L., & Franus, W. (2019). Fly ash as low cost and environmentally friendly filler and its effect on the properties of mix asphalt. Journal of Cleaner Production, 235, 493–502. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.353

Xie, J.-H., Wei, M.-W., Huang, P.-Y., Zhang, H., & Chen, P.-S. (2019). Fatigue behavior of the basalt fiber-reinforced polymer/concrete interface under wet-dry cycling in a marine environment. Construction and Building Materials, 228, 117065. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117065